Don’t Lose Momentum

Michael Reer — Thu, 18 Sep 2008 21:33:24 +0000

As a person who has spent a fair amount of time around conservative organizations, I have witnessed firsthand the expected up-tick in political interest that the presidential election has brought to the campus community. On Boston College’s “activities day,” the College Republicans signed up a few hundred new members to its organization while selling over 90 ugly, yellow t-shirts sporting a raging elephant. The Observer at Boston College, meanwhile, also signed up a record number of freshmen, leaving editors to wonder how they will accommodate all of the new writers. There is no doubt that the election has breathed fresh air into the conservative community, giving birth to a younger generation willing to do anything to put McCain over the top in November.
Understandably, conservative leaders across the country have placed an emphasis on the present. They should be careful, however, not to allocate all of their resources in the first semester simply because the election falls in November. This would be falling into an age-old trap where these organizations sacrifice everything to succeed in the immediate present. I argue that the second semester promises greater rewards than the first. Conservative organizations, with more members than ever, should be concerned about the “staying power” of their membership. College students will undoubtedly stick around until the election, but once McCain rides off into the sunset what will these organizations do to keep students coming back? For this reason, it becomes critically important to start planning your second semester now. If you can keep students interested for the entire year, not just the first semester, you greatly increase the probability that they will subscribe to the conservative movement and conservative activism for the rest of their college careers. This is an opportunity that only comes once every four years. If we can harness the energy of this election cycle and keep it for the foreseeable future, conservatives on campus will be more powerful than ever before.

CAMPUS » Election 2008

Don’t Lose Momentum