Universities are almost always a bastion of sorts for Democrats. Even in the reddest of cities and states, gathering a bunch of educated youth together creates a pocket of blue.

We feel more comfortable around those who are like us or think like us, so naturally it is easier to be a Republican in Wichita Falls. But if more Democrats start “coming out,” so to speak, we would realize that we really aren’t as outnumbered as we thought.

Liberals have great ideals that appeal to both sides and all it takes to see that is a quick look at last year’s midterm election results. Yes, Democrats were handed a decisive defeat in the House and Senate races, but while people didn’t vote for Democratic candidates last year, they voted for liberal ideals.

Voters in Alaska, Arkansas, Nebraska and South Dakota (all red states) voted to increase the minimum wage, a major platform for the Democratic party in 2014. Yet voters in these same states elected candidates who oppose raising the minimum wage, leaving the rest of us scratching our heads.

Democratic students need to “come out of the closet” and start generating support for their party within the state because it has a direct effect on us as students. In 2011, Republicans cut $1 billion from higher education and $4 billion from public schools.

Perhaps the problem lies in organization. I covered Greg Abbott and Wendy Davis’ campaign stops in Wichita Falls and noticed the discrepancy in how they were run. Abbot’s folks run a much tighter ship. But much of that problem, at least in Texas, lies in numbers. When more Democrats “come out of the closet,” the party gains more resources. Even if “out” Democrats don’t pound the pavement and engage in grassroots politics, just having a larger voice will make it easier for more of us to be “out.”

Ethan is a senior in mass communication and editor of The Wichitan.

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