Campus political groups ready for next semester

December 12, 2005 —

With the SVSU student population growing in recent years, interest in national and global politics has grown on campus. Two new student organizations - the Students for Political Awareness (SFPA) and the Organization for Progressive Politics (OPP) - are tackling questions of politics and policy head on.

Students formed the organizations during the Winter 2005 semester. While the OPP places itself at the left end of the political spectrum, the SFPA describes itself as non-partisan.

"We truly believe that understanding of politics can best be achieved by listening and talking to people with different viewpoints," says SFPA vice president Swenja Granzow. "[We are] an organization that foremost wants to make its members and the campus community as a whole aware of how politics influence our daily lives."

Granzow says that one of the main goals of SFPA is to encourage the exchange of ideas and to broaden students' horizons.

"The idea to form this organization actually grew out of a ... symposium [that] dealt with the role of the media in the political process," she explains.

While OPP promotes awareness as well, they primarily advocate political reform and the unification and invigoration of the Left.

"The intent of OPP is to be a group for people on the political left, but without any particular party affiliation," says OPP president Randal Painter. "Our goal is to unite moderate and left-leaning people, especially those in third parties who don't typically get represented in major elections, to strengthen the political left."

Painter stresses the distinction between the Left and the Democratic Party.

"We are not limited to just Democrats," he explains. "In fact, we plan to be critical of the Democratic Party and reform it."

According to Granzow and Painter, the groups expect a continued increase in membership. SFPA currently has 15 active members and OPP has 31 official members.

Both groups say that students were eager to join.

"I've conversed with several people who are in disbelief about the lack of political engagement on this campus, and I believe it is the lack of engagement that most likely led to the establishment of such organizations on campus," Painter says. "There was a need for such organizations."

Granzow agrees.

"SVSU has experienced a recent spur in regard to the creation of politics-oriented organizations," she says. "Our members welcome this and are looking forward to putting on events with other organizations."

The groups have big plans for the upcoming semesters. SFPA has begun work on organizing a lecture series to be started next year that will cover such topics as the upcoming Michigan elections. Granzow says that the group also plans to sponsor an essay contest on the subject of "Hollywood and Politics" with monetary prizes to be awarded at a lecture on the topic.

According to Painter, OPP was busy this past semester.

"In September we had a Peace Vigil to honor the casualties of the Iraq War and to urge the Bush Administration to bring the troops home," he says. "We also hosted a political trivia game. In the future we plan to publish a Progressive Newsletter, boycott Wal-Mart, and inform students about the threat of the Michigan Civil Rights Initiative."

Hopefully, Painter says, the existence of the organizations will cause students to pay more attention year-round and not just during election season,

SFPA meets every other Sunday in Curtiss 100 at 9 p.m. OPP meets Mondays at 4 p.m. in the Unity Room, though their schedule for next semester's meetings has not yet been finalized. Painter advises students to keep an eye out for flyers on campus.