Student leaders reflect on Vance being the first OSU graduate to become vice president
COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) — When JD Vance officially becomes vice president in January, he will be the first Ohio State University graduate to hold the office.
"Well, Mr. President, I appreciate you allowing me to join you on this incredible journey," Vance said during President-elect Trump's victory speech.
Long before Vance got into the political world, he was part of The Ohio State University world.
“He’s possibly one of if not the most kind of successful OSU alum ever," Keegan McCauley, secretary of the Ohio State College Republicans, said. “Seeing somebody that young kind of being able to take such a successful role and likely to be in the political sphere for a long time, it's really cool to see and it’s exciting for sure.”
McCauley said having a Buckeye as vice president can be inspiring to students, regardless of political party. Jo Baldwin, president of the College Democrats at OSU sees the situation differently.
“I think it's awesome that Ohio State was able to produce a vice president," they said. "I think it's a great school and I'm very lucky to go here. But I do think he is not representative of Ohio State’s population."
Baldwin also said they are concerned about how Vance pushing certain policies might reflect on OSU.
"Everything that people think the American dream is, I want to have, and I'm scared he only sees the American dream for a very specific type of person and so while I'm glad the university is like 'Yay, JD Vance,' I hope he sees it and sees the people that go here," Baldwin said.
There was some bipartisanship on campus during election week. On the eve of the election, both the college republicans and democrats got together for a picture reminding community members to vote.
“We just decided yea let's get together and kind of show a little bit of unity in these really dividing times," McCauley said.
Baldwin said it's something leaders in Washington D.C. could learn from.
“Our brains aren't even fully developed yet and we were able to make a bipartisan effort, I think people who are in their 30s, 40s, 50s, can also take that effort and work together," they said.
The university congratulated Vance on being vice president elect. Some were happy with the post while others were not.