Many young Republicans on The University of Alabama campus and across the country feel alienated by the party’s stance on social issues, while others remain confident that social issues are pressing and important to uphold.

Stephanie Petelos, president of UA College Republicans, said the party should focus on economic issues to attract the youth vote.

“I don’t think that saying that we’re the pro-life party and we believe in the sanctity of marriage is how we’re going to appeal to new members,” she said. “We’re going to appeal to young people by explaining to them why increasing taxes will hurt the economy, why increasing government spending is going to hurt the economy, and why you can’t get a job right now.”

Claire Chretien, a sophomore majoring in American studies, said she disagreed with the notion that young Republicans are moving away from social issues.

“The current generation of conservatives is actually much more socially conservative than our parents,” Chretien said.

She also said she is a single-issue voter for whom a candidate’s stance on abortion is the deciding factor.

“I only vote for pro-life candidates,” Chretien said. “I would rather vote for a pro-life Democrat than a pro-choice Republican.”

Chretien and Elizabeth Rust, a junior double majoring in communication studies and Spanish, both oppose allowing abortions in the case of rape or incest.

“It’s not the baby’s fault how it was conceived,” Rust said.

Rust also said she supports abstinence-only sex education and that she is opposed to anyone, including married couples, using birth control.

Jackie Curtiss, a national committeewoman with the Young Republican Federation of Alabama disagrees with Rust.

“I don’t know where this new wing has come from that wants to hide from birth control options and opposes the use of condoms,” Curtiss said. “I don’t know any Republicans who don’t believe in birth control.”

Curtiss said the party is moving away from hard-line social conservatives.

“Among young Republicans, those who are not socially conservative are starting to outnumber those who are,” she said.

Curtiss, 22, recently served on the Republican Platform Committee, where she was the youngest member by a over a decade. She said that is part of the problem Republicans are having with young voters.

“People didn’t understand the changing times or didn’t want to,” she said. “There are so many different voices within the Republican Party. When you only have one person on a committee like that under 35, you lose that voice.”

She said she also thinks the Republican Party will evolve on the issue of gay marriage.

“In 20 years, the Republican Party will look back and have a very different view of marriage,” she said. “I absolutely think that, at some point, the Republican Party will be for equality.”

Rust said she believes in civil unions for gay couples, but there were areas where straight couples should be favored; for instance, in the adoption process.

“[Gay and lesbian couples] should not have first choice. Heterosexual married couples should have the first choice. If there’s no one else willing to adopt a child, then it’s OK,” she said. “There’s nothing inherently wrong with someone who is gay or lesbian, I just don’t think that anything besides a man and a woman is marriage. There’s a difference.”

Curtiss said the Republicans did not connect with youth in the last election.

“Republicans got a huge blow in the last election cycle,” she said. “The reason the Republican Party didn’t do well is because Republicans didn’t reach who they needed to reach. We got caught up in the debates about abortion and gay marriage.”

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