The We Are for Trump student organization held its first meeting of the semester Wednesday night, hoping to get Penn State students involved in the Trump presidential campaign.
Over fifty people attended the meeting in the Willard Building, which urged those present to get involved as much as possible to support the campaign of GOP presidential nominee Donald Trump.
The meeting opened with Trump-themed songs, the Pledge of Allegiance and a video entitled “Unstoppable Donald Trump.” Dmitri Loutsik, chairman of We Are for Trump, along with the rest of the triumvirate and executive board, then introduced themselves to members.
Loutsik (sophomore-accounting) explained the purpose of the organization was to promote Trump on the Penn State campus. Of the 50,000 potential votes on campus, Loutsik said the goal of the organization given to him was to get Trump within 1,500 votes under Hillary Clinton, the Democratic presidential nominee.
“We want to beat crooked Hillary,” Loutsik said.
Loutsik and the rest of the officers urged members to get involved with planned events, including a Blue Lives Matter rally and vigil and debates with other Penn State political organizations throughout the meeting.
After the meeting concluded, members said they were impressed by the enthusiasm of the triumvirate and board of officers.
“They like to make their voices heard,” Christopher Sanders (freshman-division of undergraduate studies) said. “They take charge and they keep on going until the end.”
Sanders said he is pro-Trump and wanted to make his voice heard to not let another candidate win.
Patrick Kelly said freedom of speech in today’s society is necessary and healthy for citizens, but current politics are hindering it.
“Students need to be able to assemble to support the candidate they believe in and I don’t think the current political climate is allowing that,” Kelly (senior-finance and accounting) said.
A long-standing member of the We Are for Trump, Kylie Thomas, commended the leadership of the organizations.
“The executive board definitely has a handle on the organization,” Thomas (junior-criminology) said. “We have great leadership, and they have great heads on their shoulders.”
Brittany Divver (freshman-political science and criminology), who also praised the leadership of We Are for Trump, attended the Penn State College Republicans meeting Monday night where members of We Are for Trump tried to change the College Republican’s decision to not endorse Trump. Divver called the meeting “chaotic and unorganized,” adding the College Republicans had poor leadership.
