“Guys, it's so important that you do this. We need Trump to be the Republican nominee so that we can ensure a sane leader wins the general election and controls the White House.”
Written in reply to a Jan. 16 post on Donald Trump’s official Facebook page, this comment has gathered over 1,600 likes and nearly a thousand replies. However, the sarcasm in senior Farbod Moghadam’s comment has apparently been lost. (For the record, Moghadam stands firmly in the camp of Democratic Socialist Bernie Sanders.)
Moghadam has made other comments like this on public pages, starting discussions that he himself participates in for hours or over multiple days. On his own Facebook profile, he shares links or photos about the presidential election every few days, often adding in his personal thoughts and commentary.
“I genuinely enjoy not only debating but also educating people on politics so that they also can explore the field and fulfill their civic duties in the future as informed citizens,” he said.
Outside of his online existence, Moghadam has had the opportunity to discuss some of these issues with fellow students during meetings of Democracy Matters Club, of which he is a co-president along with seniors Aditya Chaudhry, Bita Naimi and Meera Rachamallu.
He has found that Democracy Matters provides him “a medium to express [himself] and engage with other students in a civilized manner.” The club meets to discuss the latest political topics on Wednesday lunches in adviser Kirk Abe’s room, 505. Each meeting focuses on a particular topic, which is often introduced through a short video.
“[The video] sparks discussion, and we have people from different sides of the political spectrum discuss their views,” Moghadam said.
The officers guide the discussion, asking for members’ ideas for ways to approach certain issues and opinions on various events, like the Oregon school shooting in October 2015, the Syrian refugees issue and climate change. Recently, the presidential race of 2016 has provided a variety of issues for the 20 members to discuss.
With the 2016 election well under way, the officers hope to put emphasis on providing their members with a way of learning about the candidates and their beliefs as well as about the importance of voting. Democracy Matters is in the midst of planning a voter registration drive, where the club will work with the school and the state government to set up a table for eligible seniors to register.
“I hope that members will realize that their voices really do count and that they should fulfill their civic duty by being involved in the political process,” Moghadam said.
In order for his own voice to be heard, Moghadam has continued to stay involved in the election process. Just one of the millennials “feeling the Bern,” Moghadam supports a system of European-style socialism, believing there is a stigma against the idea in the United States even though it is only an economic system.
“Democratic socialism works within the confines of capitalism to ensure that when the economy grows, everyone feels it,” Moghadam said. “[Sanders] advocates common-sense reforms that would help the United States catch up to the rest of the civilized world. [He is] creating a just society where everyone has a shot at success and nobody goes hungry while the rich get richer.”
As the Sanders campaign has progressed, Moghadam has had the chance to see slow advances, evidence of “hard work getting done.” He has watched Sanders go from single-digit support to “neck and neck” with heavily favored candidate Hillary Clinton in many of the battleground early-primary states.
“We’re seeing a populist movement that we haven’t seen before, and it’s pretty cool to watch,” Moghadam said. “If Sanders gets the party's nomination, then the real fun begins, as the campaign will go over the independent voters who will decide the election.”
Looking into different candidates and talking to various people for the Sanders campaign, Moghadam feels that he has become more supportive of Sanders’ policies himself.
“I become more informed about politics in general,” he said. “When you start campaigning for a candidate and really getting involved, you feel like you have a voice in the political system. And that’s a pretty exciting prospect.”