By: Amanda Valentine | Editor-in-Chief
As election day is coming up at full-speed, I was welcomed by SRU’s College Democrats club for an interview. Co-Presidents Leila Balady- a senior philosophy and political science double major- and Alex Kenney- a junior American history major and double minor in political science and philosophy- kindly discussed with me their club, their thoughts on the election, and the future of the democratic party.
Below is a lightly edited interview with Balady and Kenney.
Disclaimer: This interview was conducted by Amanda Valentine, ’22, and does not reflect the views of the Mosaic Newspaper
How long have you guys had this club? What inspired you to create it? What motivates each of you?
Leila: Kyra [Dezjot, ‘21] created it. I’m actually a transfer to Salve. I was in a really terrible car accident that took me out of school for two years right after Donald Trump got into office. I had already been in politics, but when you’re on bedrest, and not in school, you have a little bit too much time. So I got back to Salve after just being so frustrated and feeling so helpless. And I immediately was like, “there has to be some sort of political organization on campus.” And I realized there really wasn’t other than Kyra’s fledgling organization that she had just started and was trying to get up and running. This was January 2019; I believe they started it in October or November 2018. So right before spring semester of 2019, I just threw myself in and Kyra was very, very open and welcoming. I really credit Kyra with starting and creating a campus presence. And Alex was there at the beginning as well.
My one perspective was just feeling like an outsider in the Salve community. I was like, “how can we take this a little bit beyond Salve?” and I was the one who got us affiliated with this national organization of College Democrats. I think those two steps at the beginning- Kyra getting us started on campus and having us begin a presence, and then getting us affiliated with a larger group that kind of keeps us honest, and keeps us involved in so many things that we can’t really dissipate- has been really, really vital. And we’ve just been growing nonstop. We’re lucky and excited.
Alex: My freshman year, I was on SGA and I served as a senator for SORC [Student Organization Recognition Committee], which approves the clubs on campus. I was on the hearing that approved College Dems, and I watched Kyra, and Madison and Ryan come in and propose College Democrats. And I was like, “This is amazing. I cannot wait to join.” So that’s how I found out about it: I actually got to approve the club itself.
We had a really small group my freshman year, and just being able to see it grow… we kind of just work together as a team; we have such a great e-board- everyone’s super supportive of each other. We’re constantly texting each other about current events, and it just keeps us so motivated to go out there and do something.
What are your some of your core goals and values for the club? What do you hope to accomplish?
Leila: I think right now the most important thing is getting people to vote on November 3, or before. This semester, we’ve scaled up efforts. We had our voter registration drive with SGA and CAB, and we’ve been continuously trying to get out the vote effort and get more people registered, working with the library to make sure we collect and send out absentee ballots. But generally, what I hope for, at least on a macro level, is that we create a pipeline of leadership, where young people can really step into their power. So many kids, people that I speak to, do not feel like they should get involved in politics, because they think they don’t know enough. And so their opinion doesn’t matter. And you’ll never change that unless you start learning and getting involved. And it can be really scary and really overwhelming. My goal is to tell people, “they’ve made it like that so that you don’t participate so that you get frustrated, you get shut down. You need to step up, claim your power.” We want to get integrated in the community and make sure that students continue to utilize their political power outside of election years.
Alex: We actually did a partnership with the Newport DNC. We had volunteers and partnered with the Office of Community Service. And we passed out masks to people on the Cliff Walk in downtown Newport, which is really cool. We want to connect with our local community. But we want to make sure people have a spot with open arms: you can come here and we can just have an open discussion about politics, and you can make change and that voice not only matters, but it’s vital and integral to the process, and you need it for democracy. We say that all the time: democracy doesn’t work, the Republic will not be sustainable, if you do not vote.
Leila: And if you’re not at the table, you’re on the menu!
You work closely with the community- do you have plans once you graduate?
Alex: I will be going to law school; I want to go work on the border and help with immigration rights. Because I think everyone deserves a chance to make an American dream. So that’s my goal after graduation, hopefully do something around the mercy mission and show that mercy has no borders.
Leia: Yeah, I also want to be a lawyer. I am currently enrolled in the combined master’s program. I think that once I finish that up in 2022, I’m going to take a little bit of time and probably work in the political sphere, whether being on a campaign or anything like that with a nonprofit. And then I want to go to law school, and like Alex- not necessarily at the border- but I’d love to be an ACLU lawyer. That’s my eventual long-term dream.
Do you feel like SRU dams like bases a lot of their goals on the mercy mission and shares a lot of goals with the university?
Leila: Oh, yeah. I think even if you just look at Catherine McAuley, and all of her Sisters of Mercy and their goals. Non-violence. Immigration. Environment, women’s rights, that stuff that aligns perfectly with our political party. So that’s really cool.
You guys have been closely following the election, because that’s very important. What are you most concerned with right now? In the upcoming weeks, what are you hoping to see from either party?
Leila: My expectations are that from where I’m sitting right now, I don’t forget 2016. From where I’m sitting right now, it seems pretty inevitable that Joe Biden will win this election- *knocks on wood*- in spite of everything, and that the President will not allow it. And that he will fearmonger, he will divide. If he’s going down, he will take them down with him. And I would like for the Democrats to not give an inch of room, not to try to unite when there’s so much division. If you go to the 2000 election, Al Gore fully won the popular vote and the Electoral College- he should have been president, but because he had already conceded, and George Bush already said he had won, the Democrats said, “Oh, it’s just too crazy. It’s too much for the country. Let’s just let George W. Bush be President.” We’re not doing that. And I will not stand for that: I will get in the streets, because this country will go down with Trump if he is re-elected. And I firmly believe that. And there are tons of national security advisors with much more credentials than I have who believe that and will say that.
Alex: I just hope that the Democratic Party transitions with the people that are in it. The Green New Deal, we have AOC and Bernie, and all of these amazing people that are uniting the young base. I just hope, once we have a moderate candidate- Joe Biden- in office, he takes some of those ideas; he supports the green New Deal, he supports renewable energy and things like that. So that’s kind of what my hope is for the Democratic Party: it evolves while its followers are evolving.
Alex: Kamela said he was pro-fracking. And they made this huge debate about fracking, which just shouldn’t be a debate.
Leila: Yeah, he’s absolutely pro-fracking. We really need to evolve. And does he care? I’m not saying he doesn’t. But these people, do they care about their children and grandchildren? Like we need the adults to step up and be the adults in the room because they’ve let this go on- since the 70s, we had the science.
Alex: We need medicare-for-all from this big pandemic. I don’t know how we get there right away. But that’s how it seems to me. Everything across the board, we need to progress.
Do you feel like Joe Biden and his administration- because they’re kind of like centrist leaning- do you think that they could be pushed more progressively? Or do you think that’s kind of a dead end?
Alex: I hope once he’s in office, He will adjust. I think right now is, usually with primary elections, you go more moderate, and then after you’re elected, you do what you need to do. My hope is that once he’s in office, his cabinet will show how progressive he will be.
Leila: Yeah, I think there are a lot of things that are imagery in politics, especially when there was such a big primary fight. I think Joe Biden carved himself into this moderate lane. I don’t think Joe Biden is very ideological. And I almost think that’s kind of the best candidate you can have. Because if he believes that what the people want, and what’s best for the people, is the Green New Deal, he’ll put that in; he doesn’t have an ideological bent against that. I think it’s our job to make Joe Biden implement these policies. Because I don’t know if you know about The Sunrise Movement, but they have become one of the most formidable forces ever seen in politics. It’s like the NRA.
Alex: It’s a grassroots campaign.
Leila: And they’re not going away. And it’s young people, and we’re fired up. And if you don’t do what we’re telling you needs to be done, and what the science is telling you needs to be done- you don’t do that, we’re voting you out. And you should be scared now. And I think that they are. I do think there’s room to grow. I don’t know if you watched the debate last night, but Kamala Harris, she was the most liberal senator in the Senate. don’t think she’s moderate. And I don’t think that Joe Biden is ideological. I think throughout his career, the most popular position was to be moderate. And so that’s who he was. He wants to work for the people.
Alex: He’s going to be the most progressive candidate or a Democratic nominee in office for current day politics. If he gets in. He’ll more progressive than Obama, which people don’t seem to understand.
Leila: He’ll be more progressive than FDR. Bernie Sanders said he will be the most progressive president in history.
Have you had a good turnout with the club this year?
Yes! We hope it keeps up.
Thank you for spending some time with me you guys! 26 days until the election.
Have a good one! Stay safe, stay healthy.
