College Democrats at Southeast Missouri State University had a spike in attendance at their meeting this previous Monday. Zack Dunn, the president of College Democrats, said they saw 33 people at their meeting as opposed to their usual six.

Dunn said the reason for the spike in attendance is different for everyone.

“For some, it’s means for them to express their voice after losing the election to the electoral college,” Dunn said. “For some, it’s to do what they can to uphold the rights for the people they care about. For some it’s about fighting the Trump agenda. Some come just to be informed.”

A big topic at the meeting was how to play defensive politics. Currently, republicans have control of both legislative and executive branches.

The group is relatively new on campus, having started just last semester, but its leaders have big aspirations.

“We think that we could reach out to other campus and get a rally together in Jefferson City for that,” Dunn said. “We actually have a planning meeting coming up next Monday.”

The rally would take aim at the education cuts that will limit funding to higher education.

Some members already have had previous experience with the Democratic Party. One member, Aaron Clite, said he took off last semester to work for the Missouri Democratic Party as a field organizer.

“I became really interested in this organization because I thought it was a great platform for students to have a louder and more collective voice to stand up for the values they believe in, and maybe even use that voice to help shape the future of our government,” Clite said.

To find meeting times, follow College Democrats on Twitter @semo_dems and on Facebook @semodems.