One of Ohio University's newest student political organizations on campus started as a joke, according to some of its members.
The Third Amendment Club, or 3rdAOU, now has about 200 members and aims to get college students involved with on-campus political events, Jilly Anderson, a senior studying war and peace and political science, said.
“We discuss how this relatively uninteresting amendment could be reimagined and be implemented into our lives a little better,” Anderson said.
Emma Armstrong, a junior studying speech pathology, said the organization started as a joke, and students are still figuring out their plan for the club.
“Some people want to take it seriously and have actual meetings,” Armstrong said.
Bryce Hoehn, a senior studying political science, is the president of 3rdAOU. Hoehn said the club was created out of the OU chapter of the Young Democratic Socialists of America club.
“It is a good way to get students who aren’t otherwise involved in political orgs to get on our email list …we share all the different political stuff going on on-campus as well,” Hoehn said.
Anderson noted the club attended the recent “Speak Your Pizza” event, a civil rights discussion hosted by the OU student chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union, to get members engaged on-campus.
“We don’t just talk about our club activities,” she said. “We also try to support and try to promote other political events on campus.”
The club's first meeting was held on Oct. 3rd and students who are interested in joining can message the club on Instagram.
Anderson said that at meetings, they also discuss court cases centered around the Third Amendment.
“We’re not trying to support a certain political party, we are really passionate about the Third Amendment,” she said.
The club has posted on Yik Yak and used memes on their Twitter and Instagram accounts to increase engagement, as well as created a GroupMe chat room and Bobcat Connect page.
Anderson said they have also attended protests in an effort to recruit new members.
“I think right now, we’re just trying to set up a good foundation,” Anderson said.
