2008 Woodie Awards
CPLA busy fighting apathy among voters
Bill Dvorack
Issue date: 10/7/04 Section: News
The Communications, Politics and Law Association (CPLA), Emerson's only non-partisan political group, has committed itself to fighting voter apathy across campus during this year's presidential election season.
On Sept. 30, the organization hosted DebateWatch in the Little Building dining hall. Part of a national effort, the program drew over 100 students to watch and hold discussion on the foreign affairs debate between President George W. Bush and challenger Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass.
Aside from DebateWatch, CPLA is hosting a series of guest speaker nights, called Pizza and Politics.
The first speaker was former governor and 1988 presidential candidate, Micahel Dukakis, who visited yesterday afternoon in the Little Building.
Past speakers have included Massachusetts Gubernatorial Candidates Warren Tolman and Jill Stein, as well as Boston Mayor Thomas Menino.
"The goal of Pizza and Politics is to bring in speakers who have worked or currently work within the political arena and allow students to engage in a dialogue with them," said CPLA President and senior political communication major Kathryn Grosso. "We encourage all students to come to us with ideas for events and speakers."
The CPLA is also having "Movie with a Mission" night, co-sponsored by the Leadership through Service theme floor on Monday Nov. 1 at 9p.m. in the back of the dining hall. Grosso said CPLA members are hoping the film, Dying to Vote, will encourage all students to be active on Election Day.
A trip to Washington, DC for the upcoming presidential inauguration is planned as well.
About 14 students will be spending the week of the inauguration in the capitol, meeting with elected officials and taking part in the event.
While it may seem like such an involved political organization has always been present on the Emerson campus, it was only just revived in 2002, after a ten-year hiatus due to a loss of student interest.
"In 2002, Dr. J. Gregory Payne, a professor at Emerson, approached some students to see if we could revive the organization," Grosso said. "We started out with small events on a non-existent budget and over the past two years have become a fully funded Student Organization with a membership of just over 100 students."
For those Emerson students who do not want to participate in voting or even foster their own political beliefs, the CPLA could serve as a means to instill motivation in them.
"The CPLA is the only non-partisan political organization on campus," Grosso said. "Our goal is to raise the level of public debate at Emerson and to educate the students on what is going on around them. Our hope is that we can take students' political passion and turn it into action."
On Sept. 30, the organization hosted DebateWatch in the Little Building dining hall. Part of a national effort, the program drew over 100 students to watch and hold discussion on the foreign affairs debate between President George W. Bush and challenger Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass.
Aside from DebateWatch, CPLA is hosting a series of guest speaker nights, called Pizza and Politics.
The first speaker was former governor and 1988 presidential candidate, Micahel Dukakis, who visited yesterday afternoon in the Little Building.
Past speakers have included Massachusetts Gubernatorial Candidates Warren Tolman and Jill Stein, as well as Boston Mayor Thomas Menino.
"The goal of Pizza and Politics is to bring in speakers who have worked or currently work within the political arena and allow students to engage in a dialogue with them," said CPLA President and senior political communication major Kathryn Grosso. "We encourage all students to come to us with ideas for events and speakers."
The CPLA is also having "Movie with a Mission" night, co-sponsored by the Leadership through Service theme floor on Monday Nov. 1 at 9p.m. in the back of the dining hall. Grosso said CPLA members are hoping the film, Dying to Vote, will encourage all students to be active on Election Day.
A trip to Washington, DC for the upcoming presidential inauguration is planned as well.
About 14 students will be spending the week of the inauguration in the capitol, meeting with elected officials and taking part in the event.
While it may seem like such an involved political organization has always been present on the Emerson campus, it was only just revived in 2002, after a ten-year hiatus due to a loss of student interest.
"In 2002, Dr. J. Gregory Payne, a professor at Emerson, approached some students to see if we could revive the organization," Grosso said. "We started out with small events on a non-existent budget and over the past two years have become a fully funded Student Organization with a membership of just over 100 students."
For those Emerson students who do not want to participate in voting or even foster their own political beliefs, the CPLA could serve as a means to instill motivation in them.
"The CPLA is the only non-partisan political organization on campus," Grosso said. "Our goal is to raise the level of public debate at Emerson and to educate the students on what is going on around them. Our hope is that we can take students' political passion and turn it into action."