Healthcare. It was the first major policy initiative of the Barack Obama administration. It has been featured on newscasts, political talk shows, daily newspapers and so on. The astronomical numbers, the partisan catch-phrases, the fight for a solution—less than one year into his term as president, Obama has shifted the way Americans think, and has redefined our daily conversations.
But why would this matter to college students?
Saint Louis University has a new club, Political Round Table, which was recently founded to promote debate and discussion about a number of political issues. The above question—why would this matter to those on a college campus—was the first question posed to the new group by its first guest speaker, Mike Rozier, S.J.
“It affects every single one of us,” Rozier said. “You may never be a nurse, or never be a politician, but you can’t tell me you’ll never be sick, or that you’ll never need medicine, or that you’ll never need to see a doctor.”
The Political Round Table believes that healthcare is important to college-aged students. Club founders wanted to start an organization that not only would spur debate and discussion, but also serve as a learning and informational source for students and community members.
“A lot of college students get caught up in the college world on campus, and don’t really pay close attention to worldly issues,” said Maeve O’Connor, Political Round Table’s public relations officer.
O’Connor said the club will “help the average college student be more knowledgeable on issues in the world today.”
The idea that knowledge and education can be born from debate is a Jesuit concept, one that is embraced by leaders and members of Political Round Table.
“I was shocked when I got to SLU and realized there was no debate group of any kind,” said freshman Priya Sirohi, club founder and president. “The goal of the Political Round Table is to use debate as a healthy, regulated forum for opposing viewpoints to clash. That helps make the student more open-minded and more tolerant toward other viewpoints and other ideas,” Sirohi said.
Sirohi also hopes to reach out to the surrounding community in the St. Louis area; she plans to invite community leaders and local politicians to take part in round table discussions.
Sirohi runs the program almost entirely through Facebook. She posts an application that allows members to vote on what the topics of discussion will be, and when the next round table will take place.
“We have no idea what the topics for this year are going to be,” Sirohi told members at the first meeting. “That is totally up to you.”
As students walked into the Busch Student Center ballrooms, they signed in and expressed their views on the healthcare system. The group’s leaders and executive board then separated the individuals by opinion, making sure that each table in the room had a diverse representation of ideas. In fact, when one table appeared to be full of students who agreed, organizers asked some students to switch places, ensuring that the discussion would be productive and educational for everyone, and that the opinions would be balanced at every table.
Discussions were completely student-led. Each table had a volunteer “student moderator,” who ensured the respect of every student’s opinion at his or her table. The group also provided “cheat sheets” for every table, a pamphlet that included some crucial information, and a basic overview of the two major sides of the debate. Sirohi emphasized the educational aspect of the discussions.
Sophomore Caroline Seroka said she initially attended because she was “interested to hear what other people’s opinions were,” and plans to attend future round tables, regardless of the issue.
College Democrats Vice-President Thomas Bloom said “it’s a great way to understand other people’s perspectives,” and that he would like to see increased involvement from College Democrats and College Republicans.
“Overall, it’s important that we try to solve the problem of apathy,” said Matt Ryan, Political Round Table’s vice president. He understands that, regardless of the issue, discussion and debate leads to education and understanding.
“Our first meeting was a great success,” Sirohi said. “If you like politics, if you like debates, this is a group for you.”