One of the key reasons the Liberal Party of Canada invests so much time and energy into organizing on campus is that we have seen the writing on the wall; youth of today are a more engaged and active political group than the last several generations. We know that investing our time on campus, with populations that number anywhere between six thousand and sixty thousand, means beginning a relationship with students that will carry on from now until the next election. We held almost a hundred thousand conversations on campus during the 2015 election, all for the purpose of hearing what issues Canadian Youth feel strongly about.
The campus club branches of political parties are becoming an essential element of political organization; with the increasing numbers of youth between 18 and 24 participating in politics, (as many as 57.9% in 2015) increased attention is being paid to how university students organize themselves on campus. More political parties have realized that the current generation is both increasingly political, while becoming less partisan. The growing challenge has been to demonstrate to youth how their political aspirations and beliefs are reflected in partisan systems. Primarily, many students are issues driven; their primary organizing impetus is structured around a central political issue they feel passionately about. One common example found on nearly every campus is environmental activists, students that feel strongly about lobbying the government and other actors to craft policy that focuses on creating a greener future. The common issue for a political party in the face of such a narrow political focus is to show how the values that these student activists hold are reflected in a partisan context, and how we engage and broaden that focus to incorporate other issues. One way that we have attempted to appeal to issue-specific activists is by co-hosting events with other clubs on campus. By demonstrating to these clubs that we share the same values, environmental protection for example, we are then able to present ourselves to their membership and make our case for why we are the partisan group that is best able to deliver on their desires for environmental action. It also allows us to broaden our network and begin a conversation individually with these students that will continue throughout the semester, be it through email, phone calls, or other event invitations. The hope is that through continued conversation, interaction, and engagement, we will be able to identify other issues these students value, and demonstrate our commitment to being the best possible representative for those issues to our political party at large. Ultimately, the goal of our partisan campus clubs is twofold; to continue the movement of the Liberal Party of Canada on campus, and to increase our membership, and thus the amount of youth voices to give young people a chance to have a say in partisan politics. Peter McCauley, National Youth Organizer Liberal Party of Canada
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