Rightwing Christians take over college's Student Association

Hat-tip to Pharyngula. Here's the story, on the blog Halfway There, of a group of rightwing Christian students who have swept the Student Association elections at American River College in California.

As reported in the American River College student newspaper, the Current:

It's not completely official yet, but early results indicate nine out of the 10 candidates elected in the recent Student Association election are members of the former Christian Civilization Club.

The near-sweep is historical in that representatives generally are elected as individuals, rather than as a bloc.

Members of the former club, known for hosting a booth in the Library Quad denouncing Islam, organized an electoral campaign promoting club members, candidates who were on the CCC mailing list, or candidates who ascribed [sic] to the principles of the Christian Civilization Club.

Pharyngula and the Halfway There see a connection between this election and the rise of a virulently homophobic Christianist movement in California that appears to be fueled largely by rightwing conservatism within the Slavic community there.

The tale of the election of these students shows the importance of political organizing. As Chip Berlet of Political Research Associates once remarked to me at a conference concerning the religious right, the key to promoting and defending human rights is simple and not secret, and it's the lesson of the civil rights movement: "Organize, organize, organize." The CCC students organized, and benefited. Students who value human rights must now do the same on ARC's campus.