After three years of silence, Florida Atlantic University’s College Democrats chapter is back.

College Democrats, a registered organization that aims to advocate for Democratic values and ideals on campus, was officially reactivated after being inactive on the FAU campus since 2021. 

Aaron Meyerowitz, the advisor to FAU College Democrats, explained that the chapter’s student involvement decreased due to the COVID-19 pandemic, which forced organizations to go virtual. During this period, the chapter had a president but no members. When the president graduated in 2021, leadership was not transferred. 

Trevian Briskey, the current student president of the FAU College Democrats, contacted Meyerowitz this summer to ask him to return as the chapter’s advisor. Briskey is now focused on reviving the chapter and finding a new board of leaders to strengthen its presence on campus.

“We’re going to provide the platform for the student voice that hasn’t been able to be heard in the past few years,” he said. 

He added that the organization will provide a safe space for individuals to voice their opinions, regardless of political affiliation and offer the opportunity to hear the perspectives of others. 

“My overall mission as a member of the Democratic Party is to make sure that we are upholding the democracy that we live in, what this country was standing on and what it was founded for,” he said. “And we continue the progress to move forward and accept that the future is open to change.”

Alexander Lambridis, a sophomore at FAU majoring in political science, is part of the FAU College Democrats’ leadership council along with a few other students. He said he joined the chapter because of his interest in local politics and in informing people to exercise their civic duty to vote.

“The timing of the reopening of this chapter could not have come at a better time, to be honest, because this is a landmark election,” Lambridis said. 

Briskey mentioned that with the upcoming U.S. presidential election in November, he plans to organize a student-led debate with other student organizations, such as College Republicans and Turning Point USA (TPUSA) at FAU. A date has not been determined for the debate. 

Nick Coyte, president of FAU’s TPUSA chapter, a non-partisan and conservative organization, said he looks forward to organizing a debate to discuss topics in the election.

“We are very excited to see them on campus,” Coyte said. “We have spoken with them a couple of times and look forward to collaborating with further discourse on key topics.”

Michael Cook is the News Editor for the University Press. For information regarding this or other stories, email michael17cook@gmail.com.