SU students launch Democratic club after decade-long absence
- Staff Writer
- 9 minutes ago
- 5 min read
Tucked away on the third floor, students, faculty and even a young child crowded around the tables placed throughout the classroom.
Caroline Dagnes stood at the front of the room, backed by four members of her executive board.
“I know we are all here because we’re upset, frustrated, confused or angry,” she said.
All eyes focused on her, some attendees nodding and frowning. The following silence was filled with expectations and hope for answers.
“But here’s what we can actually do about this situation.”
Salisbury University has had a Republican club with an established presence for the past three years. However, there has not been a democratic club on campus for at least 10 years.
Dagnes, a junior political science major with a conflict analysis dispute resolution minor, is the president and founder of the Salisbury College Democrats club, formed last semester. Although her involvement on campus extends to multiple other clubs, her investment in the College Democrats is larger due to her position as founder.
“I always like to say that my day revolves around the college Democrats because that's just, like, what my main focus is 24/7,” Dagnes said.
The Salisbury Democrats’ main goal is to give the student body a safe space to explore and discuss their political values and current political events. The College Democrats host weekly meetings focused on providing open discussions on local, national and international news, and have approximately 25-30 members at each meeting, according to Secretary Cali Cox-Franklin.
“I had, like, the only way I could describe it is this fire,” Dagnes said. “I felt like I would go home and call my mom and be like…I know I can't be the only person feeling this way, and I think there needs to be a space for so many other people's voices to be heard, that like, there needs to be that sense of community.”
Dagnes has worked with the greater Salisbury population through the College Democrats’ partnership with the Wicomico County Democrats, who serve as mentors or “grandparents” to the student-run club. Additionally, Dagnes is coordinating future collaborative events with other student-run organizations on campus, such as Project K.I.S.S. and FLARE.
Planning these events requires a strong foundation. Dagnes already knew exactly who she had in mind for her executive board when she was first forming the club, according to member Ava Mumbauer.
“Caroline is a force of nature when she puts her mind to something,” Chief of Staff Steven Lumpkins said. “She’ll get something going and she has the contacts to get something up and off the ground very fast and to make it prominent in a short period of time.”
This foundation extends beyond the Salisbury Democrats’ executive board; Dagnes’ rapport is recognized and continued with the club’s members.
“By creating this, like, support group around her, she has all these different opinions that she can look to for what to do, but she's also just a really strong leader, and she's someone who just like, gets you excited every day,” Mumbauer said. “She is a great leader and a great listener and a great communicator.
And with all of those features, there's no wonder why she has created the club that she has.”
It's just really thrilling, and it's very surreal to have people to want to work with you,” Dagnes said. “Like, it's I'm so honored and, like, just from starting this club to having the most amazing exec team to having the most amazing members, to having the most amazing, like, support, it's just, it's so surreal.”
The Salisbury Democrats affect more than just its members and collaborators. The whole student body is impacted upon seeing the College Democrats’ events, whether they identify as a democrat or not, because they are shown a safe environment to explore politics.
“Our advisor, Rob LaChance, he says it beautifully, that ‘once you start talking about values, that's when you get to common ground—whenever you talk about labels, you're not gonna get anywhere,’” Dagnes said. “I just love sharing similar values and being able to talk and have open discussion, kind of safe space.”
The founding of the Salisbury Democrats has not come without some difficulties. The main obstacle Dagnes has faced has been figuring out how to communicate with all parties she interacts with.
This challenge is not unique to the College Democrats, as many new clubs must figure out how to collaborate with the community, other clubs or organizations and any external person or party.
“Like, trying to navigate that is definitely new, and some would view it as a struggle, but I view it as … something that I get to learn,” Dagnes said.
With previous iterations of the Salisbury Democrats club being founded and disbanded, communication to the community is especially important.
“We’re trying to become more prominent on campus,” Lumpkins said. We’re not just trying to be one of those clubs that pops up and dies a semester or two later, so the biggest challenge has been to explain that to others.”
Additionally, the nuances related to being a political club on campus requires the Salisbury Democrats to be even more aware of what is occurring is the world and how they must act to continue to provide a safe and open space for students.
“Being a political club in this political climate, it just, it comes with the territory and where we're figuring out how to navigate what's going on and how it applies to us,” Mumbauer said. “It's not a challenge in, like, a bad way, but it's like … it's something for us to like overcome and like figure it out.”
Having both political parties represented on a college campus does more than impact students during their time at Salisbury University; it allows these students to figure out where their values lie during their formative years.
“I think politics is really important and knowing kind of what's going on with the world and having a good grasp of politics means that you have a good grasp of people around you,” Dagnes said. “You're not just thinking about you…you're not just thinking about one thing.”
“It helps them explore their options and pick what’s best for them for their values,” Lumpkins said. “It allows for respectful but disagreeing points of view to be expressed on issues that are important to everyone.”
The Salisbury Democrats allow college students to build their political community while they are in college to enable them to enter their “adult” lives surrounded by likeminded and politically engaged individuals.
“It's empowering … for all of us to be able to come together and have these different opinions but the same values and we want the same for everyone,” Mumbauer said. “The community sense is so strong.”
“We are very, very proud to be a Salisbury College Democrat,” Dagnes said.
By MANDY SANIDAD
Staff Writer