Department of Political Science
Clubs & Organizations
The Political Science Department sponsors three organizations and provides advice to two others. All of these clubs can be reached by contacting Olivia Solis, the Administrative Assistant in Platner at (562) 907-4920.
Pi Sigma Alpha, the national political science honorary is open to students with 45 credits and a GPA over 3.00. The club provides speakers and programs for interested students and faculty on various topics including graduate school and law school preparation, careers, and political topics of current interest. The President of Pi Sigma Alpha is Whitney Gorton.
Model United Nations and the International Relations Club participates each April in a five-day conference on the UN in San Francisco along with approximately 500 students from 30-35 schools from the western United States, Canada, the Philippines, and the Russian Far East. Over the last 15 years, Whittier has hosted the conference seven times, providing the Secretary-General and other administrative leadership, the chairs of the main committees and the background material for other delegates. The club includes approximately 50 members each year and is open to all majors. The current Secretary-General is Lesley Cole and the President of the International Relations Club is Janine Forster.
Each year seven to nine students are elected as members of the Departmental Student Council. The Council meets with the department to discuss course offerings and curricular issues, help interview job candidates, and make recommendations on faculty who are up for tenure or promotion at the college. The Council currently has seven members and the chair is Melanie Abe.
The college has both a Young Democrats Club and the Richard M. Nixon Young Republican Club, which are active in promoting discussions on political issues and, when appropriate, participation in election campaigns. The clubs are open to students of all majors, but usually are led by political science majors.
