The new Point Park Political Science Association (PPPSA) student organization began its first meetings around the middle of February.
PPPSA is a nonpartisan organization focused on mobilizing politically motivated students for causes they empathize with.
President of PPPSA, Kyle McLaughlin, a junior political science major, said, “I really want this to be as malleable to people’s passions as it can be.”
“What’s the point of politically organizing if you’re not doing it around what people are passionate about?” McLaughlin said. “We can get a lot more done than I think people give themselves credit for.”
According to a 2022 article from JSTOR.org, student activism has been at the root of major political change since the 1960’s.
“I’ve been kinda disappointed with the amount of political mobilization that we’ve had here,” McLaughlin said. “There’s a lot of radical feelings but people don’t know where to point them.”
This past Saturday, March 2, the Palestinian Youth Movement organized a protest in Market Square in opposition to U.S. foreign policy regarding the Israel-Hamas war, according to their Instagram.
McLaughlin said he hopes to mobilize PSA to assist in the Palestine Solidarity Campaign.
Media Engagement Officer of PPPSA Kalliyan Winder, a sophomore broadcast reporting major, said, “We want to broaden our perspective.”
“We don’t want it to be totally biased towards one view,” said Winder. “We want to open up to everyone who’s interested in politics to have that discussion.”
Vice President of PPPSA Delaney Pittman, a junior political science major, said it shouldn’t feel like an obligation to get involved politically.
“It’s not another chore or another piece of homework for you to do,” Pittman said. “It’s about using that free time you have to further cultivate a part of yourself.”
“These [PPPSA] meetings are a great point for students to get [politically] involved.”
Treasurer of PPPSA Aidan Setlock, a junior legal studies major, said, “We’re the future of the political world here.”
“So many decisions are affecting us more,” Setlock said. “And they’re going to affect us longer than our parents and people older than us, so it’s really important to get involved now to make sure our future is secure.”
Riley Mahon, a freshman political science major and member of PPPSA, said, “I can’t tune out all of the stuff burning down around me, so I might as well try and do something about it.”
“I think political action here could make a difference locally,” Mahon said. “All global politics really is just the trends of local politics. I don’t know if anything that happens here will ever spiral into something that’s going to happen globally or is going to impact anything that happens globally, but it’ll affect what happens here in Pittsburgh if we keep at it.”
PPPSA meets on Tuesdays from 4:30-5:30 in UC308.
