Fordham’s political clubs have plans for more discourse in the coming year. (Courtesy of Benjamin Shull)

By Katie Meyer

At the College Democrats’ first meeting last year, one of the club’s new members was curious about the College Democrats’ relationship with the College Republicans.

“Do you guys even like, talk?”, the student asked.

That was the first meeting for which Mike Billotti, GSB ’15, was sitting president. He still remembers that question, and a full year later, he continues to have trouble convincing people that he actually gets along well with the College Republicans.

“Everyone thinks that we hate each other for some reason…I think people are going to have that perception regardless, because of what they see in the media,” Billotti, who is still president of the College Democrats, said. “But at the same time, if people still do see us in that way, it doesn’t really affect who we are. If they care enough to actually come out for one of our events, they’ll realize that’s not how the picture actually is.”

That is the goal, anyway. Billotti and Ben Shull, FCRH ‘16, the College Republicans’ president, have made it a point this year to put together more events that give members from both clubs and those with various political opinions a chance to express their ideas openly and publicly.

“At the end of the day, you want a good political discourse, you want to hear the intelligent liberal argument and you want to hear the intelligent conservative argument,” Shull said. “If both clubs are interacting…that’s how you create this discourse.”

Both Billotti and Shull are quick to say that this goal is nothing new — past administrations have always, for the most part, encouraged the kind of respectful discourse that this year’s political clubs want. But this year in particular, they seem primed for a kind of communication that is rare between opposing partisan groups.

Both presidents agree that the Fordham Political Review, a political journal that was revitalized on Fordham’s campus last year, played a significant role in the renewed interaction between the two clubs. Shull has served as the Review’s Editor-in-Chief since last year, and Billotti has written articles for the publication. Many members of their clubs have become involved in various capacities as well.

“I think the Fordham Political Review helped a lot,” Shull said. “We have members of both College Republicans and College Democrats write for us, we’ve had socials, and after a while, if you’re politically motivated, whether liberal or conservative, you’re going to come to know each other eventually on campus. You’re going to make those friendships that make you want to have a close relationship between both clubs.”

These relationships, as well as Billotti and Shull’s increased familiarity with navigating the ins and outs of Office of Student Leadership and Development, have enabled them to hold more events for both clubs.

“Now that we’ve both been E-board members for the past two years, we’re in a position where we can make more co-sponsored debate happen,” Billotti said. “We’ve stated a lot of times before that our main goal is just making sure that people hear the message that each of our clubs has…we now understand how to go about creating these events, these open spaces for ideas to be thrown back and forth.”

In years past, the events that enabled this friendly debate were primarily one-on-one, moderated debates that covered one subject at a time. While this format will return this year, there may be some revision.

Currently, they are looking to change the format from what Billotti called “mudslinging events,” where there are rampant conflicting facts, to a panel discussion format where two speakers from each side will debate a specific issue. They are also considering meeting beforehand to hash out key facts so that there are not as many discrepancies as there have been in past debates. Billoti said that this will hopefully increase accountability. They are also interested in clearing audience questions before the event to raise the quality and relevancy of the topics that audience members bring up.

In addition to the debates, dialogues, panel discussions and even general social events are all on the table. In particular, Billotti and Shull are making tentative plans to have a panel discussion sponsored by the Political Review.

These plans likely will not come to pass until at least November, because both groups have busy schedules in October. College Republicans, according to Shull, will have two speakers come to campus in the near future, though their names will not be released until Thursday. The Democrats will be hosting blogger, columnist and journalist Ezra Klein, who has worked for The Washington Post, and currently contributes to Bloomberg News and MSNBC.

Despite all of their collaboration and shared opinions, the club leaders have still maintained their own distinct philosophies.

“We definitely have our opinions about what’s right. We definitely disagree strongly on fundamental questions,” Shull said. “But, if you’re not going to listen to the other side, or even consider the possibility that your views could be challenged, then why are you doing it?”

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Katie Meyer is the News Editor for The Fordham Ram.