On Friday, Sept. 9, the Dickinson College Republicans announced their endorsement of controversial GOP Presidential nominee Donald Trump on their Facebook page.

The announcement on the Facebook page states that the group “formally, and unapologetically, endorse[s] Donald J. Trump for President of the United States.” The group prefaced the announcement with a call for more diversity of conversation on campus, and a defense of the expression of views not held by the majority. They called for “all Republicans, especially millennials,” to support the nominee.

The president of the club, Krysti Oschal ’17 when asked to comment on the club’s decision, said “While some club members may be undecided or do not support Donald Trump individually, the club members understand the importance of standing firm behind our Party’s nominee and providing opportunities to students who want to volunteer for his campaign.”

The club plans to continue its mission to help Republican candidates at all levels in the upcoming election. They plan to engage the greater Carlisle community by hosting a phone bank, knocking on doors and facilitating discussions to promote and explain their position.

Student reaction to the decision has been tepid. Austin Fuller ’20, who is a member of College Republicans, said it was “to be expected,” and confirmed that while there were some in the club that were not planning to vote for Trump in the fall, the club as a whole was in support of the nominee.

Whether or not to endorse Donald Trump has been a point of contention among Republican clubs at other colleges as well. According to a Washington Post article by Valerie Strauss, the Harvard Republican Club “has issued a statement… saying that for the first time in its history, it will not endorse their party’s presidential candidate… Because the club is ‘ashamed’ of Trump.”

Penn State faced the same dilemma, according to an onwardstate.com article written by David Abruzzese. “The [Penn State College Republicans] brought the endorsement to a vote, only to have 72 percent of its membership oppose supporting Trump,” Abruzzese reports. The group cited “…Trump’s contentious policy platforms,” as one reason for their refusal to back Trump, says Abruzzese. The group announced Trump’s policies “do[n’t] fall in line with Republican, American, or Penn State values.”

Dickinson’s College Democrats have officially endorsed Hillary Clinton.

“We will be supporting Hillary Clinton in this election,” Philip Morabito ’17, President of the College Democrats stated in an email.  We realize a lot of Democrats on campus supported Bernie Sanders in the primary. We welcome all Democrats to join us, no matter who you’ve supported in the past.”