The Brock Young Liberals Club aims to build community while increasing student participation in all levels of politics.
The president of the club, Zayaan Ladhani, describes it as a community of ideas rather than focused on a single ideology
“University politics is really grassroots. You see the issues in your area,” said Ladhani.
The Brock Liberals Club aims to connect student perspectives with the provincial and federal Liberal parties. According to Ladhani, the club has already been ratified by the Ontario Liberal Party and is currently awaiting ratification from the federal Liberal Party. Nevertheless, it is the fastest growing Liberal university club in the province.
For Ladhani, a political university club serves to “keep our parliamentary politics grounded.” He added that “it allows young people to have exposure and also keeps [Brock] on the table; it gives our region a voice.”
Vice President Ahmed Al-Zahrawi added that “the youth now is going to be the future generation of leaders. Some of us will end up in Parliament, and one of us [may] be prime minister. We have to create a channel for the youth to get involved.”
“Being a part of this club makes me think that I am involved in that sort of progress, the progress of including the youth in politics,” said Al-Zahrawi. “We all love our country, we all want the best for our society and the fact that we have the channel to […] do something about it makes me very proud of having that club and being a part of it.”
The Brock Young Liberals club is linked with the Ontario Liberal Party, allowing them greater access to events, fundraisers and representatives for the party. Al-Zahrawi explained that one of the aims of the club is to help educate members about the inner functions of politics.
“The existence of the club is vital for students who […] are interested in politics but just don’t know how to get there,” said Al-Zahrawi.
Ladhani emphasizes that “you don’t have to be a political science student to get into politics.” The club aims to educate those who are interested to learning about what the Canadian government really does and how to get involved with politics at that level. “You could be a health-sci student and want to go into health policy; you can be a doctor and want to change how hospitals are run. […] The club is for you; […] it’s for students to get a comprehensive understanding of how [political] parties function,” said Ladhani.
Ladhani said that the club has been working to get Liberal politicians to attend future events. The club is seeking to invite Nathaniel-Erskine Smith to an event the Brock Young Liberals Club is hosting in late November, but his attendance is yet to be confirmed.
The Brock Young Liberals Club is the only Young Liberal Club in the Hamilton-Niagara area. According to Ladhani, the club plans to utilize its regional position to draw party members into the area to echo the concerns of young people in the region.
As Al-Zahrawi explained, “because we’re affiliated with the party and the party has youth involvement as a priority of theirs as well, it kind of works as a win-win for the both of us.”
Ladhani noted that “a political party isn’t a marriage; the point of this club is to get young people involved in politics […] we are on track to working with other Brock clubs […] it’s to say we are collaborative, we are part of the community, we are here to help young people engage in politics with confidence.”
Al-Zahrawi added that he hopes to “reach a middle ground that works for everybody. […] We all want our country to be the best and to do that is to engage in those talks to find that point that works for all of us. […] We are working in collaborating with other partisan clubs as well and there’s nothing wrong with that, if anything, it makes the engagement more thoughtful.”
The Brock Young Liberals Club welcomes any interested students to join.
More information about the Brock Young Liberals Club can be found on their Instagram page.