When Thomas Hellinger came to UCF in the fall of 2009, he and his comrades saw a need for equality on campus.
Hellinger, a senior computer science major, formed the Young Communist League at UCF in an effort to bring together those who support socialist philosophy over capitalism.
The UCF branch of the YCL was founded in the fall of 2009 and is not yet a registered student organization.
“When I transferred from Valencia to UCF there really wasn’t any sort of socialist organization on campus,” Hellinger said. “We felt like it would be a good thing to reach out to the student population to kind of build a broader base.”
The group’s main goal is to bring equality and education to students.
“I've joined YCL in order to be a part of the extreme left counterbalance that is often missing from major college campuses,” Richard Burke, a junior accounting major and treasurer of the YCL, said. “YCL breaks UCF's redundant middle in the political spectrum.”
The group hopes to increase student power on issues such as free speech zones and program eliminations.
The battle to eliminate free speech zones began long before the YCL was founded and has been a constant struggle for organizations like the Students for a Democratic Society and Campus Peace Action.
The YCL and other groups argue that free speech zones are unconstitutional and suppress students’ right to inquiry. The YCL is allying with other organizations to eliminate the zones.
The group also wants to address the issue of programs being cut.
Last summer, the UCF Board of Trustees voted to phase out five programs due to the $77.2 million budget cut from the State Legislature. The deletions left 51 faculty and staff members to find new jobs before their positions are cut for good.
“It was very upsetting when [the program cuts] was unilaterally decided on by the board of trustees with virtually no student or faculty input,” Hellinger said. “We were very disturbed by that and want to start a coalition to make sure that doesn’t happen again.”
Taylor DeArmond, a conservative freshman criminal justice major, is skeptical about the organization.
“They have good goals for the UCF student body,” he said. “It’s just hard to join a cause that is represented by something so controversial.”
Soon after the group began to meet regularly, members of the YCL became concerned that the word “communist” would project a negative image and considered changing their name to the Young Workers' League.
However, Hellinger said that a name like the Young Communist League is more straightforward with the group’s goals.
“It gives us the opportunity to provoke people into coming and basically telling them what we actually are,” Hellinger said.
The YCL has three officers and 40 members.
Hellinger and other members of the YCL table in front of the Student Union on Mondays and Wednesdays from 11 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.
9 comments