Can a club of 20 members make a profound difference in American government? If you ask the members of Democracy Matters at University of Virginia, the answer is a resounding yes.
Democracy Matters at University of Virginia is a nonpartisan political organization devoted to informing students and citizens about political equality, government transparency and the corrupting effects of “private money in American government,” according to the club’s formal constitution.
Currently boasting about 20 active members, the organization is led by president Scott Trumbull, a third-year College student. Every Monday night at 7, members meet in Cocke Hall to discuss current politics and to plan informative events for the University.
Democracy Matters at University of Virginia encourages the University community to assess how its politicians use private money to fund their election campaigns. Trumbull said the organization’s mission is to open voters’ eyes to the hypocrisy behind this political norm and to recognize that this monetary support from private corporations often results in an unstated expectation of patronage that is not always in the best interest of the general public.
“Corporations and other special interests are often happy to contribute [to campaigns], but their donations come with a political price tag,” Trumbull said. “They expect winning candidates to reciprocate with legislative favors. As a result, there is incredible pressure on our elected officials to legislate in a way that favors corporations and special interests, often at the expense of the average American.”
It’s not only Trumbull who feels this way; the other members of the organization seem just as passionate about the cause.
“I think it’s important that more people are aware of where campaign money comes from and why it is significant that such a large percentage of campaign money shouldn’t come from such a small percentage of the population,” second-year College student Yushin Wung said.
It may seem that the government is doing just fine, even with election money flowing from a small percentage of wealthy donors, Trumbull said, but it is important to fight against this aspect of the political system because it is “legal bribery.”
“Politicians’ ultimate decisions on what to support or what policy to implement rests basically with their largest donors, which is not the average American,” third-year College student Lisa Wagner said.
In anticipation of this year’s presidential election, Trumbull said, the club released a pamphlet in spring 2008 titled “Money, Politics and Hypocrisy,” which profiled each presidential candidate and how their campaigns were intertwined with large-scale private donors.
Because of this year’s election, the group collaborated with the American Civil Liberties Union to educate University students about their voting rights, Trumbull said. Students were offered the number of a hotline to call in case they encountered any problems at their respective polling stations.
The organization also invited Daryn Cambridge to the University last spring “to speak about how [the] current system of campaign finance has contributed to the military-industrial complex,” Trumbull said. Cambridge is the director of youth outreach for Common Cause, a nonprofit advocacy organization based in Washington, D.C. that calls for campaign finance reform and ethics and accountability in government.
In the upcoming semester, the organization hopes to hold events that reach beyond Grounds, such as lobbying trips to Washington, D.C. or Richmond, Va. Members have also proposed creating documentaries that expose government corruption, inviting more prominent figures to the University to speak — particularly elected officials — and running campaigns in local media outlets throughout Charlottesville.
“Any student with a passion about politics would enjoy what this organization tries to do,” third-year College student Yousaf Sajid said. “This group is fighting for a cause that can shape the future of the American political system.”
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