By Lauren Farberman
Staff Writer
Members of Mira Costa’s Young Democrats Club have been motivated by the current presidential elections to dissect and discuss the nation’s political issues.
The Young Democrats Club discusses political events at length during its club meetings. Members discuss all things regarding the Democratic party, such as current presidential candidates and upcoming debates. They also talk about local, regional and national politics, especially the recent Democratic presidential debates. Senior Priya Chatwani and junior Matt DuMont are the co-presidents of the club this year.
“Young Democrats Club brings together a lot of different viewpoints that gives members a place to express their perspective and understand the perspectives of others,” DuMont said.
In addition to discussing events such as the Democratic party debates, Young Democrats Club has debate-viewing parties where the club members meet up at a club member’s house to eat pizza while watching the debate.
“The debate-viewing parties are really beneficial for the club,” Young Democrats Club vice president and junior Ben Falley said. “They keep us updated about what’s going on with the election so we can have informed discussions when we meet.”
The club has also had active debates in its Facebook group and during lunch over the two most popular candidates: Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Senator Bernie Sanders. DuMont said club members have had discussions on the pros and cons of both candidates in recent meetings. Everyone has the opportunity to voice his/her opinions, which creates a collaborative environment.
“We are the future, and we will be the ones voting on our nation’s future leaders,” Chatwani said. “Therefore, it is important for young people to know what our future could look like based on today’s politics.”
In prior years, Young Democrats Club has supported Democrats running for political titles in Manhattan Beach through phone banking, calling residents to vote for someone particular for Manhattan Beach City Council. The club phone banked for former Manhattan Beach Mayor Amy Howorth when she ran for mayor of Manhattan Beach during last school year.
“Amy Howorth’s campaign taught me a lot about speaking off the cuff, working with people and being involved in local politics,” Chatwani said.
This year has been a rebuilding year for the Young Democrats, Dumont said. Last year, despite members’ activity in local politics, they met rarely due to a lack of organization. As a result, the club lost many of its members and did not gain any new ones. This year, DuMont hopes to grow from this by focusing less on events for the club and more on getting people interested in joining.
“We have over a dozen members and good attendance at our meetings and events outside of school,” DuMont said. “I feel like we’re going to have a solid group to organize interesting events next year.”
There is currently no Young Republicans Club on Costa’s campus because of its cancellation this past fall due to lack of participants. With presidential elections on the horizon, Young Democrats Club hopes that a new Young Republicans Club forms.
“There have been debates between the Young Republican and Democrat clubs on campus in the past, which is really cool,” Chatwani said. “Even though there is no Republican Club right now, I think it would be fun to have a debate between the two.”
The Young Democrats meet once a week on Mondays in room 48 during lunch to allow for political discussion between club members.
“Through the Young Democrats Club, I learned that people care about politics and current events,” DuMont said. “It has been inspiring to see how willing high schoolers are to stand up for their beliefs.”
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