The Young Republicans and Young Democrats clubs existed at Deerfield Academy since before the school was co-ed. Despite their extensive legacy, the clubs are less well known in the Deerfield community than they have been in years prior.
The clubs have been productive during earlier periods in their existence. Both Science Teacher Rich Calhoun, advisor to both the Young Democrats and Young Republicans Clubs for over a decade, and English Teacher Mark Scandling, recall that the Young Democrats were especially active during Presidential Election years. Many of their club events were focused on political nonpartisanship, such as providing a way for students of voting age to cast their ballots. “[The Young Democrats and Republicans] have always done a good job of making sure that their efforts were nonpartisan,” Calhoun stated. “Even if it was the Young Democrats who set up the voter registration table like they did, they were really conscientious of making sure it was open and welcoming to everybody who wanted to register to vote.”
The Young Democrats and Republicans have also co-hosted many open table discussions and opportunities for students to share their opinions and learn from each other. Meetings acted as a place to meet and talk about current events, issues, or policies. Among all the events the political clubs hosted, the most prominent ones were discussions, both productive and less productive. “Things have gone well when we have had open dialogue events following or conversations following national or international events,” Mr. Calhoun said, specifically describing chats in the Greer. He also mentioned a few instances where conversations were less successful. One example of one of these events is a student-led discussion about political issues called Change My Mind that happened on April 29, 2018.
In a Scroll article published on May 23, 2018, “Change My Mind” Sparks Bipartisan Dialogue, Sara Jung ‘20 wrote about the students’ perspectives on the fruitfulness of the discussion which was about a multitude of political issues pertaining to the United States such as gun control. While some students found that the discussion broadened their horizons and changed their views on certain facets of politics, others felt that everyone was just stating their opinions repeatedly instead of listening to each other.
Although some students felt that meaningful dialogue was lacking during these discussions, the presence of political engagement at Deerfield remains significant. It is a common misconception that the political clubs have been fading out after the COVID-19 pandemic. Mr. Calhoun highlights how they are still active under the names of Young Progressives and Young Conservatives, just not in an apparent way. “I think students now are talking about it in different ways… I don’t think either group wanted to go to the extremes. I think this generation is questioning and pushing against what they view are labels being placed. The partisan labels,” he said, expressing his belief that the clubs are active, just in unconventional ways. Neither club wanted to base their identities too heavily on political groups they were aligned with, trying to avoid any hostility and instead approached cross club interaction as an opportunity for learning. “I think there is a shift towards the idea of wanting to be independent,” said Mr. Calhoun. “You know, they weren’t happy with a thing called Democrats, so they just called themselves something different, and it helped kind of shape their conversations. “ Calhoun refers to how the Young Democrats switched over to calling themselves the Young Progressives and how the Young Republicans switched over to calling themselves the Young Conservatives a few years ago, demonstrating their willingness to pave their own paths.
The Young Republicans used to sell sweatshirts, which were quite popular around campus. These sweatshirts would have right leaning words and symbols on them, such as the words “Deerfield Young Republicans,” or an elephant, the animal identified with the Republican party in American politics. Because of these sweatshirts, right leaning students were able to visually identify others that were on the same side of the political spectrum as themselves, creating a small community within the Deerfield student body.
It is unknown who founded either of the Deerfield political clubs or when they were founded. However, in the 1980s, the Young Republicans were a lot more active than the Young Democrats. Mr. Scandling thought that neither club had a great influence on the greater Deerfield community, stating, “the Republican Club was seemingly more active, but in the way Deerfield clubs are, which is lots of announcements, but maybe not over the action.” He notes that while the club was active, it didn’t accomplish anything material. Mr. Calhoun stated, “Neither group has really been that active for that sustained time to create culture around partisan clubs,” his observation in accord with Mr. Scandlings.
While Mr. Scandling has observed that the political activity on campus is generally affected by the political condition of America, Mr. Calhoun offers a different perspective. He shared his opinion on the activity of the political clubs, saying that, “We do live in a little bit of a bubble, and so when the spark comes from within, you get interest, but when there isn’t that internal kind of leadership, it doesn’t happen.” While currently, there isn’t a leader for either the Young Democrats or the Young Republicans, resulting in the clubs being inactive for the time being, it is possible that the clubs will experience a revival in the years to come.
