As the upcoming presidential election gets closer and closer, the two political groups on campus—the College Democrats and the College Republicans—are keeping busy with current events and gearing up for future plans. With Pizza and Politics, the Lindau Symposium, the College Democrats’ big speaker and other events upcoming in the near future, both groups have their hands full.

After being rescheduled due to a conflict with another politically relevant event on campus regarding voter identification laws, the annual Pizza and Politics event will be held on Dec. 8 this year in the Courtyard Cafe at 7:00 p.m. as a social event for the two groups and other people on campus to come together and discuss and debate politics in a respectful setting. Co-sponsored by both the College Democrats and the College Republicans, Domino’s Pizza will be provided and the main topics of discussion are those that affect college students.

“The focus for Pizza and Politics this year is mainly, but not limited to, what I like to call the ‘fiscal trifecta’: taxes, social security and welfare. All three are things that really affect and play a role in college student’s lives, so it is important to talk about them,” Mandy McCourt, president of the College Democrats, said.

Both groups hope that the event provides a positive place for civil discourse that students outside of the political groups can partake in and enjoy.

“I would like to see this event be an event that opens things up to the rest of campus. It is no fun for anyone when the conversation that takes place is between like-minded individuals. We would love to see new faces and opinions,” Bess Folsom, president of the College Republicans, said.

“Absolutely anyone can and should come to this. This is not an event strictly for Democrats or Republicans. Even if you are not choosing a side or you do not want to openly debate, just come to listen. It is a great opportunity to hear all sides of the argument and to learn about what is going on in politics,” Megan Nelson, vice president of the College Democrats, said.

As for upcoming events on campus, the College Democrats and College Republicans are both toying with a variety of ideas.

“As of right now, the Republicans have nothing firmly planned or scheduled for campaigns. The Republican candidate race is too wide open as of now for the group to even possibly come to a consensus. We will definitely be doing a lot of campaign work next year, and if the race narrows before the end of spring semester, we will be starting then,” Folsom said.

For the College Democrats, the election season will be just as busy as the Republicans’s. With a focus on getting people to vote as well as informing people about the Democratic candidates, the College Democrats will be tabling, getting word out about candidates with literature and knocking on doors in St. Peter to talk to residents about the candidates and about voting.

“The primary goal really is just to get people to vote. Low voting rates are a huge problem in our society. We work to get people registered to vote and in the past we have shuttled Gustavus students to the voting center. I do not know if we will be doing that this year but we will be doing whatever we can to get people out there and to make their votes count,” McCourt said.

One new thing that the Democrats have been working on this year is monthly tabling. One day each month of the academic year, the Democrats will be tabling on a relevant issue with the purpose of informing the student body. Last month’s topic was gay marriage and December’s topic is likely to be about the Occupy Wall Street protests.

Also on the Democrats’ schedule is their big speaker, John Corvino, known as the “Gay Moralist,” for the evening of Feb. 16, 2012.

“Our main focus this year is on social issues, particularly the marriage amendment. We are really trying to show that fiscal and social issues are closely integrated. John Corvino talks about gay marriage and making educated voting decisions so it is very relevant for our focus,” McCourt said.

For the Republicans, upcoming plans include the annual Lindau Symposium on April 12, 2012 and possible events surrounding it. The Lindau Symposium, first held in 2007, features a conservative voice and provides a forum in which diverse voices and mainstream beliefs and values can be brought together in a liberal arts environment. The Symposium is a gift to Gustavus from Phil (’58) and Nancy Lindau and is intended to honor the memory of Phil, who passed away in April 2006.

“This year, Dr. Charles Krauthammer is going to be the speaker. He is a Pulitzer-winning columnist, political commentator and physician. We are very excited to have him come. We are potentially planning several events surrounding the symposium to raise awareness of this annual event on campus,” Folsom said.

The Republicans’ focus this year is also breaking down the stereotypes surrounding conservatives and making students on campus feel comfortable in voicing their opinions instead of feeling ostracized, according to Folsom.

“It is simply our goal to have people hear our perspective and to change what it means to be a conservative or a liberal. So many stereotypes surround each side and in particular, we would like conservatives on campus to feel comfortable,” Folsom said.

The College Republicans’ center of conversation this year is fiscal issues.

“It is important that we talk about the fiscal issues in our country as that is what is affecting us now and what will affect us in the future. The nation’s debt recently hit 14.95 trillion dollars and is only growing,” Folsom said.