Western’s Politics Club organizes ’speed repping’ event

Western Colorado University’s Politics Club organized “speed dating” with Gunnison representatives just after Valentine’s Day. The representatives attending were: Mayor Jim Gelwicks, County Commissioner Jonathan Houck, City Commissioner John Messner, County Commissioner Roland Mason, City Councilperson Jim Mills, City Councilperson Bob Drexel and Western Vice President of Student Affairs/Dean of Students Gary Pierson.

After all the representatives showed up, students and representatives mingled over coffee and cookies before the actual event took place. About 15-20 students came to take advantage of meeting the people that represent Gunnison.

The representatives that participated in the event all took their seats, where they had a chair in front of them. It was all set up much like your normal speed dating scene. In five-minute intervals, students were given the chance to ask the representative questions.

“It was really rewarding to be able to get to know the Gunnison city leaders,” said junior Hannah White, who is a Politics & Government major with an emphasis in Global Studies. “They were so nice and shared great stories with us in a nice and relaxing environment. My favorite thing was asking Mayor Gelwicks what song he would make Gunnison’s theme song.”

Maria Struble, Ph.D., who is a professor of Politics & Government, is the faculty advisor of the Politics Club and Model United Nations, which helped organize this event along with the Politics Club.

It was a great opportunity for students who are interested in politics to come and talk with the representatives of Gunnison. It was a relaxed event, so there was no pressure to ask any serious questions.

Interested in politics? Want to get more involved with politics? Contact Struble at mstruble@western.edu for more information.

Story by Western junior Taya Olson.