A picture of the American flag was displayed on the projector screen.
The pledge of allegiance was then recited by the more than 100 people that filled a classroom in the Kelley School of Business beyond capacity.
“We start every meeting with the pledge to remind us all why we are here,” said Jonathan Kreilein, president of College Republicans at IU. “We are here to make a difference in our nation’s government.”
The first College Republicans meeting of the year took place Tuesday to present the yearly agenda, highlight past accomplishments and promote current Republican candidates for local, state and federal offices.
“College Republicans is the voice for Republican principles,” said Brian Gamache, external vice chairman of College Republicans. “We are the other side of the issue.”
Representatives from all three levels of government spoke at the meeting to commend the attendees for taking the first step of involvement.
Indiana’s ninth district had many eager candidates that came to speak to the students. The city of Bloomington makes up the majority of this district, making IU a mecca for potential voters.
Rep. Todd Young, R-9th District, is the district’s representative in Congress. Young has held the position for three terms but recently announced he will not be running for reelection because he will be pursuing a senate position for the spot soon to be left by Sen. Dan Coats, R-Ind.
Three of the four Republican candidates for the upcoming representative ticket were supposed to speak to the students. Indiana state attorney Greg Zoeller; Sen. Brent Waltz, R-Greenwood; and head of the Grassroots Conservatives in Monroe County Bob Hall were supposed to speak to the students, encouraging them to volunteer for their respected campaigns.
Hall is a representative of the conservative Tea Party, running as a write-in candidate. He was expected at the meeting by the executive board but did not make an appearance.
Zoeller said his favorite aspect of his current job is being able to sue the government.
“When I came home and told my wife I was thinking about running for Congress, I thought she would say no,” Zoeller said. “Instead, she said ‘you complain about the federal government every day and it’s about time.”
Currently, Zoeller is considered the top contender in the upcoming primaries that will determine the Republican candidate for the race.
Waltz recalled his time in College Republicans as being a turning point in his life, inspiring him to run for political office in the future.
“It’s time to bring a Hoosier sense, the sense I have been implementing in the state, now to the district,” Waltz said.
The candidates discussed that, although being the minority in the area has its issues, Indiana still has a large Republican base.
Bloomington is part of the tenth largest county in the state of the 92 that make up the state.
“Monroe County is a big blue dot in a red state,” said Steve Hogan, Monroe County Republican chairman. “But we just have to get people involved to make a difference.”
Kreilein said the executive board of College Republicans wanted this event to be an opportunity for everyone to get involved.
He said it was an opportunity to be part of the government.
“Generally groups like this are viewed as tight and closed off, but we aren’t just one core set of beliefs,” Kreilein said. “We are College Republicans, but we are open to talk about issues and get people involved on things that they care about.”
