They gathered in front of the doors of C-200 — a group of gangly young men, fresh faced college kids, chatting and laughing while they held boxes of cookies in the crooks of their arms and waited for their faculty adviser to arrive.
This is the Central Lakes College chapter of the College Republicans, the youth wing of the GOP, which — while garnering relatively little publicity compared to the way Democratic candidate Bernie Sanders has galvanized youth voters — still represents a key part of the bigger picture. Namely, they’re a cornerstone of what the future of American democracy looks like.
These College Republicans describe CLC as a left-leaning institution, but while Democratic clubs on campus have largely struggled to gain a foothold at CLC in recent years, College Republicans have staunchly gathered on a weekly basis, month after month, year after year, banding together and working to promote their conservative beliefs.
The secret to the chapter’s longevity may be in the club itself, a tightly knit community of like-minded individuals who actively invite others to commune with them — whether that’s in a show of solidarity for other conservatives, enthusiastic promotion of their ideals to independents, or good faith discussions with their liberal peers. It’s about finding common ground, they told the Dispatch during a sit-down Wednesday, Feb. 19, even if that common ground is shared recreational interests or a simple love for debate.
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For Noah Hanson, the president of the CLC College Republicans, debates can weed out bad ideas and bad arguments, as well as make sense of a world flooded with mixed information that confuses conservatives, liberals and independents alike.
“My favorite thing about politics is, just for me, it’s being open about your opinions, and being able to discuss the opinions and, you know, maybe change other people’s ideas of what they believe,” Hanson said. “My ideas have been changed over the years. Especially over the last year, just learning more about different things and it’s fun to talk to people and get their opinions.”
“It’s just interesting for me to look at different candidates and see what their views are. And then see what they stand for and then debate other people,” said Colton Dutenkauf, a member of the the club. “That’s what I like. I like debating.”
Multiple members of the CLC College Republicans said they became involved after a chance meeting at a table set up in main CLC atrium, or through friendships with members in the past, but things have changed a great deal since 2016.
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Contrary to the caricature that’s often proliferated of combative red-hat-wearing Trump supporters, the CLC College Republicans said they’re interested in respectful conversations to hash out political differences — a goal that’s often accomplished with liberal classmates, but also a goal that can be intimidating during a time of strong opposition and vitriol against President Donald Trump.
CLC College Republicans pointed to a current climate where deep hostility, and even threats of violence directed at conservatives, are a very real possibility. Hanson said it is difficult at times to engage people of different beliefs if there’s a good chance it will lead to conflict.
“We’re all really nice people. We just want to talk to people,” Hanson said with a chuckle. “That’s kind of why we joined the group was we want to talk to people, but in today's climate, you do have to be careful about the people who you're around and you have to be aware of that because it can get dicey.”
For Hanson, a campaign rally for the president in the Twin Cities was an eye-opening experience that revealed some of the deep political schisms in American culture.
“I went to the Trump rally down in the (Twin) Cities and walking out of the Trump rally was pretty scary,” Hanson added later. “Luckily, we parked in the right place, but I saw pictures and videos and I saw some of the protesters through all the windows and stuff and I was like, ‘Holy crap. These guys really hate us for what our opinions are.’”
At the same time, the CLC College Republicans took pains to emphasize this doesn’t generalize the behavior of their more liberal peers, many of whom are “awesome,” “open minded,” and willing to discuss their ideas in a fair and congenial manner.
“People need to focus on more than the, ‘We're going to get angry and we're going to go to go hurt some Trump supporters,’ or vice versa, whatever it is,” Hanson said. “Instead it needs to be — ‘We're going to go hear each other's opinions and talk about it.’”
And — with the likes of young millennials and Gen Zers taking over the reins of power in the coming years — that’s a discussion that needs to happen, even if it’s uncomfortable and sometimes divisive.
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“I would say kids don't think they're as important as they are. … Especially for our generation. We’re kind of just stuck in the ‘We’re going to be young forever.’ Stupid stuff like that, you know?” Hanson said. “We’re going to be the next people that are going to be taking offices where people are handling these big issues.”
“If kids don’t start taking more political actions now, then what will our country look like in the next couple of years?” Hanson added. “I always say, I don't care what your opinion is … I just think that you should be actively involved in something that's political.”
GABRIEL LAGARDE may be reached at gabe.lagarde@brainerddispatch.com or 218-855-5859. Follow at www.twitter.com/glbrddispatch .
