BY TUCKER REILLY, MANAGING EDITOR
Former United States representatives Peter H. Kostmayer and David A. Trott visited St. Bonaventure University this week as part of the Congress to Campus Program. The two former congressmen visited political science classes on Monday and Tuesday, in addition to participating in a public forum Monday evening.
The Congress to Campus program is an over 40-year program where bipartisan teams of former representatives are sent to college campuses and engage in dialogue with students. Kostmayer served in the US House of Representatives from 1977 to 1981 and from 1983 to 1993 as a Democrat in Pennsylvania’s 8th district. Trott served two terms from 2015 to 2019, representing Michigan’s 11th district as a Republican.
Dr. Josiah Lambert, an associate professor of political science and chair of the political science department, described the history of Congress to Campus at Bonaventure.
“[Former] representative Jim Walsh is an alumni of the university and was working on the board of Former Members of Congress. We invited him and another former member here in 2016. After that, I thought, ‘this is really a cool event’ and we’ve been able to hold it annually – except for last year due to the pandemic.”
The main program took place Monday night, in which students studying political science and campus media were invited to dinner before a panel discussion with the former congressmen. Also in attendance at the dinner were acting university president Dr. Joseph Zimmer, acting provost Dr. David Hilmey, Olean mayor William J. Aiello and the deans of several schools.
Junior political science major Alberto Calderon gave the night’s opening address and presented the university’s guests with small gifts.
“It is a great experience to be a part of the university’s political science program,” said Calderon. “Monday night was an especially interesting time that gave us some insight on what our country is currently dealing with. Our nation is very divided and it has certainly become a serious concern as to which direction we are going in. So to be invited and to be a part of the forum and dinner was a real honor for me.”
The hour-long panel discussion afterward, titled “How Can We Overcome Partisan Polarization in Our Political System?” was open to the public and well attended. Kostmayer and Trott were given several questions by Lambert, before responding to comments from the public.
When asked what fosters division in the American political landscape, each candidate offered a unique answer. Trott emphasized a multitude of sources, including social media and journalism.
“Social media, elected officials and a fundamental belief in inequality all foster division in our country,” said Trott.
Kostmayer pointed to former president Donald Trump as a source of division but acknowledged that there was a larger movement behind him.
“I don’t think there’s any question that our democracy is under attack, not least of all by our former president,” said Kostmayer. “But – and I wouldn’t say this if I was running for office – elected officials respond to the people they represent. You have to deal with the way people in the country feel, at the end of the day.”
Over the course of the discussion, both speakers suggested positive changes in the federal government. Trott, describing his frustration in the past with popular legislation being ignored, recommended automatic bill voting in the House of Representatives – in which any bill with a sufficient number of sponsors is immediately voted on.
Both speakers agreed that empowering the large number of non-voting moderates in the US could help to solve problems. Kostmayer suggested that moderates should be encouraged to act in their own self-interest, ignoring many “culture war” issues that tend to get in the way of policy. Trott suggested a reform of gerrymandering, which would cut down on the incumbency advantage in elections and make solving problems more forefront than retaining office. However, this would likely encourage more expensive races and Trott concluded that it might eventually lead to a difficult re-examination of campaign finance law.
The panel officially ended after one hour but some students remained to speak with the former congressmen. Lambert praised the event, highlighting the turnout and broad topics discussed.
“I thought it went great,” said Lambert. “You know, they [the representatives] want to meet students; they don’t want to meet me or the administrators – so the good turnout and activity on Monday was very encouraging. I also thought we were just getting started with the conversation over that hour. I hope that the program got students thinking about these things [in politics] and gave them something to carry away and mull over, themselves.”
reillyt19@bonaventure.edu
