The Political Science Club at Iowa State allows students to engage with politics outside of traditional party values.

According to the club’s website, the non-partisan organization aims to “create a diverse community where students interested in politics can acquire and develop professional skills through relevant workshops, lectures, conferences, networking opportunities, field trips, and other professional development activities.”

Club president Jackson Haugh, a graduate student in political science, said the organization “encourage[s] outsider viewpoints to speak up and talk.”

“There’s no one single viewpoint,” Haugh said. “It’s a lot of diversity of opinion.”

Haugh said the organization has recently focused on the election during its meetings, including hosting a watch party for the vice presidential debate between Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz and Ohio Sen. JD Vance.

“We were counting how many dodges each candidate had,” Haugh said. “It’s not like serious political discussion. It’s trying to enjoy politics and make friends.”

Allyson Thompson, the vice president of the organization and freshman undeclared in LAS, said students have been more active in politics this year because of the election.

“People are a lot more involved than they usually are,” Thompson said. “I know that there’s been a lot of places around campus that are advocating for voting.”

Thompson said the organization has worked to inform its members about the political process, including providing information on voter registration.

“I think that a majority of our members are registered to vote, given that we’re more politically involved,” Thompson said. “We meet in Ross Hall, in the library on the fifth floor, and there’s always registration forms and absentee ballots there.”

Noah Kammeyer, the organization’s event organizer and a sophomore in political science, encourages students who are not actively involved in the political process or have an interest in politics to engage with the organization.

“If you’re curious about the election, and you’re curious about politics… just go to a few meetings,” Kammeyer said. “A: You’ll meet great people. B: You might learn a couple things about politics and a little bit of history… C: You might take something out of it and be like, ‘Oh, like that was really fun and engaging while also being informative.”

Kammeyer joined the organization as a freshman and returned because of the atmosphere.

“I found the meetings to be a lot of fun,” Kammeyer said. “I found the people going [to the meetings] to be a very welcoming community.” 

The club meets from 5 to 6 p.m. every Wednesday in Ross Hall 510 and is accessible to all students regardless of political affiliation. For more information, visit their website.