Candice Anvari staff writer
In preparation for the Georgia Senate runoff election in January, the Young Democrats of Beverly continue to spread their ideals as far and wide as possible. The goal of the club is to advocate for different causes the Democratic Party stands for. 
As a whole, the club members wrote a total of 1,065 letters for the organization Vote Forward, an organization is dedicated to spreading the democratic message to the swing states. In addition to writing letters, students phone and text banked in order to encourage Americans to vote if they are eligible—especially for Democratic candidates. 
Junior co-presidents Emma Newman and Leia Gluckman started the club because they wanted to help “make a change” in politics. Before starting the club, Newman felt like a “hypocrite” for complaining about problems in the country since she was not contributing to a change. She “pushed” for the club to get involved in politics through advocacy.
“Personally, I realized that I was complaining a lot about issues, such as issues to do with Trump and so many issues in today’s politics,” Newman said. “I reached out to Leia so we could start this club because I did not want to just sit and do nothing while all these important things are happening in our country.” 
Newman believes that it’s important for students under the age of 18 to make an effort to be involved in politics since their efforts can have a “significant” effect. 
“I feel like the most important part of our message is that if you are a Democrat, it’s not enough to just be a Democrat just on the basis of beliefs,” Newman said. “If you are not doing something to contribute, it’s not really helping, especially since people under 18 cannot vote.” 
Leading into second semester, the club will continue to write letters for the Georgia runoffs and transition into advocating about different democratic causes, such as climate change and immigration reform. 
“Next semester is going to be more focused on learning about different issues, whether that be the environment or reproductive rights,” Gluckman said. “We will be looking at the different perspectives of numerous arguments in order to form our own opinions based on empirical facts.” 
By the end of the year, Gluckman hopes that students can take away “valuable” lessons from participating in the club. 
“Our goal is to bring out well-educated advocates for things that they care about. Whether we agree with their opinion or not, we want everyone to learn how to respect one another’s opinion,” Gluckman said.  
Junior Amelia Teschner joined the club because she “values democracy” and the club allowed her to make a difference through her beliefs. 
“I believe I am making a difference through the club as I have got to talk to so many people,” Teschner said. “I have helped people register to vote in what is the most crucial election, in my opinion.”