Check Out MSU’s Political Donations

Keeping up with the political position of MSU is an important way students can monitor how well the university is supporting the interests of the students. MSU is able to make political donations to candidates and lobby whomever they please through certain mechanisms. Universities may not be able to outwardly donate to political officials, so affiliate transactions are included in the capital calculations. These donations provide a good insight into the landscape of MSU’s higher political position and can inform the students of the will of their own university.

In order to know how the university is voting when elections roll around, keeping tabs on MSU’s donation history can help. Databases such as OpenSecrets attempt to track the political transactions of as many companies as possible, including universities. In 2022, all recipients of MSU donations so far have been democratic candidates, who are not necessarily always based in Montana.

Raphael Warnock, Val Demings and Shawn Lassiter are all democratic candidates in critical states around the United States that have received funds from MSU. Locally, candidates such as Monica Tranel have received the bulk of MSU’s support. Looking at the trend of donations over the years displays a correlation present within many separate parts of the United States.

Over the last ten years, MSU has donated less to the Republican party and more to Democratic candidates. This echoes the larger ideology present in Bozeman, which tends to be one of the more left-leaning cities in Montana. While support seems to be limited to the two largest parties in Montana, the last four years have seen some political support based in Bozeman for third liberal-leaning candidates.

MSU’s support for the outside group known as Defeat by Tweet shows a new progressive ideology present within the university. The group donates to Democratic candidates within swing states only when opposition parties tweet misinformation. This example demonstrates the shifting ideology of modern politics valuing accurate information above anything else.

Although MSU’s political donation history is somewhat representative of how Bozeman votes as a collective, many students may have differing opinions. The donations of a university can in no way predict how each individual student will vote. As voting citizens of Bozeman, it is incredibly important for MSU students to stay well-informed when it comes to information surrounding voting.

This idea of staying well-informed is not only relevant to voting in bigger elections, but also voting within MSU. Voting in school elections, for a city mayor or house representative all have political repercussions. It is always worth the time to become an informed voter with agency rather than complacency. The reading surrounding politics and bills may not necessarily be entertaining, but it will lead to a better understanding of Bozeman’s political climate. Although this issue of the Exponent may give knowledge and insight into the nature of a vote, the final decision is the belief of an individual for the individual. Stay informed!