With the presence of the Calvin Democrats and Calvin Republicans, political clubs are hardly new to Calvin’s campus. However, the 2018 fall term has seen the debut of a new group: the Political Dialogue and Action Club (PDAC). Formed last spring by sophomore Inyoung Park and kicked off at the beginning of the current semester, PDAC has already held two events since the start of the school year, including an open discussion with President Le Roy.

Club president Sofia Cuidon shared her views on why she felt PDAC was necessary.

“It’s hard to talk about politics with a lot of people,” she explained. “Even within the presidential debates, people don’t use respectful language, and that really bothers me. I think when students or just anyone sees that … in that really formal scenario they’re using this type of language, that makes it okay for [them] too. [I want to show that] we can be better than this. We can love each other and choose to see issues from other perspectives.”

Cuidon, a sophomore majoring in international relations and social work with a German minor, expressed that her driving passion behind forming the club was a deep-set hope to see the the frequency and manner of political discussion on campus change for the better.

“What makes PDAC different is that it does explore more perspectives. It doesn’t just have to be Republican or Democrat; it can be Libertarian, Green Party, all these different players,” said Cuidon.

PDAC is not just a club for political science majors. “Everything is so interconnected. Like if people are just interested in science — politics actually deals with science! Politics are for everyone,” she pointed out.

According to Cuidon, Calvin’s political climate is “cloudy with a hint of sun.” Although it remains diverse, she feels that there is limited connection between groups with different ideologies.

“I have an optimistic view. It’s not bad, but we can get better in that I think politics is still a taboo subject. I think there are a lot of implicit biases when it comes to political parties.”

Cuidon added, “There doesn’t need to be this divide. [I think] there’s a lot of room to grow, and I think Political Dialogue and Action is going to help do that by providing a lot of the conversation topics and by kind of mediating between people’s ideas.”

Besides offering space for discussion, PDAC also hopes to provide practical opportunities for students. Between bringing in speakers from off-campus and taking students into the city to meet representatives, they intend to create possibilities for resume-building. However, introducing students to different perspectives and a different atmosphere is their largest goal.

“I really want to engage a lot of people who aren’t interested in politics,” Cuidon explained. “Having respectful conversations isn’t just for politics, it’s for everyday life.”