Republican Club

By LYDIA KUHNERT, JINMIN LEE, CHLOE LIND, AVNI MURARKA, LILY RAMPE, and ARISA YOSHINO 

The Republican Club, often referred to as “PubClub,” has long been a staple at Exeter. Every Thursday night, students—both conservative and liberal—convene on the mezzanine floor at Elm Street Dining Hall to engage in political discourse.

Republican Club fosters a platform of political dialogue by encouraging dynamic discussions and debates, club-sponsored events, election watch parties, and even dinners at Principal Rawson’s house once a term. It frequently collaborates with Democratic Club to foster respectful conversations surrounding current political events. 

One goal of the Republican Club is to hold informed discussions. “The Republican Club is focused on fostering discourse over direct campaigning,” said co-head and senior CJ Smith. “We’re ‘Republican’ in the sense that we have conservative values of listening to each other, keeping an open mind, and holding respectful debates, but everyone from all sides of the spectrum can participate. Usually, there will be a topic of the week. Last week, for example, we discussed the legal usage of marijuana. This week, it was about the upcoming election. During meetings, we have a briefing sheet prepared so that everyone can get informed and up to date on the topic we discuss.”

Co-head Olivia Braham agreed, “So Republican Club is kind of the opposite of its name. It’s really a place for people to come together and understand the perspective of someone else with a different political viewpoint. We meet every Thursday at 6:30 in the Elm Mezzanine and talk about different current events and political issues. People from all different types of perspectives come in and share their point of view, so you know it’s a place where you can widen your perspective and argue your own viewpoint.”

Upper Joseph Kim, a frequent attendee of Republican Club, said, “The atmosphere of the club is very open and conducive to honest discussions. We have members with different perspectives. There is a significant number of students who are not conservative, not right-wing, or not Republican. After all, Republican Club is not a club of Republicans.”

Smith reflected on ensuring that discussions remain civil and constructive. “We try to ground everything in fact,” he said, “because it prevents inflammatory arguments or comments. In general, we always are able to diffuse the conversation or just stop talking for a little bit and let the silence kind of come in and make everything a little bit calmer.” 

Braham concurred, “Certainly sometimes it gets heated, but I think we co-heads are very good at stepping back in when it’s necessary. I think there’s a fine balance between letting people be passionate about their point of view and like stopping people when they’re becoming offensive. I think that we’re really good at ascertaining when to put a hold on things and when to let the conversation continue as is.” 

Though Republican Club is primarily made up of conservative members, students from all ends of the political spectrum are encouraged to come and enjoy healthy debate. Braham continued, “It’s a place where you can widen your perspective, and argue your own viewpoint. The co-heads consistently work hard to create a welcoming and sensitive environment, where members aren’t afraid to share a potentially controversial opinion. Members often leave Elm with a new perspective that they never would have considered before.” 

Prep Theodore Stein, a regular member of the club agreed, describing a moment when he shifted his perspective on an important political topic. “We discussed the usage of marijuana, and I initially thought it had to be illegal because it was such a bad substance,” he said. “However, by the time I left, many people had brought up different perspectives that changed my opinion on it.”

“I have also changed my opinion once during a PubClub meeting,” commented upper Andrew Boova. “We discussed the death penalty, which I used to be in favor of. However, after hearing everyone’s insight and hearing the facts, I am no longer as convicted about the issue and even open to perhaps abolishing it in the future.” 

PubClub also plans activities in collaboration with Democratic Club. Smith explained, “We work with Democratic Club to organize joint events like the election watch party on Nov. 5. We also host dinners at Principal Rawson’s house once a term so people can discuss current events.”

“Republican Club and Dem Club work hand in hand in a lot of different things,” agreed Braham. “Discussing the political environment at Exeter at Principal Rawson’s house and planning many other events bring us together. I think we have a really good working relationship with them.”

Lower Aslan Bilimer, a frequent member at Democratic Club, described his perspective on Republican Club. “From my understanding, the environment at the Republican Club is very inclusive, having voices from different ends of the political spectrum all participating. I think they focus more on discussing specific policies, whereas Democratic Club is more engaged with the Democratic party in NH, such as canvassing. The two clubs are different, but they certainly complement each other.”

As the election comes to a close, Republican club members look toward the future of America and the political scene. “For the future of the club, we’re just going to keep doing what we have been doing with the briefing sheets, said Smith. “I think that with the election, people are obviously talking about it in bigger spheres than just Republican Club. They talk about it outside as well, just going around their daily lives in Exeter. We’ll keep having discussions, briefing sheets with whoever wins, and talk about their policies.”