By Matthew Gilson | The Save Jersey Blog
Last week, I graduated from Seton Hall University with a degree in political science, Save Jerseyans, but like most people who read this website some of my fondest memories involve politics.
This past year I had the honor of serving as the chairman of the Seton Hall College Republicans, turning it into the largest and most active chapter in the entire state. However, during my four years the club saw many highs and lows which I think allow me to reflect on what I think makes a successful College Republican organization and what advice I can give the new executive board of my club and CRs all across the state.
The conclusion I have drawn is that there are two main components to a successful organization; one pertains to most organizations and that is the need for a strong and experienced leader. My specific advice is that the best work is done off campus; there is nothing worse than a campus politician!
When I first came to campus, I was not aware there were College Republicans and due to missing the involvement fair for a family emergency, I might never have found them if not for happening to run into a CR coordinator at a Christie event in my town.
After meeting with the College Republicans, I was extremely happy with what I saw; our chairman then was Gary La Spisa, a dedicated and hard-working Republican looking to draw every last volunteer to the campaign. It is not an understatement to say the strong club is really what turned me from political cheerleader to political activist. The club made the most calls for Christie in 2009, we recruited some great new volunteers, took an awesome trip to CPAC, and really made a dent in helping to build some strong leaders for the future.
However, I have also seen the lows under the wrong leadership. Phone banks weren’t packed, off campus involvement declined and membership waned. I assumed the chairmanship of what was, by that time, a three person club last summer. From those three people, my team managed to leverage connections made both on campus but more importantly off-campus in order to rebuild stronger than ever before.
One of the first calls I made was to our Blogger-in-Chief Matt Rooney, and he can attest to our first meeting this year where we had a turnout pushing 50! It is impossible not to have fall off from a first meeting, but if you have a strong leader and a plan to get involved (not just talk about issues for two hours or obsess over internal campus politics) you too can build a strong College Republican chapter. After planning debate viewing parties, basically being the volunteer force in the Livingston council race and holding other fun events, we ended the year with the largest membership, the most delegate votes at the state convention, uncontested board elections and TWO seats on the state CR board. We also have a strong bench lined up for the next few years designed to ensure that a collapse won’t happen again any time soon.
Remember: any successful campus organization must be stronger than just one person because they, like me, eventually graduate.
That is my challenge to all of you: whether your organization is strong and can get stronger or, like me, you only had a few people go out and get mobilized at the onset, never forget that although it may not seem like it, other Republicans are out there on your campus! They’re waiting for you to give them a reason to engage the process. Find a campaign you like whether it’s a major statewide race or something more local and engineer ways to get your people involved, bonding, networking, and growing your chapter organically. No one wants to sit in a room and talk about tax policy for hours on end. If you never need anything do not hesitate to ask, and I hope the next batch of strong CRs are ready to step foot on campus in August.
I would hate to burst some bubbles here, but I was the Chairman of the NJCRs during the 2009 election cycle…The Princeton of the Pines better known as Stockton College made more calls than Seton Hall during every grassroots competition in 2009. Since Gary was trying to squeeze money out of the Seton Hall Deans that year he needed something to use so he kept tracking the calls after the schools had stopped reporting til he allegedly caught up to our last total. I still have the emails with the now infamous photo Frank Luna emailed around of the 'Fighting Osprey' carrying heads a Rutgers Scarlett Knight and Seton Hall Pirate in it's Talons! Here are results from the two competitions that year: STOCKTON 4969, SHU – 4327, Rutgers 3563, OCC 1550, Rowan 850 (OCC & Rowan were only in 1 of the 2weeks).
Well then Gary lied to us!!
Well then Gary lied to us!!