Traditionally, two major political organizations ruled the political landscape on campus, but a new organization has stepped in to provide an alternative outlet.
Belmont Organized for Liberation and Transformative Solidarity, or BOLTS Caucus, is a new student group unaffiliated with Belmont.
BOLTS is “a student-run alternative political organization, pushing Belmont University to adopt more progressive, anti-oppressive, ecologically sustainable and worker-friendly policies,” according to its Instagram.
Jules Webb, delegate and founding member of BOLTS, admits it isn’t a political group in the traditional sense.
“We want the focus to be on the on campus specific issues, the administration among those. Realizing that what currently existed didn't focus so much on organizing as it did on advocacy and activism,” Webb said. “It's important to not just be limited to simply organizing or advocacy it's great to be able to do both.”
BOLTS intentionally operates in a system different from a traditional leadership driven hierarchy, said Webb.
“One of the things that's really important to us is this mantra that decentralized does not equal disorganized,” they said. “We've really enjoyed the opportunity to kind of experiment and innovate here.”
BOLTS is looking for new members to participate in the educational events the group hopes to create.
Gabi Martinez, a junior theater and drama major and fellow founding delegate of BOLTS, welcomes greater student participation.
“BOLTS was a way that we could organize, and I think that really sparked my interest from the beginning,” Martinez said. “Also to listen and learn from the other people in the group is great because we're all sort of on equal footing.”
The group has plans to continue to educate and raise awareness and spread their values of consciousness, cooperation, consent, justice and inclusivity.
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PHOTO: Belmont Vision Multimedia/Lillie Burke
This article was written by Braden Simmons