Charrise Lane, a senior at Florida A&M University in Tallahassee, wants to rebuild the only active chapter of the College Republicans at a historically Black college or university. There’s just one hitch: He can’t find a well-known campus advisor for the group.
according to FAMU instructionsno student organization can be official without it.
“I contacted the professors,” said Lane, a 25-year-old public relations major and registered Republican.
“The two people who answered said they couldn’t do it,” he said, adding, “So I’m not trying.”
Although rare, College Republicans have had homes at HBCUs in the past. In 2016, there were at least four HBCUs with GOP chapters: Howard UniversityMorehouse College, Central State University and FAMU.
Operating since 1892, the College is an unofficial branch of the Republican National Committee. The group is present on nearly 2,000 campuses in the United States. according to their website. Although there are more than 100 HBCUs in the country, none host an active, official College Republicans club.
The national organization did not respond to multiple requests for comment.
Lane said she and three other classmates have met informally at least twice this school year and attended a viewing party for the Florida State University College Republicans presidential debate. But the inability to establish the organization in its own campus, where 7 out of 10 students Being registered as Democrats was frustrating. FAMU has consistently held a field goal active section College Democrats.
“I believe black people need both sides,” Lane said, noting that his conservative views were heavily shaped by his Christian upbringing.
a four minute video Lane, who was sent to X this summer, explained that he is a Republican because he believes in a strong traditional family unit, has a more holistic view of protecting life, including opposition to abortion, and supports school choice, among other issues — values he said represent. It certainly does not reflect the history and ideals of the Republican Party, but the voices currently at the GOP’s forefront.
Because Lane and her like-minded peers are underserved on campus, she said she won’t give up her quest to bring some of the College Republicans back to FAMU.
School officials told NBC News that any new campus organization needs at least 10 members and a faculty advisor who has been at the school for at least three years to become a registered student organization. FAMU is open to working with students under certain circumstances, but they have so far not been able to successfully collaborate with Lane.
Felicia Barnes, FAMU’s assistant director of student organizations, said the university will welcome the College Republicans back to campus. This week, Barnes shared the names of more professors for Lane to contact.
“They’ve been here before, so it’s not like there hasn’t been an organization here,” he said.
Lane acknowledges that in many ways, as a self-identified pro-Black conservative at an HBCU, he is an anomaly, sitting at the intersection of what some critics call conflicting ideologies. He said he was derided by “both sides” who argued that his traditional politics were often at odds with his desire for progress for black Americans.
“Republicans call me a black supremacist and sometimes say I’m race bait, and then Dems sometimes call me Uncle Tom” and other racial slurs, he says, because of his Republican affiliation.
“Sometimes when it comes to your opinions, you don’t fit both sides.”
Still, she said, since she didn’t connect with many of her classmates or professors after transferring from a mostly white private Christian college in North Carolina last fall, she wants to be around her people — even if most of those around her don’t agree with her. his political views.
History of the College Republicans at FAMU
According to alum Marquise McMiller, the College Republicans were last active at FAMU during the 2018-2019 academic year.
McMiller, who now heads government relations for one of Florida’s largest public school systems in Orlando, rebuilt the organization in his junior year in 2015 and led the group as president for three years, a position he said he would not have had anyone else take over in his senior year. before going to bed.
“At FAMU, the College Democrats always dominate,” said McMiller, who earned a bachelor’s degree, master’s degree and Juris Doctor degree from the school. “I felt that there is a need for the representation of the other party.”
At the time, McMiller said the chapter had six members who met regularly, and while there was no major backlash against the organization on campus, the group’s presence bothered some students on campus, he said.
McMiller, who describes himself as an evangelical moderate and fiscal conservative, said the current political landscape on campus is more hostile than it was years ago.
“It wasn’t a period of polarization as much as it is now,” he said. “And I’m sure that given the governor’s policies and the positions the Legislature has taken with the supermajority, the climate at FAMU is probably not responsive to standing with the Republican Party.”
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, Republican, in recent years got a badge in diversity, equity and inclusion efforts, including restricts the race can be taught in school, it hinders its teaching AP African Studies classesand funding diversity programs at public colleges.
McMiller, who supports Lane, sees it as a “new effort” to once again establish a college Republican chapter on campus. But while McMiller is still a registered Republican, he’s disillusioned with his party and said he’s not sure how he’ll vote in November.
“My strong position is that African-Americans should not be part of any party,” he said. “I think both parties are not paying full attention to the African American community.”
Are the College Republicans coming back to FAMU?
The decision to back the College Republicans at FAMU for Lane didn’t happen overnight, and it wasn’t a particularly comfortable one for him. With over 70,000 followers on Instagram and X, Lane is a prominent voice in young, Black conservative spaces. He chose to spend his first year at FAMU without speaking publicly about politics on campus, hoping to build an organic community with those around him, especially since he was unable to do so at his previous school.
He said he worked for a while, but when people in his orbit started seeing him on social media, many of the connections he made with people on campus changed. Now he doesn’t know who to trust. Most weekends, Lane said, she works or keeps to herself after being threatened online for her position.
“People have threatened to fight me,” Lane said. He said he received threatening messages against him and his mission through an anonymous social app called Fizz, where FAMU students must log in with their school email addresses to gain access to campus-related posts. “And these days, being threatened doesn’t bother me, but being threatened by students makes me a little nervous because they’re my own age.”
He detailed some of the threats in an Instagram video with screenshots.
“It’s important that HBCU campuses offer spaces for students to explore all political perspectives,” said Tevon Blair, co-founder of a nonprofit group that empowers HBCU students and alumni to become leaders. This allows students to make more informed political decisions.
However, Blair, who directs the nonprofit group’s Voice HBCU Program, said, “HBCU students, especially those in Southern states, often see a direct impact on their education from Republican-led state legislatures. This includes chronic underfunding of state-supported HBCUs and enforcement of laws that affect how students vote, learn and experience college life.”
Nearly a month after the presidential election, Lane said he will continue his efforts to rebuild the College Republicans. new administration is put in place at school. No matter what happens, he doesn’t expect the entire campus to like him, but he does expect respect.
“At the end of the day, politics is politics,” he said. “That’s why you shouldn’t threaten someone’s life.”