Let's talk politics

Issue date: 11/28/07 Section: Mixed Plate

In almost every college guide that's published, the University of Hawai‘i is denounced for its apathetic political atmosphere. Although that image has improved slightly in recent years, UH Mānoa is still viewed as an obstinately apolitical institution by local and national critics of higher education. Fortunately, an intrepid group of students is seeking to alter public opinion by engaging the student body in provocative political conversation.

Organized by undergraduates concerned with combating their classmates' indifference, UH Mānoa's newly-created Political Discussion Group provides students with an open-minded forum for exploring the intersection of politics and everyday life. According to PDG president and founding member Hilary Chen, the group's primary objective is to foster an extracurricular consideration of political issues across campus.

"I started PDG so that students could get together to talk politics," Chen said. "It gives us the opportunity to explore issues that are relevant and important to students without having to be judged and graded for it."

A political activist since high school, Chen understands the importance of vocalizing one's convictions and cites her protest experience as a continuing source of inspiration. Recounting her participation in San Francisco demonstrations, Chen says, "I was totally absorbed in what I was doing - marching, shouting, waving my sign, and watching for the riot cops."

"Everyone around me was a student, all heading toward city hall," she continues. "It was then that I realized how important and powerful students can be."

While many of PDG's members share Chen's enthusiasm for challenging the status quo, a revolutionary mentality isn't required for membership. In actuality, the group rejects ideological classifications in favor of friendly, dynamic dialogue that anyone can enter into at anytime. All beliefs are welcome at PDG, and all perspectives are recognized as equally valid and worthy of articulation.

Group meetings are typically organized around a central theme, such as the Iraq War or globalization. Mixing informational guest lectures with energetic exchanges between students, these gatherings serve as PDG's primary vehicle for promoting social awareness, and provide attendees with what Chen calls a "reliable, funky fresh, safe place for earnest political discourse."

PDG also encourages the establishment of single-issue task forces, which are open to both members and non-members alike. Called "working groups," these committees allow interested students to receive logistical and financial support for collective projects and political activism.

"One of PDG's goals is to get people to appreciate the omnipresence of politics," says PDG vice-president Trish Casper, "and the working groups give people the opportunity to get involved in the political processes that affect their daily lives."

Official meetings and working groups are only a part of PDG's ambitious agenda, which, despite being one of the youngest registered independent organizations on campus, includes the coordination of a campus political fair showcasing the campaigns of presidential candidates, as well as the convocation of a guest lecture by Hawai‘i Senate President Colleen Hanabusa. Both events are scheduled to take place in late November (for more information, visit the club's Web site at http://www.manoapdg.com).

Hoping to expand throughout the semester, the group plans to address topics of interest to students from multiple departments, effectively dissolving the academic disjunctures that constrain political interrogation. Maintaining an interdisciplinary focus in important to PDG's founders, who don't believe that politics should stop at the Social Sciences building's edge. If members can successfully catalyze the level of interaction to which they aspire, they might inject a potent shot of acuity into campus life.

They may also pose a formidable response to those who erroneously condemn UH's political naiveté.

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