Semester after semester, UM’s opposing political organizations — College Democrats and College Republicans —  have been mostly void of members with little presence on the Ole Miss campus. Recently, however, these groups have gained relevance among the student body.

This new wave of cultural campus significance can be attributed to the organizations’ new leadership. For College Democrats, that leader is President Ethan Robertson.

Robertson hails from Pontotoc, Miss., a town particularly influenced by conservative ideology. This right-leaning environment easily had an influence on Robertson for most of his youth, but a series of political happenings during his later teen years influenced his personal doctrine toward  a more liberal view. 

“I definitely think all the stuff that happened with COVID-19 sort of broadened my (liberal mindset),” Robertson said. 

The Black Lives Matter movement and the Jan. 6 insurrection at the Capitol in Washington, D.C., also held a huge influence on Robertson’s path to becoming a Democrat.

“Of course, I’d already been leaning on over to the moderate side before that, and then when all of that happened, I decided to switch over to being a Democrat,” Robertson said.

Because of the conservative climate of his home town, Robertson revealed that he experienced some backlash from the community.

“Whenever people found out, I went from being student body president and Mr. North Pontotoc to really having no friends simply because a friend found out I was a Democrat and spread the word to everybody,” Robertson said.

This experience still affects Robertson, but he said that coming to a more politically diverse and accepting environment has acted as a Band-Aid to those cultural wounds. Part of that healing process included joining the University of Mississippi College Democrats,  a club that on his first visit included only about five individuals yelling “present” at roll call.

His group debut happened to be on the same day as club executive elections. Robertson would go on to become the vice president from that round of voting. Over the following Christmas break, the then-president reached out to him and said she would be traveling abroad the following semester, meaning that Robertson would become the active president of College Democrats — as a freshman.

During his appointed time as the group’s leader, there has been a sharp spike in attendance. Robertson acknowledged that the route to this accomplishment was one of determination. 

“We don’t really have outreach material. We don’t have any tablecloths, signs — nothing like that,” Robertson said. “In the past, it would just be me going to Dollar General, staying up all night painting on like a little $1 tablecloth with our little donkey on it to get people to come.”

Under Robertson’s lead, College Democrats have made waves not only around UM but also in the Oxford community. Just last month, the club teamed with other groups to hold a rally supporting the protection of trans youth.

It is community involvement like this that has sparked compliments from College Republicans President Colton Jones.

“They’re getting really involved in the community. They’ve been involved in several events I’ve seen,” Jones said. “I think that means so much because it’s always important to remember there is no University of Mississippi without Oxford.”

Similar to Robertson, Jones saw limited involvement when he arrived at his respective  club’s initial meetings. The Prentiss, Miss., native was also appointed to one of his first positions.

“The chairman at the time messaged me (and asked) if I would come in as secretary because, I think, someone had left the position. I wasn’t expecting it, but I took it on, and we’ve been trying to build everything up since then,” Jones said. 

In April 2022, Jones was voted president of College Republicans. Since then, the organization has seen a noteworthy increase in student interaction with the organization. Jones estimates a total of 20 active members and hopes to expand these numbers.

“One of my focal points would be trying to establish a good alumni base. There’s been several times that College Republicans have kind of gone down, and I want us to get to a point where we don’t really go down again,” Jones said. “We want to make sure there’s longevity and that we’re doing everything right.”

Among his other goals for College Republicans is to form a deeper understanding of political discourse and create connections with similar-minded individuals, whether that be elected officials or fellow students.

The group is undertaking revision and enforcement of the club’s constitution. According to Jones, the book of bylaws has been updated since 2019.

One way new members have been enticed to join the organization is through guest speakers. Most recently, U.S. Rep. Trent Kelly, Transportation Commissioner John Caldwell and state Sen. Chris McDaniel were guests at the College Republicans’ meetings.

Both presidents seem to respect each other’s organization.

Jones admires the way College Democrats expands their horizons to the Oxford community. Robertson applauds the College Republicans’ success with influential guest speakers at meetings.

Although Jones and Robertson likely disagree on a lengthy amount of policy-related topics, they share two threads: the desire for new active members within their respective organizations and acceptance that they can learn something from each other despite their differences.