College Democrats: Noah F. Shoudy

Although there are countless social and political problems that President Biden should undertake during the second half of his term, one of the biggest threats to national security, as well as world security, is the war in Ukraine. The war in Eastern Europe has proven to be far more successful than previously thought, due in part to high Ukrainian morale and poor Russian strategy, but because of NATO and European Union support. Through anti-air and anti-tank weapons, Ukrainian forces have been able to thwart much of Russian military strategy, which utilizes tanks, artillery, and drones for many of its attacks. On top of this, the United States has sent billions of dollars worth of small arms, supplies, body armor, and modern weapons systems that far outrank the poor-quality technologies used by Russian troops.

Despite initial analyses pointing towards a swift Russian victory, Ukraine has demonstrated grand expertise in employing American weapons against its invader, most recently retaking much of the eastern Donbas region, the city of Kherson and making gains far quicker than ever expected. Without continued American support, Ukraine will not have the same fighting capacity as its counterpart.

As an International Relations major, I view American support as the best chance for a democratic and free Ukraine, and I fear, based on republican rhetoric and their retaking of the House, that aid to Ukraine will be cut. The Republican party wants to shift its focus on the rising threat of China in the Pacific, which is certainly a serious problem for U.S. national security but is a long-term problem to be dealt with. The war in Ukraine is a short-term problem but will become a long-term one if the United States discontinues its monetary and weapon support. The only way that we can secure Europe’s future is by denying Putin his ability to disrupt the world order. By placing an emphasis on protecting freedom and sovereignty everywhere, the United States under Biden can remain a force of nature.

College Republicans: Rowan Conquest

The Biden administration needs to realize that they will not be passing much bipartisan legislation in the next two years. It takes too much energy and is not worth all of the time that the back and forth wastes. Biden said in his speech on Nov. 9 that he does not want to change how they are handling the office. If anything, he just wants to improve on what he has already passed, so I think he knows that they will not be able to pass much else in the coming years. He has had his time to make change, now is the time to try and deliver on the rest of his promises and solve the world’s more immediate problems. They can pass some executive orders, but should not waste too much time on ones that will not stick once he leaves office. Biden’s administration needs to do 3 things: First, he needs to become a foreign policy president, do all he can to tame this Russia – Ukraine war and hopefully help smother it. We cannot afford to be caught up in this for too long, so hopefully the administration will find a quick resolution. Two, make a push for climate change, a topic that got Biden a lot of votes in 2020. He needs to become the voice of fighting climate change for all nations and set the world on the right track going forward as this was one of his campaign promises. Third, he needs to set the Democratic party up well for the next election.So whether he decides to run again or not, the party is in a good position.