Hallways at Baruch College are littered with bright flyers advertising anything from used textbooks for sale, French tutoring, and new clubs on campus. The rainbow of colors can be overwhelming with so many flyers vying for attention.
This semester, though, there is a noticeable change in the color scheme. Two new clubs are riding a wave of political conversation happening around the presidential election. Presidents of the Right Wings (Baruch’s Republicans club), and the Baruch College Democrats vie for attention every week at Baruch in hopes of gaining new members.
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Vincent Gangemi’s glasses hide a furrowed brow every time he listens for a question. He speaks confidently and eloquently, belying his status as a junior. A Macaulay Honors Scholar and native Staten Islander, Vincent was “born and raised right” in one of the more red districts in New York City. Growing up, he was surrounded by what he describes as RINOS (Republicans In Name Only) and “Hardcore Republicans.”
“That environment made me understand what it meant to be a Republican,” he says.
He’s well versed in conflict and testing ideas. For him, the party of “Lincoln and Reagan” is all about bringing the old ideals of their time to the new political landscape today and testing to see if they can work in the current political and cultural environment.
The Right Wings are in their first semester of being officially chartered by Baruch. Club members’ stances are all across the Republican spectrum and meetings typically consist of 20 people. In total the club’s membership is around 50–an impressive number for a new club on campus. Vincent started out as the club’s marketing director last year when the club first launched, and took the reins last summer when the previous president graduated.
Vincent wants to educate and inform the Baruch community about the Republican platform, inspire healthy debate, and increase political activism at Baruch. Noticing an increase in political activity at Baruch this election cycle, he wants to use it to help grow membership.
Events consist of presentations, debates, and breakdowns of political speeches. Every week, there’s a newsletter sent out to a large and growing mailing list, highlighting important events and volunteer opportunities, breaking down buzzwords, and reaching out to Baruch.
Familiar with young peoples’ political apathy towards politics, Vincent is trying to use the Right Wings to increase activism and knowledge at Baruch. Whether it’s at the local, state, or national level, everything counts. “We really just want to get people involved,” he says.
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Mia McDonald’s first foray into politics was in 2008 in her hometown of Houston, Texas. Her parents are liberals living in a famously conservative state and canvass the neighborhood, hoping to raise support for a senator from Chicago. Mia remembers her father telling her that the cause was extremely important, and that they had to get involved. Now a senior and a Public Affairs major, her love for politics hasn’t diminished.
Originally a Bernie supporter, she’s now “all in for Hillary.” For Mia, the social issues are the main focus of the election. With so many diverse students at CUNY, and so much talk about the LGBTQ community, immigrants, and people of color this election cycle, she hopes this will be a catalyst for change in the level of activism at Baruch.
“Especially when one of the candidates is talking about building a wall,” she says.
As a transfer student to Baruch College from St. John’s, Mia wanted to make an impact on Baruch in her last year. Shocked by the campus’ apathy for politics, she started the Baruch College Democrats (a chapter of a national organization under the DNC) around the same time The Right Wings were forming. Similarly to The Right Wings, Mia wants this club to focus around political advocacy. For her, it doesn’t make sense how apathetic students are.
“It’s important for CUNY to get involved because of the diversity of students, and because of CUNY politics,” she says.
After she graduates this spring, Mia wants to see the College Democrats flourish. At the moment, the College Democrats boast a similar membership size as The Right Wing, which she partly attributes to enthusiasm generated by the current political climate.
“People have strong opinions about this election,” she says.
She plans to harness that into a strong membership base to continue into the next few years that aren’t centered around a presidential election. Beyond that, she also wants students to realize the impact of local politics—especially for CUNY students.
“Local elections are important too,” she says. “Local politics may not be as sexy, but they have more of an impact on your life than the national elections do.”
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Vincent and Mia speak highly—albeit carefully—of each other. The two just met this semester as presidents and hope to work together to hold debates mirroring the presidential election. During Baruch’s Undergraduate Student Government event to register voters in September, the two clubs had tables next to each other. In October, the two clubs will faced off in a debate on campus (following the presidential debate the night before). The highlight event of the semester for both clubs, the presidents will continue to speak in a series of other events to continue the dialogue from the current political climate.
Looking at the election, it seems the two parties on campus should be at odds as polar opposites, but both are surprisingly similar in their goals. Vincent and Mia are shaping Baruch through political activism.