After the 2008 presidential election showed what impact young people can have on the world of politics, the Society and Politics Committee held their kickoff event Wednesday, hoping to get students more politically engaged.

Wisconsin Union Directorate Society and Politics Committee Director Megan Sallomi said the organization wants to challenge University of Wisconsin students to be informed on the issues they choose to get behind.

“Our goal is to promote critical thinking, awareness and involvement,” Sallomi said. “We don’t have a message or an agenda except that regardless of what your political affiliation is, you can never stop learning and discussing with other people even if you don’t agree with them.”

At their first meeting of the spring semester, the group spoke of upcoming events including “Team America: Perceptions of the U.S. Around the World,” where they will invite speakers and have food from three different regions of the world.

“We want people to get politically involved with things like helping to promote certain rallies or lobby days and [to get] people really discussing stuff through interactive events,” Sallomi said.

Co-associate director and University of Wisconsin sophomore Mike Sakowski said the Society and Politics Committee helps give a creative angle for looking at issues he cares about.

He said though the group does not have a strong structure in place, everyone helps out by coming up with ideas for projects and events.

Sakowski added the group offers a chance for students to actively participate in campus and societal issues, something not every student group can offer.

Co-director Karlyn Tjaden said the committee wants to highlight issues on campus that are not typically thought or talked about by college students.

“For me, the committee is more about social issues and looking at them with a different angle,” Tjaden said. “It’s good at opening your mind to issues you haven’t really thought about before. Maybe they weren’t your initial interests.”

In past semesters, the group has had numerous speakers and workshops, including one on gender expression and another on the working class, to expose topics not always a part of daily conversation to committee members.

Through doing so, they try to instill the value of individual thinking and active participation.

“Going forward, I am interested in doing a lot with legislators and getting more student access to them,” Sakowski said. “I’m a lot braver now after being involved in making things happen.”

The meeting ended with a speed debate in which two teams argued their side on the validity of the nickname the “Entitlement Generation” and whether State Street should be allowed to host so many fast-food chains.

“You should always question things and not just look at politics as something that is a bunch of people who are grandstanding and all about money,” Sallomi said. “You can have a voice in it; I guess that is what our message is.”