Story and Photos by Lauren Messman
As another election season draws to a close, University of Oregon College Republicans President, Caleb Huegel, does not try to glaze over the fact that his party has, once again, lost.
“Twice in a row. That [means] there is something wrong with either the people who are running or the message that our party is portraying.” Huegel acknowledges.
Yet for Huegel, the recent loss in the past presidential election was more of a catalyst for his organization, than it was an impediment. In response to the election’s outcome, which 60 percent of the nation’s youth vote decided, there was no moping, no crying, and no hanging of heads. For the UO College Republicans, there was only a push to get back on track.
Huegel says, “I feel like this setback has charged the republican community on campus and it has given them something to work towards. They’re asking, ‘What we can do to become to the popular party again and get away from the “party of no” that everyone thinks we are?’”
This was not the case four years ago. As Huegel has been told, following the 2008 election, lack of interest on campus prompted the club to lose members and organization.
After a two-year lull in activity, former member Jaclyn Heck and current member Allana Strader, pulled the pieces of the group back together. As co-presidents, they secured an office space, began holding meetings, and created connections with the Lane County Republicans.
Last term, all new administration was put into place and Huegel, now a sophomore, was elected president. He is determined to lead the organization down a different path than the one in 2008 by instilling professionalism into every aspect of the organization.
“We’re kind of following the saying,  ‘You’re only taken as seriously as you portray yourself,’” Huegel says of the organization’s direction.
“In our past administrations we didn’t put a lot of stock into that stuff. We have some catching up to do in terms of being taken professionally.”
Through holding agenda driven meetings, placing value on community service, and rethinking traditional fundraising techniques, Huegel hopes to increase membership, dispel any negative stereotypes surrounding the political party, and raise enough money to become a strong, successful group on campus.
“Right now, people have this vague idea of what college republicans are and what they do and my goal is to kind of sharpen that in people’s mind,” Huegel says
The organization plans to gain recognition by promoting a heavier presence online and on campus. Recruitment chair, Mallory Nersesian helped to raise their membership to 20 by promoting the club through Facebook and at tabling events.
“Awareness is a big thing this year,” Huegel says, “We’ve quadrupled our membership and the ratio is high, which I’m happy about. Obviously there’s a lot of work we can do because I feel like there are more than 20 republicans on campus.”
Huegel hopes that by running CR meetings, which are open to everyone, in a professional manner, the group can operate as a support system for students who share the same beliefs or are still trying to decide what their beliefs are.
“It wears you down when you always feel like you’re going to have to justify your beliefs in front of any audience,” Huegel says, “This is a place that [students] can go and not feel like they have to justify, but rather talk about it as a group and bolster each others’ arguments instead of tearing them down and pointing out the flaws.”
The new members have contributed to the organization in a big way. Huegel says new members proposed the idea of getting involved in community service to emulate a more positive image for the club and the Republican Party as a whole.
“We feel that giving back to the community is important to kind of dispel the myth that we’re self interested and that everyone in the club is well-off. I can tell you that that’s not the case.”
By focusing their efforts on helping different charitable organizations and events around the community, such as Food for Lane County, CR hopes to show that they are not an organization solely concerned with raising money and getting their candidates into office. The group has gone as far as to create a new community service chair position, headed by Alex Titus, in order to put more of an emphasis on the group’s community efforts.
In addition to increasing membership and community service, the club’s biggest challenge is fundraising. Due to the political mission of the organization, holding traditional fundraisers at local places of business can be difficult.
“A lot of the places that college students go to might not be so willing to publicize that their helping the college republicans,” Huegel explains. “A different approach to fundraising we thought was necessary to raise the kinds of funds that we want to be successful and be taken as professionals.”
To overcome this issue, Brent Rovianek, the organization’s treasurer and fundraiser, will attempt to target fundraising efforts towards parents and adults in the community.
The UO college republicans are hopeful that by setting up tabling during popular parents’ weekends, they can begin to raise the funds and recognition they need to become a strong and stable organization on campus.
If anything, the outcome of the presidential election seems to have brought forth new ideas, new concepts, and a new direction for the UO College Republicans.
In the future, Huegel would like to see an increase in membership, emphasis on community service, as well as the necessary funds and resources the group needs for a successful campus organization. Huegel claims that in order to achieve those goals, it will take effort from every member involved.
“In the end, I can put up all these ideas and I can provide as much structure as I want, but they’re the engine. I’m just the steering wheel.”
 

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The Path to Professionalism