Students in Politics
According to the scrapbooks of MWC of UVA Young Republicans and the Young Republicans of Mary Washington College, the two political clubs at Mary Washington were focused primarily on campaigning. The Young Republicans wrote letters, hosted speakers, and volunteered at headquarters of prominent politicians. The pages of their scrapbooks are soaked with enthusiasm and optimism for the future of the political atmosphere in America. This may be easily seen in Figure 4, a page from the Young Republicans of Mary Washington scrapbook. This page depicts a tree on campus covered by leaflets supporting candidates in the upcoming 1968 election. The Young Republicans flyer supporting President Nixon is clearly the largest and most elaborate. The handwritten caption reads, “YRs made sure their candidate got the biggest poster!” The Young Republicans were obviously very proud of their efforts campaigning for President Nixon.
Despite their zeal, there are few instances of the Young Republicans’ political objectives crossing over to other fields, like Home Economics or Civil Rights. Their single-minded zeal falls in line with the tendencies of campus movements of the day. Many politically motivated student groups separated their specific concerns and goals, rather than merging with other groups to form a cohesive whole.[1] Since student political activism was so fragmented on American campuses, some groups had difficulties reaching their objectives. However, this does not seem to be the case at Mary Washington. The drawing in Figure 2 portrays politician Mike French speaking to Mary Washington students in 1967. French was one of many politicians that the Young Republicans were able to reach out to and successfully bring to campus. The accomplishments of Mary Washington’s Young Republican groups was possibly due to the campus’s proximity to Washington, D.C., organization by the club’s leaders, and passionate activism of its members.
According to the scrapbooks of MWC of UVA Young Republicans and the Young Republicans of Mary Washington College, the two political clubs at Mary Washington were focused primarily on campaigning. The Young Republicans wrote letters, hosted speakers, and volunteered at headquarters of prominent politicians. The pages of their scrapbooks are soaked with enthusiasm and optimism for the future of the political atmosphere in America. This may be easily seen in Figure 4, a page from the Young Republicans of Mary Washington scrapbook. This page depicts a tree on campus covered by leaflets supporting candidates in the upcoming 1968 election. The Young Republicans flyer supporting President Nixon is clearly the largest and most elaborate. The handwritten caption reads, “YRs made sure their candidate got the biggest poster!” The Young Republicans were obviously very proud of their efforts campaigning for President Nixon.
Despite their zeal, there are few instances of the Young Republicans’ political objectives crossing over to other fields, like Home Economics or Civil Rights. Their single-minded zeal falls in line with the tendencies of campus movements of the day. Many politically motivated student groups separated their specific concerns and goals, rather than merging with other groups to form a cohesive whole.[1] Since student political activism was so fragmented on American campuses, some groups had difficulties reaching their objectives. However, this does not seem to be the case at Mary Washington. The drawing in Figure 2 portrays politician Mike French speaking to Mary Washington students in 1967. French was one of many politicians that the Young Republicans were able to reach out to and successfully bring to campus. The accomplishments of Mary Washington’s Young Republican groups was possibly due to the campus’s proximity to Washington, D.C., organization by the club’s leaders, and passionate activism of its members.