Young Republicans of W.H.S.

Name the most right-wing students at W.H.S... Steven Allard and Beth Caron, two seniors taking AP Government and Politics, probably didn't come to mind. Yet it is these two who are leading a new Republican movement at the school, the second one this year.
But unlike that Radical Republican incident, which was, as Atuyla Prateek puts it, "An attempt to piss people off," the club Allard and Caron are trying to start up just might be...well, legit. See that sign outside Ms. Fredrick's room telling you to vote for McCain? How about that message on Mr. Cresta's chalkboard advertising a meeting of the club in his room?
While other teachers keep their politics to themselves, Mr. Cresta sees no reason to hide the facts. A bonus question on his midyear asked what political party he was affiliated with. This week, he answered the question: not only does he vote Republican, but he donates to their cause.
Naturally, Allard and Caron went to him, their English teacher, to serve as the Young Republicans Club's adviser. He accepted their offer, and the students, with help from fellow AP Government student Edelisse Nelson, started making posters. But this group still faces a hurdle in the middle of the road to legitimacy: Ms. Freedman denied them approval.
That didn't stop the club from holding a meeting at 2:15 Thursday in Mr. Cresta's room. I attended with my notebook, making clear that I was there not to join the club, and certainly not to serve as stenographer. I also told them that the piece would appear not in Spin but on this site. This prompted something of a threat from Beth: "We don't want any slander. We will sue."
The other attendees were all seniors: Rachel Kaye, Elisabeth Hurley, Steve DeCosta, and Jason Parad. With a great turnout and the unexpected bonus of media coverage, the meeting began with the club's co-founders speaking at Mr. Cresta's podium and writing on the chalkboard. The meeting's other attendees felt the need to write on the board as well.
Hurley responded, "We all know how you make money, Beth." This was followed by Parad's writing of profanity on the board, quickly changed by Caron.
Talking with Parad after the meeting, as we both headed to Jazz Ensemble practice, he was under the impression that this was all a joke. I can understand.

But to Allard and Caron, this club is no joke. Mr. Cresta offered some advice to the two, regarding the further legitimizing of this club. He suggested the club members "get in touch with the Wakefield Republican Committee."
"I'll e-mail him [Al Turco, chair of that committee]," Caron assured Mr. Cresta, who said Turco "would be a good one to help."
"I would suggest getting this club some official...paperwork," Mr. Cresta continued.
"You can't be a club without paperwork."
Caron appeared to show a light attitude towards this venture, giggling throughout the speaking and writing.
"We should get tie-dye T-shirts just to mess with people's minds and make them think we're Democrats," she joked.
However, Mr. Cresta seems to see the idea of a Young Republicans Club as much more than a joke. He explained that all the other clubs and extracurricular activities of the school are "recognized by the contract." He told Allard and Caron that if this club becomes an official one, "you wouldn't have to worry about paying the dues."
"Your first step in this quest is to pay this club legitimate."
Mr. Cresta had a few more suggestions to the group's leaders.
"What I would suggest in pitching your club...stress kids getting involved, participating in the political process. They may ask what projects you would do, say you would be working with the Republican Party in Wakefield, learn to appreciate the political process. I would talk to Ms. Landers first."
Allard is confident that Ms. Landers will lend a hand.
"She likes Giuliani because she's a New Yorker."