It feels like I haven’t seen my fellow PLAers (who are also simply friends!!) in such a long time. I miss all of you guys. From PLA class, to the trips, to just hanging out on campus, it was always comforting to see a familiar face. And someone to ask when the next blog was due. I wanted to explain why it has been so long, and why I won’t be on campus this year.

This past summer, I took a job on a campaign. Tom Brier, a Dickinson and Penn State Law grad, is running for United States Congress in my home District, Pennsylvania’s 10th. To be quite honest, I wasn’t entirely sure what I was getting myself into.

Tom first needs to get past the primary, but we are running to oust our current Representative Scott Perry, who is a member of the far-Right Freedom Caucus and consistently votes in agreement (around 98% of the time) with President Trump. Unfortunately, there was never really any hope for my district going blue. However, in 2018 Pennsylvania’s 10th was redistricted and it gave Democrats an unprecedented chance at flipping the seat. In that election, Perry won with only 51% of the vote. That means that come November 2020, a presidential election, which will increase voter turnout, we have a real shot at winning.

I never foresaw myself getting into politics, but this was an interesting and relevant opportunity. After my first few months working on the campaign, I have come to believe it is an extremely important one, too. A message of our campaign is that we need to change the way we talk about politics to one that is grounded, accessible, and civic. The future really is dependent upon what actions we take now, and we won’t make any progress if we are not even capable of having a conversation. This is the message that resonates with me the most. Personally, all of the difficult things I have dealt with in my life and seen my friends deal with, are not dealt with properly because on a structural level, we struggle to have these meaningful conversations.

Although, some days are harder than others, and sometimes you take 5 steps forward to only take 10 back, I have come to really enjoy working on the campaign. So, I made the decision to keep working on it throughout the school year and take a few classes at Penn State Harrisburg to finish my degree. I am grateful to Melissa and Katie for making my PLA status remain the same!

Lastly, a subtle plug is necessary and relevant – one of the pillars of the campaign is to engage with the students like you and me, so I invite and encourage all of you to check out the www.brierforcongress.com.Our generation has a chance to change what the future will hold for the better, but we need to step up.

I might make this blog like a “stories along the campaign trail” type thing, but I don’t know if you guys would care enough for it to be that. So, comment below what you think!!