On Monday, Jan. 27, the Progressive Student Coalition gathered in the Student Union at Wright State University. On Wednesday, Jan. 29, they held a bake sale outside the Hangar. During their weekly meeting, they discussed the causes they support, and at their bake sale, they backed their beliefs with action.
What is PSC?
The political club PSC has been on WSU campus for two years now, and has amassed nearly forty members. They are looking to expand their active membership and presence across campus.
Daniel Wasniewski graduated from WSU last year with a political science degree, and is a graduate student at WSU, focusing on public administration. He is a co-founder of PSC as well as the President, with this year being his second consecutive term.
“[We are a] multi political tendency, multi issue, multi tendency, political organization, like, clearly progressive, but like, not really here at any particular ideological orientation,” Wasniewski said.
PSC is an open organization that meets weekly to bring up the issues on their hearts with like-minded individuals.
“We do have a very tight knit, core group of members right now, but we are working on expanding our reach and kind of tracking people who are interested in progressive political and policy, policy issues particularly, and really we're mostly trying to determine what the campus community finds most important to see us address,” Wasniewski said.
Meeting minutes and important causes
“The issue of Israel and Palestine is a very pressing issue that a lot of people have been speaking about a great deal all over the country and on the international level as well,” Wasniewski said.
Taylor Pendleton came to PSC for the first time, and shared that she enjoyed her time there. She expressed her excitement for the bake sale, where she planned to bake cookies to sell.
“So I was hoping to join this organization and see how I can get more engaged in the community, because I feel very strongly about certain events, especially during the Trump administration,” Pendleton said.
“And so I was wondering as of late, I [have seen] a lot of information on social media about ICE raids. How do we assess them, how do we disseminate information about that?”
Pendleton also voiced her concerns that members of the LGBTQ+ community might be feeling right now, and suggested that PSC partner with Rainbow Alliance. Wasniewski shared that they have some ideas in the works with the LGBTQ+ cultural center.
Nex Bosier is another active member of PSC. They are passionate about the issues that have been discussed so far, as well as some other issues that are concerning.
“It's crazy that you can see…like similarities between Hitler and Trump now more than ever, not to mention what happened last week,” Bosier said, referencing the questionable salute that Trump's employee, Elon Musk, did at the inauguration.
All present members of PSC agreed that this was a concerning event, and pointed to Trump’s efforts to get rid of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion in education and workplaces.
Heal Palestine
The bake sale on Jan. 29 was to raise money for charity, specifically Heal Palestine.
“They do a lot of humanitarian medical work in Israel, Palestine development, particularly with regards to medical care, medical issues [and] personal educational supplies for students that are affected by conflicts,” Wasniewski said in regards to Heal Palestine. “For children, they also provide medical care, like resources for children with severe medical conditions and the reasons were affected by the conflict.”
PSC has an upcoming event scheduled for Feb. 10, where they will screen a film titled El Norte, which will touch on the refugee experience through the lens of Latin America and Southern American refugees.
