On Oct. 8, 2021, the Politics Club held their first in person meeting since the pandemic began. Their new goal is to create a communal setting for students to come and meet one another face to face again and be able to have open discourse about current political issues. It is not a requirement to be a political science major, anyone is welcome.
Tani Sebro is the advisor for the Politics Club and a professor at HSU. Sebro acknowledged the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the Politics Club, in terms of loss of recruitment and engagement. Because who wants to show up to another zoom meeting?
But this semester is the first opportunity for students to meet in person once again. There were about 20 students and faculty that came to Redwood Park to enjoy some snacks and board games.
“I think that rebuilding that community that was there before the pandemic is probably the main focus right now,” Sebro said.
The goal of this meeting was to just meet, first and foremost. Students that have classes with each other online were finally able to meet face to face, but masks are still required obviously.
Henry Myers is a political science major, who was excited to meet more of his classmates at the park to engage in questions about the political.
“Joining the politics club was a good way to meet other people interested in being involved in politics, academics, and stuff,” Myers said.
Rainer Shea is another political science major that came to meet people involved in the activist community around Humboldt.
“My goal is to build relationships that can get me more connected to this community, like the more politically active parts,” Shea said.
Anyone can be an activist, it does not just have to be political science majors. There is a whole group of people just interested in conversation about politics beyond what is being discussed in a classroom setting.
Serena Archila is the president of the Politics Club. Archila took on this leadership role to learn from and work with others and to grow as a student in the political community, not just in the classroom.
“This is really something that I’m passionate about, and I want to continue that outside of school too and have conversations that are important,” Archila said. “In Politics Club, you see a bunch of people with different backgrounds coming together and talking about what is going on in the world.”
Humboldt State University is a small campus, so the opportunity for community connection is huge. There is so much that can be done for the students and the local community, as well as the bigger international community of global governance. It all starts with conversation.
Come join the Politics Club on Fridays at 4pm, locations varying as it has been held on zoom up until this meeting. Follow their instagram for meeting updates @hsupolitics.
“If you are interested in questions about the political, which is everything, because everything is political, then you should join us!” Sebro said.
