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College Republicans at UTK hosted Rep. Eddie Smith in the Howard Baker Center for Public Policy on Aug. 24, 2016. Alex Holcomb • The Daily Beacon
State Representative attends College Republican meeting Alex Holcomb
Contributor On Wednesday evening, Aug. 24, the College Republicans held their first meeting of the fall semester and State Rep. Eddie Smith took questions from more than 100 young conservatives in attendance. Smith serves the 13th district of Tennessee in the State House of Representatives which covers a significant portion of Knox County. He has been in office since 2014 and is currently running for re-election. He took time to express his care for the organization during the initial meeting. “Really, the goal was to introduce myself to the College Republicans, energize them to help
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them stay active throughout the year and to get involved in local campaigns,” Smith said. Greg Butcher, president of the College Republicans and senior in marketing, experienced how willing Smith was to be a part of the group. “Representative Smith has come to College Republican meetings since I’ve been at UT,” Butcher said. “He is very open, very accessible to our chapter.” Communications Director and junior in journalism Alex Swisher said Smith shared his insight on how those active in politics are an important part of each meeting. “Politics is all a networking game, it’s all about who you know and how hard you’re willing to work,” Swisher said. “We want to bring in as many guest speakers, elected officials or others involved in politics to have the opportunity to
learn from them.” Smith, at the age of 37, is the youngest person serving in an elected office in Knox County. The College Republicans, though involved in the upcoming election currently, often place importance on future club members during nonelection years, something that Smith believes strongly in. “I really want to see more young people getting involved and becoming active in the community and taking that step to go into public service,” Smith said. Alex Pennycuff, treasurer of the College Republicans and junior in finance, related his political involvement with a common past time among UT. “It’s similar to the Vols football team when they practice all year around for a single game,” Pennycuff said. “The years that are not election
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years are kind of just these years of practice, finetuning your craft, and then when the election comes, it’s game time.” The College Republicans strongly encourage all students who are interested in conservative values to be a part of the community. Representative Smith had advice and encouragement for those that are interested in any type of political club at UT. “Joining the College Republicans or any other group on campus gives you an outlet to make sure that your voice is being heard,” Smith said. “If you just stay at home, in your dorm room and never join, then I can promise your voice won’t be heard.” The College Republicans meet every other Wednesday and can be accessed through VOLink, Facebook and Twitter.
Friday, August 26, 2016