GETTYSBURG, Pa. — As Americans prepare to head to the polls tomorrow, various community organizations across south-central Pennsylvania urge voters to remember the importance of unity amidst a highly charged political atmosphere.
Carl DeMarco Jr., the co-president of the Gettysburg College Republicans, reflected on the historic significance of their campus, stating, “There’s probably no other place in the United States where college students walk where men have died. Men who did not know each other but fought because of ideals.”
DeMarco, a senior at Gettysburg College, believes the political landscape today mirrors a battlefield, more than a century after the Civil War.
“There’s certainly contention and there's a lot of work that needs to be done,” he said.
With help from both sides of the aisle, students at Gettysburg College demonstrated the importance of unity with their own version of the Gettysburg Address. The document was published in The Gettysburgian, the college’s newspaper, and presents a united front between the College Republicans and Democrats against political violence ahead of the election.
Adam Doran, vice president of campus outreach for the Gettysburg College Democrats, said the article couldn’t have come at a better time.
“Tensions between parties and between people have gotten rather high in recent years,” Doran stated.
But DeMarco says neither party can do it alone.
“Whether we like it or not, politics demands cooperation. You have to compromise, you have to be able to learn what the other party believes or what the other individual believes and how you can possibly meld your two ideals together to create a policy that actually benefits the American people,” he stated.
Doran echoed the sentiment, adding that teaching those lessons early can help promote more peaceful elections in the future.
“I think it’s very important that we as young Democrats and young Republicans focus on what brings us together,” Doran said.
With their collaboration, the groups hope to make steps towards re-creating a society that can hold political conversations and politely disagree while still building an understanding of other perspectives.
Acknowledging the historical weight of their surroundings, DeMarco emphasized the crucial reminder of the consequences resulting from disagreements turning violent.
“I think we are uniquely positioned to talk about what happens when people cannot sit down and have a conversation and realize that the other is not an enemy,” he said.
But the students at Gettysburg aren’t the only ones promoting peace ahead of Election Day. On the eve of the election, the York Friends Meeting, a local religious group, held a candlelight vigil.
Attendees engaged in moments of quiet reflection, prayer, and song, furthering the message of peace and unity despite the divisive election season.
While voting may end on Nov. 5, community leaders reiterate that the messages of respect and cooperation extend beyond the polling booths. The transitions and milestones following the election including the transfer of office, are critical moments that should also be handled with dignity and non-violence.