College Republicans

Senator Arlen Specter at Seton Hill!

Pennsylvania's own senior senator, Arlen Specter, will host a town hall meeting at Seton Hill THIS THURSDAY, August 16th, from 11 AM to 12 noon in the lobby of the McKenna Center. Everyone is welcome to attend, and he'll spend most of the hour taking questions from the audience.

This is a terrific opportunity to talk to your (sole remaining Republican) senator and get his take on the most important issues of the day. Senator Specter supported the comprehensive immigration reform bill that was defeated in the Senate earlier this summer - I encourage everyone to turn out and ask him just why he thinks this bill - which he vehemently denies is an amnesty provision - was such a good idea.

Questions about the event? Please contact Mary Cox at 724-830-1027 or cox@setonhill.edu.

FINAL FALL MEETING

Wednesday, Dec. 6th at 9:00PM in Admin 207, the Seton Hill College Republicans will be holding their year-end meeting. This will be a chance for the club to come together and discuss some new orders of business. All the members of the board should be there to speak about their positions in the club, and we will be discussing event ideas for next semester.

If you have yet to make it to a CR meeting this semester, come on down and check out this one! There may even be some free food!

Once again, the meeting is Wednesday, December 6th at 9:00PM in A207. The meeting will be over before 10:00.

Join the 72 Hour Task Force!

The head of the Westmoreland County Victory Center stopped by our CR meeting last night to sign up volunteers for the 72 Hour Task Force. If you were unable to make the meeting, you can still sign up for this critical volunteer effort!

Just visit the 72 Hour page at RickSantorum.com and sign up! Make sure that you put your Seton Hill address and list that you are in Westmoreland County. That way, your sign up info will go right to the Victory Center downtown.

There are a number of different ways you can help the campaign during the final days of the election! The Task Force is looking for people to go door-to-door with campaign literature as well as work the phone bank system. This volunteer effort goes to support all of the Republican candidates in the area, including state representatives, congressional candidates (Hart, Murphy, and Irey), Lynn Swann, and Senator Santorum.

It's also a great way to have alot of fun on the campaign! Last evening, everyone at the meeting signed up for at least a few time slots to man the phones and go door to door, so you will be able to work for the campaign with your friends!

The 72 Hour Task Force is a vital component of our GOP campaign, and it's this sort of grassroots activity that being a CR is all about! So please take the time and commit to at least a shift or two over the weekend.

Meeting Monday Evening

The SHU CR's will be holding a meeting Monday, Oct 30th at 9:00PM in Admin 405.

With just over a week away from the most important election in Pennsylvania history, it is vital that you make this meeting! We will be discussing the GOTV and 72 Hour Task Force efforts for next week and signing up volunteers. There will also be reports of different events we've been involved with lately, including the Make-a-Wish charity carnival. And, as always, we will be handing out some great campaign swag to all who attend!

This will be our last general meeting before the election next week, so if you can't make the meeting, make sure you contact someone who can!

Visit us at Make-a-Wish!

For those of you on campus this weekend, make sure you stop by the Make-a-Wish Foundations charity carnival in the basement of Sullivan! The annual event features a haunted house and carnival games for children. This year, the Seton Hill University College Republicans will have a booth there, doing their part to help this excellent charity!

The event is both Friday and Saturday (Oct 20-21st) from 6:00pm- 9:00pm.

Conservative Media Forum at St. Vincent College

�Alternative/Conservative Media� is the topic of the Wednesday, October 4, Civitas Forum on Principles and Policies for Public Life at Saint Vincent College. The forum will feature four national speakers who will talk about alternative and conservative media outlet's in today's America. The event begins at 8:30am and goes until the afternoon. It is open to the public, and all Seton Hill College Republicans are encouraged to attend.

The first speaker at the forum is Michael Anton:

Michael Anton is currently chief speechwriter for News Corporation chairman and CEO Rupert Murdoch. Prior to his current job, he served as special assistant to the president and senior director for foreign policy speechwriting in the National Security Council, at the White House. He was the principal drafter and editor of President George W. Bush�s speeches on foreign and defense. (stvincent.edu)

Other speakers include L. Brent Bozell, from the Parents Television Counsel; Jay Richards, director of Acton Media at the Acton Institute in Michigan; and Nick Schultz, the Editor of Tech Central Station.

For more information about the event, and the speakers, check out the St. Vincent College website.

Meeting this Wednesday Evening

Wednesday, September 27th at 9:00pm in Admin 207, the College Republicans will be holding another general meeting to discuss this fall semester and the November election.

On top of our normal agenda for the meeting, we will be discussing plans to participate in the upcoming Make-a-Wish carnival in October. This event is for a great cause, and will be a great event for the CR's to participate in.

Hope to see you at the next meeting!

First Meeting: Thursday @ 7:30

The CR's will be having their first meeting on Thursday, September 14th at 7:30pm in Admin 204. This will be a sort of introductory meeting that will set the stage for our activities the rest of the semester. I hope that every member, both new and old, can make a point to be at the meeting (or at least let us know if you can't be there, and we'll get you the minutes).

At the meeting, we will be discussing the current campaigns going on in the commonwealth of Pennsylvania. We will also have literature and other items to hand out to better educate the club, and others, on the candidates that we are supporting. This is a great and exciting time to be a member of the College Republicans, as our state has some of the most important races in the country!

I wanted to thank everyone who stopped by the College Republican booth at Seton Hill's club fair last evening. We had a great turn out, and signed up a lot of cool new members! Hopefully everyone enjoyed their bottle openers and bumper stickers that we were "liberally" handing out. I hope to see all of you at the meeting on Thursday!

If you cannot make the meeting on Thursday, please be sure to contact a member of the board for more information.

The Club Fair Approaches

Tomorrow, the Seton Hill College Republicans will have a table at the annual club fair out on Sullivan Lawn! We hope that all those interested in joining our thriving campus organization will be there to sign up, take a pin or a keychain, and get pumped about this upcoming mid-term election.

The Club Fair is Monday, September 11th from 5-7PM out on Sullivan Lawn.

We'd also like to remind everyone that President George W. Bush will be speaking on national television tomorrow evening about the 5th anniversary of the attacks on 9/11. If you find yourself near a TV, make sure you tune in!

Welcome Freshman - SHU Club Fair

As chairman of the Seton Hill University chapter of the College Republicans, I just wanted to extend a greeting to the new freshman and transfer students attending SHU this year. We're looking forward to another great year at Seton Hill, and hopefully a great deal of participation in this year's ever-important mid-term election.

The SHU College Republicans were first established on campus in the Fall of 2004 and have been active since then. The club aims to promote conservative values both on campus and within the community. If you have any questions, feel free to leave a comment or contact one of the organization's board members. You can also contact our faculty advisor, Dr. Joshua Sasmor.

I'm looking forward to signing up some new members and meeting many of the new freshman at this year's Club Fair on September 11th on Sullivan Lawn.

[For all current members, we will be having a meeting prior to the club fair... stay tuned for details once school begins.]

100 Days Til Victory: This Saturday!

This Saturday, at the Westmoreland Republican Headquarters in Greensburg, the Santorum/Swann campaigns will be launching their 100 Days to Victory volunteer effort! All Seton Hill College Republicans in the area are encouraged to attend to help out and have a good time.

The party begins at 11:00am this Saturday, July 29th at the Victory Center downtown. Volunteers will be trying to make 100 phone calls, knock on 100 doors, and spread the word about Senator Rick Santorum and governor-to-be, Lynn Swann. The Victory Center, and headquarters, is located at 23 North Maple Avenue in downtown Greensburg. The volunteer effort this Saturday won't go unrewarded, mind you... there is going to be a huge cookout, as well as prizes for volunteers! The celebration goes until 5:00PM on Saturday.

Also, a group of volunteers, led by the St. Vincent College Republicans, will be visiting the Steelers training camp at St. Vincent this weekend! So if you would like to visit the camp, please contact the Victory Center for more information. To RSVP for either event, call (724) 836-0570.

All of these events are coming at a time when Rick and Lynn need help the most. Senator Santorum has been gaining ground against Bobby Casey Jr., but still trails in the latest Zogby poll by 9 points. This really comes as no surprise to those who have seen Rick run before (he has been behind in every political race he's been involved in).

See Santorum Speak on Immigration!

Senator Rick Santorum will be holding a forum about immigration reform this Wednesday, July 5th in Monroeville. The event begins at 7:00PM and is being held at the Monroeville #4 Fire Hall (4370 Northern Pike) right off of the Monroeville exit on the Turnpike. The event will feature an extensive conversation about immigration reform.

Rick has taken a leadership role in the new immigration reform movement, standing up against the amnesty Senate bill. In opposition to the Senate bill first proposed, Rick has authored his own bill called the Border Security First Act, which focuses on securing the border and stopping the hiring of illegal immigrants rather than granting amnesty to those who are already here illegally.

In a recent letter to the editor in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, Rick wrote:

Problems abound within the bill the Senate passed just a few weeks ago. No one can predict the precise number by which this bill will increase illegal immigration, but it is certainly several times more than any of the bill's supporters suggest. It is terribly complex and will be nearly impossible for the current federal bureaucracy to administer. According to the Robert Rector study that Mr. Will himself cites, the cost to American taxpayers in federal dollars alone will be a stunning $19 billion every year. It will place a significant financial burden on Social Security, granting benefits to millions who have not spent a working lifetime paying into the system. And because of the tiered manner in which amnesty is granted, it will create a booming forgery industry in response to the vast incentives for illegal immigrants to prove they broke the law longer.

Santorum's opponent, Bobby Casey Jr., has publicly stated that he would support the Senate amnesty bill. While Casey is yet to debate Santorum about the issues involved in the immigration reform bill, Santorum is doing his best to make sure everyone knows where he stands on the issue. So if you are interested in learning more about this historic reform, and what Rick is doing to change America for the better, check out the event at the Monroeville #4 Fire Hall this Wednesday!

Diana Irey to Speak at Breakfast Send-Off for SHU Students

The Seton Hill College Republicans will host a breakfast on Saturday with special guest speaker Diana Irey, Washington County Commissioner and 12th District Congressional Candidate. Irey will bestow her well wishes upon graduating and current students at Seton Hill University, as well as other guests.

Her opponent, John Murtha, will be giving a commencement address at Seton Hill at 11:00a.m. Commissioner Irey will be speaking to students about her agenda for the future. Commissioner Irey looks forward to discussing the issues important to the youth of today, including social security reform, taxes, and job creation that will keep graduates in Pennsylvania rather than being forced to seek career opportunities out of state. Additionally, Commissioner Irey will be outlining how her opponent has become out of touch with the constituents of the 12th district.

The event will be held this Saturday, May 13th at 9:30am at the Republican Headquarters (Victory Center) located at 23 North Maple Avenue in downtown Greensburg. Students who wish to attend will be shuttled to and from the breakfast, and will arrive back shortly after 10am, in time to prepare for commencement.

GO-Party Tonight!

To celebrate a very successful semester, the Seton Hill CR's will be throwing a little party tonight, May 1st at 8:30 in Admin 207. It will be a way for all of our members to come together--along with possible visitors from the Santorum campaign-- and look back on the semester and ahead to the future. The party will have free food, drinks, and campaign materials.

There will also be a special presentation by the current board of the SHU CR's. This will be the first time that the results of our campus survey will be made public. While we won't be drawing any real conclusions from the figures, there are some surprising results. The presentation will also feature a review of some of the major events that the CR's were involved in.

The second goal of the party will be to provide resources for those who want to continue to volunteer. Just because the semester is over doesn't mean that the campaigns are over as well. There are plenty of opportunities for internships and volunteer projects that will be talked about at the party.

So bring your conservative-minded friends over to A207 tonight!

Voices of Iraq This Thursday

[Warning: This film contains graphic violence and depictions of torture and war... as well as coarse language.]

RICK Campaigning Day with Jim Matthews!

This Saturday at the Victory Center in Greensburg, there is going to be a huge campaigning effort going on throughout the day. There will be a phone bank as well as groups of volunteers going door-to-door with voter registration forms and literature. This effort is a part of the 46 Days of R.I.C.K. grassroots effort!

The best part about this event is that the future Lt. Governor of Pennsylvania, Jim Matthews will be there helping out. Matthews is running alongside Lynn Swann. The festivities start at Saturday, April 8th at 10:30am at the Victory Center on N. Maple St. in Greensburg.

Filmed by Iraqis: "Voices of Iraq" to be Screened on Campus

The Seton Hill University College Republicans are proud to present a screening of the award-winning documentary Voices of Iraq Thursday, April 6th. Screening will be held in the Administration Building, Room 207 at 7:30PM until 9:00PM. After the film, the College Republicans will hold a discussion about audience reactions to the war and the film.

The film presents a non-partisan, unbiased look at life in Iraq from the viewpoints of Iraqis themselves. The producers of Voices of Iraq distributed over 150 digital video cameras across the entire country to enable everyday people - mothers, children, teachers, sheiks and even insurgents - to document their lives and their hopes amidst the upheaval of a nation being born.

Beginning amidst the Falluja uprising in April, going through the marshlands in the South, the Kurdish communities in the North and ending in September of this year, thousands of ordinary Iraqis became filmmakers to reveal the richness, complexity and emotion of their lives. The film does contain graphic and violent imagery.

�[I]f this film cannot claim to represent the political "truth" about the war - what film could? - it certainly provides a broad glimpse of daily life in Iraq.�- New York Times

�In a season of political documentaries that take one side or the other on the war in Iraq, a film has emerged whose purpose is not to address American politics but the Iraqi people.� - Variety

Santorum Campaign Meeting at Victory Center

Thursday at 7:00PM there will be a Santorum campaign volunteer meeting at the Victory Center in downtown Greensburg. Anyone interested in helping out is encouraged to attend. Members of the SHU CR's are invited, but if you can't make it, folks attending will bring back materials and information.

The Victory Center is located on North Maple Street, between S. Pittsburgh and Ottoman. Anyone who wants to attend and needs a ride should contact a member of the board.

Meeting on Monday

The club will be holding a meeting Monday, March 27th in the parlors on 2nd Admin. The meeting will begin at 8:30PM (just attend as soon as you get out of your night class, if you have one).

At the meeting, we will be discussing plans to show the film Voices of Iraq on campus, as well as the panel discussion we would like to hold. We will also be passing out new campaign materials from the Santorum and Swann campaigns. There are also other events and opportunities for club members (including the offer of free books!) that will be addressed at the meeting.

As chairman, I would like to thank everyone for their involvement over the past week. The club was extremely active in a number of events (starting with the convention) and I'm very proud with the level of response we have gotten. As we continue, I hope that even more of our members get the chance to participate (despite having already crowded schedules). Thank you, all!

CR's to Meet Ken Mehlman

The SHU CR's are invited to two separate events tomorrow involving Ken Mehlman, the chairman of the Republican National Committee. The first event will be a private reception for him; he will be thanking all of the hard-working volunteers from the Bush-Cheney '04 campaign. Before being elected to Chairman, he was the campaign manager for the Bush campaign in 2004, and was national field director for the campaign in 2000.

The CR's will also be attending the Westmoreland County Republican dinner featuring Mehlman. The dinner is being held at the Greensburg Country Club.

To learn more about Ken Mehlman, check out the GOP.com bio.

Pittsburgh Victory Center Celebrating Grand Opening

The Pittsburgh headquarters for Rick Santorum's re-election campaign is celebrating it's grand opening next Thursday at 11:00am. Seton Hill University's College Republicans have been invited to attend the event, which will feature the Senator himself.

The headquarters is located in Greentree. Anyone interested in attending should comment below or contact a member of the board.

Seton Hill CRs to Attend State Convention

The Seton Hill University College Republicans are sending six members to the PA Federation of College Republicans Convention this Friday and Saturday at Millersville University in Lancaster. This will be the first time the club has attended the state-wide conference.

The first night of the convention will feature a number of guest speakers including Congressman Phil English; former Bush/Cheney Executive Director Guy Ciarrocchi; the regional political director for Senator Santorum, Luke Bernstein; and Valvina Caldwell, the PA Chairwoman of the Republican Hispanic Assembly. Afterwards there is a campaign rally for the Republican guberanorial candidate Lynn Swann.

On Saturday, the Seton Hill CR's will be attending a number of training sessions and seminars: State Senator John Pippy will speak about supporting the troupes abroad; there will be an Academic Freedom Training Session with Representative Gib Armstrong; and there will be various media, voter registration and ISI sessions as well.

The Seton Hill College Republicans would like to thank the Westmoreland County Republicans and Beaver County Commissioner Charlie Camp for their support in making this trip possible. This is an opportunity for the SHU chapter to grow intellectually as well as expand its visibility within the State Federation. We hope that next year we can bring even more members to the convention!

Volunteer for Sean Hannity!

Saturday, Feb. 25th, Sean Hannity will be coming to Pittsburgh to speak at the David L. Lawrence Convention Center! Don't have tickets? Well don't worry, because the SHU College Republicans have been asked to help out with the event! There is a call for volunteers to help sign up folks to work on Rick Santorum's campaign.

All that's asked is that kids carry around clipboards at the event, and sign up people as they walk in or leave. Just for that, they'll pay for your admission into this most-excellent event, which is also going to feature Quinn and Rose and a country band! Volunteers need to be signed up ahead of time (so comment below or contact me ASAP) in order to go...

You have to be able to meet at 1:00PM in Pittsburgh and then afterwards they're buying everyone pizza.

This is going to be a great event to gear up for the exciting Santorum campaign that's starting up this summer. Coincidentally, this is how I first got involved with the Bush campaign... before the CRs were even formed at SHU!

I went to see Hannity when he came on his book tour the summer after Freshman year. While at the event, I met up with the same Bush campaign reps that are working with the club today! One of which would go on to help us form the College Republicans at SHU... so helping out at these events can really bring about some big things for you. You get to meet people who will be involved with every GOP campaign for the next half-decade, and you build contacts for all sorts of things...

Even if you can't make it this Saturday, these events will continue to spring up, and our club will continue to get calls.

CR Table on Thursday

The College Republicans will have a table outside of Lowe Dining Hall this upcoming Thursday from 11am-2pm. Anyone who would like to stop by and show support would be more than welcomed.

The purpose of the table will be three-fold: we will be signing up members, promoting our newsletter, and polling students. The CRs will be asking students of all political beliefs to answer a few poll questions, so that we can measure the student consensus on various issues. The results of the polls will be released in future issues of the newsletter!

Anyone interested in working a shift at the booth can commment below.

Important Meeting Monday 2/13

Monday, February 13th at 8:30PM in A207 we will be holding a very important club meeting. I'm hoping that we will get a very good turnout, as we need to discuss our plans for the current semester (and the more input we have, the better).

We will be discussing activism on campus, fundraising, polling, and other events. We will also talk about our upcoming newsletter and the State CR Convention in March. And, Bryan Harmon (our treasurer) will be making a very exciting financial report that is sure to bring a standing ovation.

In order to spread awareness, you can download a poster for the event and hang it up around campus. Please hang these up only in the designated spots (we are playing by the rules...). Print up a couple, because they'll probably be torn down. Download the PDF here.

State of the Union Address Tues/9PM

Tuesday evening, President Bush will be delivering his State of the Union Address. The address will air at 9PM, most likely on every major network and cable news station. So even if you don't pay for cable here on campus, you should be able to pick it up with your TV's antennae (you can also stream it online from Whitehouse.gov)

In his speech, he is expected to touch on the following issues:

• The developing nuclear issues with Iran
  
• The new Hamas-led Palestinian government
  
• Rising energy costs for Americans
  
• Healthcare reform
  

The President uses this address to lay out his agenda for the upcoming year. He will be talking about the policies he is going to push domestically, as well as taking stances on foreign relations and issues.

First Spring CR Meeting

Tuesday at 9PM in the Admin Parlors, the College Republicans will hold their first planning meeting for the spring semester.

At the meeting we will be discussing various new committees being formed within the group, upcoming projects and presentations, fundraising ideas, conferences and other events to attend, and most importantly, the Rick Santorum re-election campaign.

Since this semester is shaping up to be our most active semester yet, we ask that anyone interested in helping out attend tomorrow night's meeting. It will be short but informative. If you cannot make the meeting, please contact me or Joshua Knopp.

Greensburg Victory Center Re-Opening

The Victory Center will be re-opening in its location in downtown Greensburg this Monday. It will be the center of operations for the Westmoreland County campaign to re-elect Senator Rick Santorum. Many of the activities that the SHU CR's will be taking part in will be held downtown at the Center (which is located across from the Greensburg Courthouse.)

As you may remember, this Victory Center was the main hub for the Bush/Cheney re-election effort in the county. It is being run by most of the same staff as before, including the amazing Elizabeth Yorio (who has aided our club in so many ways.)

The CR's will be meeting as soon as possible once everyone returns to school, and our Santorum task-force will be kicking in to high gear.

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