Whitman College’s Republican Club has been denied affiliation with the school with a 25:0 vote by its student government. The Equinox believes that the situation itself presents conflicting information, and that it sets the table for a bigger discussion about potential biases and the difference between a “right” and “wrong” decision.
Whitman Republican Club, a registered student group at Whitman, claimed that they had applied to affiliate with the college and were denied such because of “their views.” Whitman claims that a student organization or club cannot be denied recognition or funding unless it poses safety or liability risks to students. As it stands, it is unfair to paint republicans with a broad brush and label them all as a safety or liability risk if they have not done anything to prove that. Most organizations exist to get a community of people together that share similar views and mindsets and provide a space for them to connect and bond over a shared interest or ideology. If a democrats club has potential to exist on college campuses, it is unfair to say that a republicans club could not coexist on the same campus and function just as a democrats club can.
We are currently operating on the basis that they were denied because of their views, but we do not know what their views are. If we are solely focusing on general views, then to say a republicans club cannot be funded raises questions, but with so little transparency on what was said, the situation becomes clouded in a veil of uncertainty. There are mixed reports on what was said during the organization’s application and interview, and we do not currently know much beyond them reportedly being asked “probing ideological questions.”
If you take a step back and look at this with a wider lens, it becomes a debate on what is right and what is wrong in this scenario. If a republicans club is looking for the right to form and apply for affiliation, it should have the same opportunity that a democrats club or other organization would have to do the same. Unless they are actively posing a threat or creating an unsafe environment for other students, there is no real reason to say they cannot do the same things other organizations can, and it is unfair to assume that a republicans club would automatically be a safety risk or a liability to a college campus. If the club was denied by the student government because of the group’s viewpoints, what kind of viewpoints would make the negative vote unanimous? The Equinox believes that even in a place like Keene State, the chances of an absolutely unanimous decision on a topic like this would still be unlikely.
Any club or organization should have the right to have the same process of application as any other club on a college campus, given that it is not dangerous or exclusionary. One may argue that college sports have chances of being dangerous and harmful to students too, but when you factor in the knowledge that you have to sign consent forms for that, it looks very different than a group that might want to foster hate for others. It is a blurred line, and there are a lot of varying factors that make it difficult to come to a solid conclusion on Whitman’s situation.
The lack of information that has been produced by all sides impresses The Equinox’s largest concern; transparency.
The lack of transparency leaves a significant amount of latitude for assumptions; which is an evermore present problem in the current political climate. We do not know what was said in meetings behind closed doors, but we can assess that if it is strictly “viewpoints” that got this club denied affiliation with its school, perhaps a conversation about what these viewpoints actually are would help to paint a clearer picture. That clarity is what makes all the difference and, importantly, makes for a more fair judgement system in the already difficult politics surrounding higher education.
