The District’s own George Washington University recently scored the top slot on the Princeton Review’s list of the country’s most politically active campuses. (Georgetown University, to GW students’ delight, came in second.) Wassman, the public relations chairman of GW’s College Republicans group — which typically boasts more than 300 members a year — says being politically involved just comes with the territory at his school. As a member of a political organization at GW, how does it feel to hear about the Princeton Review rankings?
We’re really proud of it. It’s a good thing for our university that we’re right in the heart of D.C., so we have a ton of senators and congressman around. The main buzz on campus is not about sports — our sports teams are very bad.
What kind of activism do the College Republicans typically engage in?
When D.C. came out with a bag tax, we held a rally: “Bag the bag tax.” We have different events where we have debates with College Democrats and others on campus. We also invite a lot of speakers. … A lot of different people come to speak with us — a large number of congressmen and senators. We do cooperate closely with other College Republicans, but we’re always excited when we can beat Georgetown.
People tend to think of campus activists as overwhelmingly liberal. What’s it like being a conservative college activist?
We definitely have a lot more fun because we go against the grain. A lot of us stand on principle and we believe in what we do. At GW we find it’s a little easier — it is a politically active school and we are able to have political debates. People respect us for our opinions. It’s good to create dialogue, and we do that often. Normally we have a pretty good reception to our events because even people on the other side are interested in what we have to say.
