NEWS |39 From left: Kyle Stewart, president of the Ithaca College Republicans, and Michael Pyskaty, vice president of the Ithaca College Republicans GRACE ELLETSON/THE ITHACAN
NOT MY PRESIDENT The IC Republicans organization did not endorse Donald Trump during the election |BY GRACE ELLETSON
T
he Ithaca College Republicans organization made an unprecedented decision concerning the presidential election: It did not endorse Donald Trump as the Republican nominee. Many college Republican clubs also refused to endorse Trump as the Republican nominee, including the Harvard Republican Club, Princeton University College Republicans and the Pennsylvania State Republican club. IC Republicans President Kyle Stewart said his club made the decision because it is committed to conservatism, and he said he thinks Trump does not embody any conservative values. “He goes back and forth in one sentence on his policies,” Stewart said. “He changes his mind very often, and stability and decision-making is something I look for in a candidate.” The IC Republicans group released a statement to the college Aug. 30, 2016, that said it would not be endorsing Trump as a candidate or helping fund his campaign efforts in any way. Stewart, who is also a columnist for The Ithacan, said to his knowledge, the IC Republicans club has never refused to endorse its party’s presidential candidate before. Despite the group’s stance on Trump, Stewart said he
encouraged members of the group and the campus community to vote however they wanted in the November 2016 election. Michael Pyskaty, vice president of IC Republicans, said he reaffirms that belief. “There are people who do support Donald Trump, and that’s their beliefs,” Pyskaty said. “We can’t go out and say what you believe is wrong, because that’s not right.” On Sept. 2, 2016, the Cornell Republicans group controversially decided to endorse Libertarian candidate Gary Johnson. In response, the New York Federation of College Republicans revoked its recognition of the chapter, said Olivia Corn, chair of the Cornell Republicans. “I’m very angry about what has transpired,” Corn said. “There’s no basis for them to do this whatsoever.” Alex Smith, national chairwoman of the College Republican National Committee, said the CRNC is not allowed to endorse any candidate but that the organization does support all Republicans who are on the presidential ticket. “There is more than one way to be a college Republican, and we leave it to our states and chapters to govern themselves in a way they best see fit,” Smith said.