The Young Republicans Club (GOC) is an organization at Green Hope that accommodates students who identify with the republican party and its values. It is a platform for young students to engage in political discussions and partake in political activism about policies or the political climate.
Dashel Lishok (‘27) formed the Young Republicans club with a mission to inform people on politics and educate people. In an interview with the GH Falcon, Lishok highlighted his reasons for making the club and the goals he hopes to achieve through it. “I feel like a lot of people only know what their parents say or what they see in mainstream media but it is usually biassed and sometimes untrue. My goal is to educate people and let them come to their own decisions on political topics,” he explained.
The club started off as an idea then Lishok and his vice president, Lars Smith (27), put it into action by going around the school and telling people about the club. They asked people to sign up for the club and even advertised through social media on their instagram page. They were able to get around 65 members to join the club with 30 attending most of their meetings.
In the club, Lishok gives presentations about different economic topics and the history of the republican party itself. He discusses what’s trending in the media and on the news – like the presidency and the policies both presidential candidates were introducing – and basically anything revelevent that relates to politics. He uses the club’s resources to educate people on current policies such as free markets and individual liberties in hopes to inspire members to participate in political processes such as voting, campaigning or volunteering. He said, “We’re almost at the voting age so I want people to make fully informed decisions when the time comes.” When asked what his future club plans included Lishok mentioned, “My plan for the club in the future is to have more open discussions and debates about policies but to do that we have to learn and actually understand the basics first,” Lishok said.
Lishok founded the club a few short months ago,but he was still very appreciative of the milestones they have reached as a team. “The sheer amount of people that come is a pretty big achievement for me. Educating that many people is an achievement for me because when we started, many people didn’t even know what a Republican was,” Lishok explained.
The GH Falcon sat down with a few of the members and asked what they thought about the club. One student, Alex Boss (‘28), mentioned, “I wanted to get more into politics and I really liked how even though the club is called the Young Republicans Club, it’s still open to everyone – democrats, independents and even people who don’t identify with a party.” He joined the club to learn how to debate and deal with politics in a proper way.
Another student, Toulay Kepri (‘28) said, “I knew the election was coming up and I wanted to get a better understanding and opinion on what was going on so I could make more informed decisions. The club helped her get a more in-depth understanding of politics.”
The Young Republicans club is a safe space for respectful discussion on political topics that encourage critical thinking, and open mindedness, to help members correctly articulate their thoughts in constructive ways.
The main purpose of this club is to teach its members that politics don’t need to be a taboo subject or discussed in heated, provocative ways. Lishok believes that this topic becomes more sensitive the more people avoid it. Partaking in numerous politically engaging activities and discussions in the club is how he plans to combat that.
