On Oct. 6, The Young Democrats Club, a part of the Young Politicians Club, held their inaugural meeting before homeroom in Caf 2. The Stinger stopped by to ask Noel Greenwood, club co-president, and member Erica Love, some questions about the club and their goals for the year.

Adviser: Mr. Warnke

Presidents: Jason Bowen, senior and Noel Greenwood, junior 

Vice President: Elise McDonald, senior

Noel Greenwood, Junior

Stinger: How long has this club been running?

Greenwood: It stopped before I was a freshman, I believe. This summer watching the DNC [Democratic National Convention] I really wanted to get involved because there are a lot of Democrats in the area. It’s mostly a Republican school and a Republican area. I wanted to get more kids my age involved.

Stinger: Was it your your idea to start the club up again?

Greenwood: Yeah, I talked to my campaign organizer, Deveraux Kesler. He found someone who used to be the president of the club and she gave me all the information and she referred me to Mr. Warnke. I really wanted to start something up and I’m really excited.

Stinger: What will a typical meeting look like?

Greenwood: We will usually have a box of donuts, probably won’t be that big because it is so early in the morning. Until all of us can get together after school, they will be here [in the cafeteria] in the morning. We are gonna talk about what’s going on in the election and how we feel about what’s going on in the world right now, especially with politics because that’s where we are mainly centered around. Maybe doing some volunteering out in the community getting involved. I think it’s really important to be involved, especially with the election.

Stinger: What do you hope to accomplish with this club?

Greenwood: I hope to get a feel for the area and I hope to spread awareness. A lot of kids aren’t aware of the politics or what the Democratic side represents. A lot of kids fall to what their parents say and I want something different than that.

Stinger: Is this the only political club at Emmaus?

Greenwood: We are basically under one umbrella called the Young Politicians club, but we decided we wanted to split off into two different groups, the Young Republicans club and the Young Democrats club… But we just wanted our own thing.

Stinger: What are your thoughts on the upcoming election?

Greenwood: For me personally, I’m definitely not a Donald Trump fan. I was originally like a really big Bernie person, but then once I watched the DNC and saw that Hillary got nominated, I just decided that it would be better to support the person who is nominated than be upset over someone who didn’t get nominated, so I signed up to work for her campaign and that’s all I’ve been focusing on.

Erica Love, Freshman

Stinger: Why did you decide to join this club?

Love: I wanted to get involved and it’s something that I would like to stick with and just believe in.

Stinger: What about this club really caught your eye?

Love: Just the fact that I would meet like minded people, and discuss issues that matter to me.

Stinger: What do you want to gain from this club?

Love: I would like to think of other people’s opinions and to gain new knowledge of political issues and new viewpoints.

Stinger: Do you hope to be a politician or use this in your future career?

Love: I don’t know about being a politician in my later life but I would like to study political science in college. I think that this will help me kind of create a new knowledge-base.

Feature photo shows officers Elise McDonald, Jason Bowen, and Noel Greenwood at the first meeting. Courtesy of Bibi Correa.