As campus gears up for another season of club elections, there’s one ballot you won’t find at the polls: the Saint Anselm College College Democrats. In a twist of political irony, the group dedicated to civic engagement and party organizing is no longer recognized as an official club by the Saint Anselm College Student Government Association (SGA). The decision means the club has lost its official status in the eyes of SGA– at least for now– following years of internal issues and, more recently, a breakdown in communication between student leaders and the association. Continued on Page 5 Nolan Howard ’26, the current interim president and former secretary of the club, acknowledged that the problems did not happen overnight. “Over a period of many years, under the leadership of multiple people, there has been a culture that did not feel like they needed to adhere to the rules of the college and therefore service hours became neglected and have not been completed for multiple years,” Howard said. Service hours are a requirement for student organizations to maintain good standing with SGA. According to Howard, that neglect compounded over time, ultimately contributing to the club’s loss of official recognition. Despite the setback, Howard emphasized that the organization is not disappearing from campus life. “There is a process for readmission in the eyes of the college, and we will apply for reinstatement ASAP,” he said. “However, at this point we have not received any formal correspondence from the college notifying us of our suspension as a club.” Howard maintained that the path back to official status is straightforward. “It is a fairly simple application process and we are in the process of direct communication with the people responsible for this process to attempt to expedite it,” he said. In the meantime, he insists the club will continue to operate. “The club will continue to be active on campus and bring events and people to the students,” Howard said. He added that losing SGA recognition does not prevent the group from maintaining its digital presence. “The college does not regulate our social media activities, and we will remain active without interruption.” Not all members, however, share the same level of optimism. Benjamin Harrington ’27, who described himself as a regular member with interest in pursuing a leadership role, pointed to what he sees as deeper leadership failures. “I was just a normal member of the club, though I had expressed interest in joining the club leadership sometime this semester or the beginning of next year; which many people knew beforehand,” Harrington said. He recalled that the club’s final event last semester raised eyebrows. “I remember that the last event was last semester, and it was to celebrate the birthday of the previous members of leadership, which I thought was pretty ridiculous,” he said. Beyond that, he noted that meetings were often scheduled on days when many members could not attend. According to Harrington, the problems escalated when former leaders stepped down without proper communication. “From what I heard, the former leaders were planning an exit last semester, and without telling SGA, they resigned and installed new leadership,” he said. “They didn’t express any plans other than leaving at the beginning of this semester, which seems like a captain abandoning ship without telling the rest of the crew.” He was blunt in his assessment. “This issue is because of the leadership of the club; many members of the club were unaware that it was ending because leadFrom Page 1 ers didn’t inform people that they were stepping down until it was too late. It was extremely incompetent of them,” Harrington said. “It shouldn’t matter that you don’t want to do this anymore; you were elected to lead the club. It is your responsibility that you decided to take on. I think it speaks to the competency of the leadership and the lack of efficacy in their time leading the club. I would like to see change.” As for reinstatement, Harrington warned that the timeline may not be quick. “So far that I’ve heard, the process will most likely involve regaining funding and official club status; that process takes a while,” he said. After speaking with a member of the College Republicans, he believes the club might not regain recognition until near the end of his senior year– potentially the spring semester of 2027. “In my opinion, [that] is not enough time to see a revived club while I am here.” He added that rebuilding would likely require starting over. “We need to choose new leadership, along with going through a new approval process to end the funding probation placed on the club,” Harrington said. “As of now, it seems like the club needs to start from the beginning.” Rae Ward ’29, a first-year student who joined the club this year, expressed disappointment at how events unfolded. “As far as I am aware, the club was disbanded due to the Executive Board being uncooperative with SGA and neglecting to inform them of leadership changes, namely the president, who stepped down without holding elections for new leadership,” Ward said. Ward said she has been told that the club may not be recognized by SGA until Spring 2027 and would not receive funding until the following academic year. Without official leadership in place, she does not believe the group can sponsor events at this time. “I can say that I am disappointed in our Executive Board for their lack of leadership, transparency, and accountability and I wish things had gone down differently,” Ward said. “As a school with such a strong political presence, both ends of that spectrum should be represented and I am frustrated that certain members of the club did not care enough about that to make sure the club could thrive under new leadership, instead of essentially starting from scratch.” For now, the College Democrats find themselves in an unusual position: politically engaged but procedurally sidelined. Whether they can reorganize, rebuild trust, and return to the official roster remains to be seen. Until then, as campaign season rolls on, one of campus’s most politically active groups will be organizing– just not officially counted.