Loyola University experienced its first Progressive Values Week, an event organized by the Student Democrats.

“It’s a program to show our views from the ground up,” said Progressive Values Week coordinator Darren Schwindaman, visual graphics senior.

After the 2004 presidential election, members of the Student Democrats attempted to rationalize the loss of Democratic nominee John Kerry. “We were looking at why he did so poorly in the South,” said Student Democrats President Patrick Enloe, political science junior. Enloe said the party did not do an adequate job of presenting democratic values, allowing the Republican Party and religious right to certify morality as a Republican notion.

“They vilified us as the party without moral values,” said Student Democrats Treasurer Natasha Irving, philosophy/pre-law senior. A roundtable discussion about religion and politics was held Tuesday in the Danna Center in an attempt to show an overlap between the Gospel and the values of the Democratic Party.

On Monday, Student Democrats featured a screening of “OutFoxed,” a documentary about dishonest reporting in the media. “A lot of what goes on in the political arena is misrepresentation,” Irving said. “We want to define ourselves instead of being defined by the other party.”

The week also featured a debate about school vouchers and a lecture from ACLU director Joe Cook regarding the US PATRIOT ACT.

Irving said the purpose of the event was to act as a positive platform for the spread of the ideas of the Democratic Party. “We believe we are speaking for a good percentage of the population of Loyola that doesn’t agree with the current administration.”

Enloe said he was pleased with the turnout during the week, especially for the religion and politics discussion, and has high hopes for the future. “It’s definitely going to be a regular thing. We’re looking to expand to other schools.” The organization has been in contact with Clemson University’s Student Democrat group in an effort to inspire a similar event there.