Groups on campus with different ideologies will come together to create a discussion about political issues.
Ohio University College Democrats, OU College Republicans and the LGBT Center is hosting Pizza and Politics to create a dialogue Thursday at 6 p.m. in Walter Rotunda. The event is free for everyone, and there will also be free pizza.
“The point of (the event) is to establish a dialogue and a safe space,” Aspen Wilson, a senior studying field ecology, said. Wilson works in the LGBT Center.
The event will bring together people with differing opinions and ideas to help create a discussion about issues on all scales, from local to national to international.
“College Democrats want to engage with the College Republicans a lot more,” Nicholas Felt, a member of OU College Democrats, said in an email. “We want to be able to stand out as a community and university by being able to have good relations with our counterparts.”
Felt, a senior studying political science and the recording industry, hopes the conversation will focus more on philosophies rather than who was the better political candidate in the previous election.
“There is no doubt in my mind that the Trump Administration has perpetuated hateful policies and beliefs, but I hope to see this event focus more on ideology — substantive conversation that will transcend the current administration,” Felt said in an email.
The president of the OU College Republicans, Ryan Evans, believes the conversation will be constructive and civil.
“All of our organizations have harped on being respectful and civil during the conversations,” Evans, a senior studying political science, said in an email.
Evans said a main reason why OU College Republicans decided to join the event was for communication purposes.
“It is important, in today's political climate especially to have the ability to share open expression and thought and (OUCR) saw this (event) as an opportunity to do just that,” Evans said in an email.
Along with creating a conversation, the LGBT Center hopes for people to be honest and open about their opinions.
“This is going to be a place where people can and should be honest with each other,” Wilson said.
Evans believes the event is an opportunity for OU’s campus to come together.
“A divide has been forming in this country over the last several years and the election showed how stark that division really was,” Evans said in an email. “This is our chance here on campus to begin to come together and discuss issues this country faces.”
