CCLEFT: Balancing Conn’s Political Spectrum
By Holly Bawden, Staff Writer.
It is Ironic that we attend one of the best Liberal Arts schools in the country and the only political group on campus is The Connecticut College Republicans. This is by no means to criticize the organizations at this school, but merely an objective observation.
Daniel Meltzer, ’06, founded The Connecticut College Left Club to provide an equal representation of both political ends on campus. Students who tend to lean more toward Right Wing politics can unite with the Connecticut College Republicans, yet there was no group for students who tend to lean more toward the Left. The CC Left Club has grown in size with each meeting, starting with four students, and rising to about forty students within only the first several weeks. Meetings are held twice a week in KB Coffee Grounds, however, members are trying to up meetings to three times a week. Wednesdays are used for discussion and planning, while Fridays are used for workshops, such as the making of the Dan Flynn tee shirts.
When asked what the goal of the club was, Meltzer responded, “The purpose of the club is to unite everyone on campus who has leftist leanings, anyone from moderate to extreme liberals (anarchists, socialists, communists, or even moderate democrats and liberals, etc.) They’re all part of the same spectrum and should be able to meet together on a common ground and discuss their views.”
Along with spreading political awareness, the club is also working towards making Connecticut College an active counterpart in opposing human rights violations. The club is strongly urging for a “Sweat Free” student store, meaning none of the clothing items would come from sweat shops. This would be an incredibly positive step, as sweat shop labor is extremely inhumane; not only are sweat shop workers terribly overworked and underpaid, but also their working conditions are horrendous, and some of the workers are but five years old. Also, the club is working towards replacing the school’s use of regular Maxwell House Coffee with Green Mountain Coffee which is a branch of the Fair Trade Organization which implements more humane working conditions for its employees. CC Left is currently discussing weekly visits to local soup kitchens as well.
Another important aspect of the club is their Communal Library. Members work hard to keep each other informed; they are encouraged to bring books, articles, pamphlets, flyers from protests, or any other type of publication that they deem relevant to the club’s interests. These publications are placed on a table for whomever to borrow and return, so as to spread education and awareness. Previous authors whose works have been shared among the club include Al Franken, Michael Moore, Molly Ivins, and Barbara Ehrenreich, of Nickel and Dimmed.
When asked what changes he and the club would like to see, Meltzer replied, “I want this school to be a hotbed of political activism, with an environment that fosters outward expression of everyone’s different political views. It depends on you to create your own community, so everyone should get involved in something they feel passionately about.” Meltzer has attended every anti-war protest he was able to.
The club is an egalitarian group with no leaders; “It is an organization, with little formal organization at all,” Meltzer said. He then added, “I encourage everyone to attend a meeting, because we have a great time at these meetings. Politics is not as dry as some may think; it’s not a bunch of whining and complaining.” I attended one of the meetings myself, and Meltzer speaks the truth.