Scroll through the Facebook feed for the recently officialized Republic’s Finest Hour Club, and there’s pictures of cigars, quotes from famous figures — John Locke, Benjamin Franklin, James Madison — and links to thoughtful articles. The club shared a photo of Galloway Residence men (several of them shirtless) gathered around a Winston Churchill impersonator, who’s wearing a Hawaiian shirt and holding up Churchill’s iconic “V” with his fingers.
It’s a fitting Facebook feed — the Republic’s Finest Hour, which the Student Federation officialized this month, is a cigar club dedicated to the principles of freedom and republicanism. Its name comes from Churchill’s famous “Finest Hour” speech, delivered on June 18, 1940.
“Myself along with nine others have started this group because we thought there was no better way to spend our Saturday nights than discussing the virtues of a good leader, the challenges and crises of our time, and the means of preserving the Republic and promoting the blessings of liberty,” club President Keith Vrotsos said in email correspondence. “These are exciting times to be alive.”
On the evening the Facebook photo was taken in April, Randy Otto, the Churchill impersonator — who was on campus for Winston Churchill Day — was smoking a cigar outside when the Galloway residents invited him to their barbecue. Before long, Otto was performing Churchill impersonations for them, and by the end of the night, Vrotsos had invited him to join the then-unofficial cigar club. Now, Otto is sponsoring the club.
Otto said the young men impressed him, and he’s enthusiastic about supporting the club.
“These are very sincere young people,” he said. “I was very impressed not only with the words [of the club’s charter] themselves but also the fervor and commitment and fortitude with which their words were presented.”
Fervor and commitment certainly characterize the club. Members nominate and interview students who want to join, but Vrotsos emphasized that the fundamental criteria for membership in the club is passion for good principles.
“When considering members into the club the question remains for us not how much a student knows but how much they love what they know,” he said.
Junior Jeffrey Freeberg, who helped start the club, agreed.
“The application process isn’t like a written test. Basically the application is asking if you’re serious, if you’re passionate about [these principles],” he said. “We’re not trying to be this exclusive, elitist club. We just want to talk. By talking about these things, by understanding these things, we become better citizens.”
Vrotsos said the club is unique from others on campus.
“While YAF and College Republicans do a excellent job exposing students to political activism,…we seek to expose students to the art of statesmanship and leadership, and, above all, challenge our members with a unique way of framing political, social, and economic arguments,” Vrotsos said. “Rather than framing debates ‘blue and red’ or ‘liberal and conservative,’ we challenge our members to determine whether certain issues affect the Republic’s capacity to sustain and promote the blessings of liberty.”
Freeberg described the club as a forum for discussions, often about political topics.
Otto said he thinks cigars are an important way to foster such conversations.
“It takes a long time to smoke a cigar, and conversation necessarily ensues,” he said. Of course, cigars go along with the Churchill theme, too — Otto said Churchill smoked about six or eight per day.
Freeberg, however, said members don’t have to smoke cigars.
Currently, the club has about 10 members and meets at varying locations. Vrotsos said they expect to have about 15 to 25 members and are open to expanding even further. Now that the club has official status, it can organize more public events.
“We plan to host events on campus including lectures, forums, and potentially debates pertaining to the subjects of leadership, politics, history, and of course, cigar smokes,” Vrotsos said.
Otto said he has no “immediate plans” to return to campus, but he will come as soon as he’s asked.
“I am proud to be a member of this club and I hope to be a member as long as I live because I share in [their] principles,” he said.
