Looking for a group of intelligent, open-minded people who enjoy discussing and actively supporting conservative politics? Look no further than the Brandeis Republicans, a conservative sanctuary on the Brandeis campus. In weekly meetings, the Republicans provide a stimulating, tolerant and conservative atmosphere open to all Brandeis students, from the first-years to the post doctoral graduate students. It is in this tolerant atmosphere that one may safely proclaim his or her love for George W. Bush and his policies, share and discuss articles and books authored by witty and intelligent conservative pundits such as Ann Coulter and William F. Buckley Jr. or discuss the truth (or lies) behind certain political movies.

While in the past membership and meeting attendance has been sub-par, this year has already kicked off to a fantastic start. Every club witnesses the usual high attendance at the first meeting of the year followed by a sharp decline the week after, but thus far, the Republicans have had many more members than they had in previous years. And these members don't just add bulk to the e-mail list rather the number of active members has also appeared to increase from previous years.

Many of these new members have expressed their gratitude for the existence of the Republicans, mentioning how glad they are to have a place where they can express their political views and ideologies free from ridicule and intolerance, while at the same time socialize with their fellow Republicans.

Besides strong membership, the Republicans are also facilitated by a dedicated, hard-working leadership. With a president, vice-president, secretary, treasurer, fundraising head and news and information director at the reins, the Republicans are looking forward to a successful, active year.

It must be noted, however, that we are an extremely egalitarian club. While many clubs may have an executive board that does the brunt of the work to the extent that it appears the board is the club, the Republicans' leaders are simply there to facilitate and organize. What makes this club so great is that anyone can be as active and contribute as much as she or he is able, regardless of position.

Thus far, the Republicans have some exciting, tentative plans for this school year with a two-fold purpose. All of them aim to provide members with the opportunity to socialize with their sometimes hard-to-come-by fellow Brandeis Republicans, while simultaneously educating the wider student body on Republican issues.

The closest upcoming event is an outing to watch Celsius 41.11, a film released this month. This movie exposes the lies behind Michael Moore's Fahrenheit 9/11 (Interesting fact: Celsius 41.11 is the temperature at which the brain begins to die.)

Also, this being an election year, the Republicans are hoping to have a series of debates held around the time of the presidential debates, as well as gatherings to watch the debates with discussions held directly afterwards. These debates and discussions will serve as excellent opportunities for students to learn more about Republicans and their views, as well as to dispel any misinterpretations of them. If things go well in November, the Republicans would like to have a giant victory bash to celebrate the spectacular news.

The fun doesn't stop there. We are also planning to attend and sponsor more social events with Republican clubs from other universities and colleges, including Harvard, Boston University, Boston College, Babson, Amherst and Tufts. In this way, the Republican college youth of the Boston area will be better connected to each another.

Further, the Republicans are hoping to have more dissemination of Republican articles, books and information to those interested. And of course, the ever-popular, fun-filled Conservative Coming Out week will be held during the spring semester. As a special event, we are currently trying to obtain a popular conservative pundit such as Ann Coulter to speak to the Brandeis Republicans and the entire community during that week.

With dedicated, vibrant, and active members, and a promising series of educational and social events, it is clear that the Republicans will play a very active role on the Brandeis campus during this election year. Further, our role in during the academic year will not only be active, and multifaceted. The Republicans will attempt to correct any misinterpretations of conservative views, as well as to actively educate the campus on conservative issues.

Perhaps more importantly, as expressed by many in the club, the Republicans not only exist to educate on conservative views, but also exist as a forum and gathering place for its members. Indeed, many members may consider the Republicans an arena where they are able to freely express their conservative views in a tolerant environment with like-minded individuals.

The events this year will, thus, not only serve to provide much-needed information students should have in order to make a more balanced assessment of the candidates during the election, but they will also serve to provide an intellectual, open-minded outlet for Brandeis Republicans.