Image Credit: UTC College Republicans / Facebook
The Tennessee Conservative [By Adelia Kirchner] –
After a 5-year hiatus, College Republicans has made a return to the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga (UTC), once again providing a space for politically right-leaning students to comfortably express their views and find other like-minded individuals on campus.
Colleges and universities across the country have the College Republicans and the College Democrats listed as groups that students can join.
However, depending on the student population at any given point, these groups often go defunct quite easily following the graduation of their on-campus leadership.
Until recently, it had been 5 years since UTC had an active College Republicans group on-campus and the College Democrats group had been inactive since the 2021-2022 school year.
New Founder and Chair of UTC College Republicans, Elias Griffin, has led the charge to re-establish the group and unite conservative UTC students after noticing a lack of space on campus for conservative views.
“I thought it would be a good idea if we had somewhere that other people with conservative views can at least voice their opinions or just come together,” Griffin told The University Echo, UTC’s official student newspaper.
UTC College Republicans was ratified by the UTC Student Government Association (SGA) in November of 2024.
Griffin’s efforts inspired SGA member Hattie Martinek to reignite UTC College Democrats.
“It is so weird to have one partisan group on campus and not the other,” Martinek said. “This party [College Republicans] has a really strong presence on campus; they have a space to organize, and I don’t align with that party.”
UTC College Democrats was then ratified by the university SGA in January 2025.
According to Griffin, he has been focusing on building a foundation of membership and bringing more conservative speakers to the Chattanooga campus.
“I envision the College Republicans to just continue to promote conservative ideas on campus, and if anyone has questions, they can come to us, they can come without the feeling of judgment,” he said.
“At most universities, conservatism is not the largest political ideology. (CR) really just gives a space for us to comfortably discuss how we feel and talk (…) so we don’t feel as judged or as put down,” Griffin continued.
While the College Republicans and College Democrats groups at University of Tennessee at Knoxville (UTK) have found themselves in heated controversy leading to the doxxing of student leaders and the relocation of meetings, the revival of both political groups on UTC grounds has not resulted in the same issues.
“I’m very thankful for the relationship we have with the [UTC] College Republicans right now, especially with the political climate being so divisive,” Martinek told The University Echo. “I know Elias; he’s really involved, and he really cares.”
According to Martinek, every communication she’s had with UTC College Republicans has been “fabulous.”
“They’re genuinely very politically involved people,” she said. “We don’t align politically, but I think as people we both want what’s best for Americans.”
About the Author: Adelia Kirchner is a Tennessee resident and reporter for the Tennessee Conservative. Currently the host of Subtle Rampage Podcast, she has also worked for the South Dakota State Legislature and interned for Senator Bill Hagerty’s Office in Nashville, Tennessee. You can reach Adelia at adelia@tennesseeconservativenews.com.
One Response
When near all “professors” are lucifer’s Dimmercraps…