Paris Dennard speaks out during a dialogue in Elkins that followed the first presidential debate.

By Jennifer Muir

The crowd roared, and it wasn’t Midnight Madness.

The first presidential debate between George W. Bush and Al Gore created an ocean of fired-up students in Elkins Auditorium this fall - students who wanted answers to their needs, and who were divided over which candidate’s promises were more honorable.

At a school where dorm windows are usually plastered with names of pricey designers and sexy faces, the red, white, blue and green political signs that painted dorm road in October and November seemed oddly out of place. And the question that hard-core political activists are asking is whether these signs will create a new atmosphere at Pepperdine. Will there be an atmosphere filled with the questioning of values, with heated debates and with intelligent discussion? Or will the signs come down just like last week’s poster of the perfect Kate Spade purse?

There are three major political entities on campus, all of whom passed out campaign signs and organized events.

And even though the College Republicans, the Young Democrats and the Green Party have been active on campus for some time, the year our country undecidedly decided who would be the next president proved a growing and strengthening time for each group.

The College Republicans, although usually small, has been the largest political group on campus for years. The school’s conservative views attract students with similar political beliefs. This year, however, the group has been even more visible. The group’s advisor, Communication Professor Rick Rowland ,and its president organized a pre-election lecture by actor and Pepperdine School of Law professor Ben Stein.

“I am very excited about the response the student body is having to politics this year,” said the former president of College Republicans, Paris Dennard.

Stein spoke about hard-hitting issues, such as abortion and social security, to a crowd who responded with educated political commentary and questions, something that came as a surprise to some Pepperdine students.

“I think all of American society had a heightened awareness of political activism during this election, and Pepperdine was just a mere reflection of that,” said Heidi von Tongeln, a non-partisan Pepperdine junior.

Yet, like its competing groups, the College Republicans have actively campaigned this semester to recruit politically apathetic students like von Tongeln.

“Almost every week, Republicans here put up signs around the community and volunteer with local people who are running for office,” Dennard said. “We also did a dorm run and gave out Bush and Cheney posters to students who wanted them.”

Democrats have tackled this year’s election with the same fervor. Writing editorials for the Graphic and actively recruiting new members on campus, Young Democrats president Dustin Rynders has done everything in his power to recruit strong Democratic support on campus.

“The Young Democrats offer a liberal perspective to be expressed in what is normally a conservative university,” said Jeff Bale, vice president of the Young Democrats. “The club allows students to get involved in politics and voice their opinions. 

“One thing that I think sets the Young Democrats apart from some other clubs is how we run the club.  Everyone is invited to set up activities, write editorials on our web page, speak at meetings, and play a part in the foundation of the club.”

Being able to rally around a local Democrat running for office has also helped contribute to the group’s strength. The advisor to the group, Dr. Michael Jordan, won a seat on the Santa Monica-Malibu Unified School Board this year, and many of the club’s campaign events centered on precinct walks and campaign promotion for Jordan.

Though small, the Green Party has gained a strong, feisty political voice on campus this semester. During the post-debate dialogue with Pepperdine professors after the first presidential debate, proponents for the Green Party stated their beliefs to part of the student body for the first time.

The party, which supports presidential candidate Ralph Nader, boasts that it doesn’t vote for the lesser of two evils.

“I am sure the Green Party on campus is lesser in numbers than the Republican and Democrat clubs,” said Janetta King, a political science major and advocate of the Green Party. “But the Green Party members are passionate and informed and educated enough to see that having a choice between only two very moderate candidates and two very moderate parties is not a true democracy.”

And although the party’s support is relatively small on campus, students are joining this party, which is an offshoot of the socialist European Federation of Green Parties, and ardently fighting to stop bi-partisanism.

According to a student who proudly wore Green Party advertising to the first presidential debate, the students in support of the party want to know what the next president is going to do to affect college students now.

Surrounding the presidential elections were high-profile events and speakers aimed at getting students more politically involved, such as the showing of the first presidential debate in Elkins Auditorium and a mock presidential debate between Dr. Doug Kmiec, a Republican and School of Law professor, and Democrat Dr. Dan Caldwell, a political science professor.

“I am very impressed with the activity, articulateness and willingness to speak with energy while respecting the political differences on campus right now,” said acting Provost Nancy Magnuson, who facilitated the debate between the two professors. “It feels like a trend that is growing. Energy grows as people try it out and get drawn into it.”

Yet not all students believe that the tides of political activism will rip so strongly through Pepperdine’s moderate way of life.

“Unfortunately, I cannot place my fellow students in a higher level of understanding of politics than the population at large,” said von Tongeln.

And although the Green Party proponents believe that “a vote for Nader is a vote for Nader,” and not for George W. Bush, some still believe that the fervor the group carries now will soon dwindle.

“The hype on campus comes around every 4 years, and 50 percent of America goes to the polls,” King said. “At next year’s state and local elections, it’ll be back down to 25 to 30 percent. Most people will return to their normal lives and be content living ignorantly and uninformed. I believe Pepperdine students will do the same.”

Bale agrees, but hopes for some solutions.

“The majority of the student body is not properly informed in political affairs,” he said. “I think involvement and action on the political scale here at Pepperdine is significantly lower than some other colleges and universities on the West Coast.

“I would like to see an increase in free speech on campus, which I think would fuel a more active participation in politics,” Bale said.

Dennard, however, maintains a positive outlook for the preservation of Republican activism on campus.

“I think Republicans’ concern for what is going on politically will continue because the ideals do have to live on,” he said. “No matter which administration there is, if the things you are passionate about aren’t changed, you have a voice, and I believe Pepperdine students will use theirs.”

And although it is uncertain if the new heightened awareness on campus is here to stay or if it is only a trend, the university has the potential to maintain its activism.

Dr. David Baird, Dean of Seaver College, sponsors the “Dean’s Forum” lectures to help the university get in the habit of coming together to hear speakers address special areas of interest.

If students continue to show as much interest in such intellectual, community-building events as they have this fall, political activism could well become a new defining force at Pepperdine.