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Postic encourages students from every major to get involved
By Ashley Summerfield
@ash_summerfield
After a year and a half of stagnancy, the political science club prepares to make a comeback.
After several years of ups and downs, the “poli-sci” club has found itself at a roadblock.
The club formed when Robert Postic, Ph.D., associate professor of political science, came to UF.
“The club really hasn’t been active for the past year and a half. The level of activity is based on student involvement,” said Postic.
Postic said that the club has been successful in the past when there were motivated students involved.
“You look at the clubs that are very active; they have a lot of students in that major,” said Postic.
According to Postic, the lack of success recently can also be caused by the fact that there are “only about a dozen” political science majors at UF.
“It’s one of the smallest programs we have,” Postic said. “I am more than willing to start up the club again, but these types of clubs are student lead.”
Although in the past the club has struggled, attempts have been made to revive it. Some students claim that they were unaware of the club when it existed in tha past, but currently see in its comeback.
“I think it is important for all majors to have a club geared toward their major. It’s important because you can talk about things outside the classroom setting,” said Rachel Nehls, junior nursing major.
Nehls said that many students who are interested in politics may not have had room to fit a course into their schedule.
“Not everyone that is interested in political science has that major, so it would provide them the opportunity to get involved,” said Nehls.
Others saw the appeal of a “poli-sci” club to non-political science majors, too.
“It could help influence the student body to better understand what’s going on in the campaigns today, considering many students are uninformed,” said George Bauer, freshman physical therapy major. “It would help students better understand how politics effect them personally, now and in the future.”
“I would attend some events to help me better understand what’s really going on,” said Bauer.
In past years, the political science club has brought political figures to campus to speak to students. When the club comes back into effect, this is something students can look for.
According to Postic, the political science club is a non-partisan organization, meaning that all views are welcome. The purpose of the club is to give students an opportunity to discuss all factors in the field of political science, as well as inform less politically educated students.
In addition, students of any major are encouraged to take part. When asked about youth involvement in politics, Postic said, “Younger people get a bit of a bad rap on this one because we look at the percent of people that vote and polls show that less than 50 percent of college students vote.”
Postic is optimistic that the club will be successful if it has the right involvement.
“The success of the club comes down to strong student leadership,” said Postic.
The political science club will have its first meeting of the semester on Tuesday, Feb. 2 at 3:30 p.m. at 206 Howard St.
