For students unsure of which party to support in the upcoming election, Artur Davis can relate.

Davis, a former four-term member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Alabama, was a Democrat from 2003 to 2012 and then switched to the Republican Party. He was a headline speaker at the Republican National Convention this year.

College Republicans is sponsoring a talk by Davis on Tuesday at 7 p.m. in Watson Theater.

Davis is expected to discuss his current political beliefs in comparison to his former beliefs. The College Republicans are hopeful that Davis’ talk will encourage students to rethink where they receive their political information and how they can better prepare themselves to vote in the upcoming election.

“I think it gives people a unique opportunity,” said James Ward, president of College Republicans and a junior mechanical engineering major. “There are not a lot of people who change their ideology or are open enough to question their political beliefs.”

Davis’ political background has piqued students’ interest and has made them more inclined to attend the event.

“I am thinking about going to see Artur Davis because the election is looming and, since he has participated on both sides of the aisle, he will have some interesting insight,” said Dillon Tamer, a sophomore political science major. “Since he spoke in the DNC, it’s interesting that he would come to speak for the College Republicans this year.”

Davis is expected to bring a new perspective to Syracuse University students by speaking about himself as a representative of the “political middle,” according to his website.

He will not only be speaking about his political background and ideology, Ward said, but also about educating students and urging them to question and rethink their own political beliefs.

“A lot of younger people especially use social media and political commentary to get their facts, and it’s not necessarily a good way of getting the facts,” Ward said. “I think people should attend the event to see how you can make your ideology and rethink your beliefs like (Davis) did.”

Davis’ experiences, as well as his political affiliations, will ideally lead to education of students on political viewpoints before the upcoming election.

Said Ward: “Davis will give students a cool opportunity to hear about why he changed his political beliefs and ideology, and why he thinks that Romney is a better candidate for this presidential term.”

 

Published on October 2, 2012 at 1:05 am

Contact Taylor: tblupo@syr.edu