GW College Republicans turned out in full force at the MCI Center Thursday to support the Republican Party at the Fourth Annual Senate Majority Celebration of America.

About 75 members of the GW chapter of College Republicans, along with 130 other area CRs, volunteered at the fundraiser to support the Republican Party.

“It was a great chance to meet senators and talk with them about issues important to College Republicans,” said David Kanevsky, a freshman CR.

The event gave contributors and volunteers the opportunity to meet and mingle with Republican senators.

CR members said the opportunity to spend time with Republican senators was the biggest perk. Jared Hosid, chair of the CRs, said it was a “spirit kind of thing.”

“It was a great event,” said Eric Haskell, a freshman CR member. “I got to meet many College Republicans from the D.C. area and it’s not everyday that you get to chat one-on-one with a senator.”

The ballroom at the event was divided into the four regions of the nation – the Northwest, the Southwest, the Southeast and the Midwest. Each area served specialty food from the region.

CR members said Sen. Dirk Kempthorne (R-Idaho) served food and spoke with guests in the Northwest region.

“It was the first event I went to that I actually felt I was on the same level with all of the senators,” said Molly O’ Sullivan, co-chair of political affairs for the CRs. “It’s not one of those events where you were just in the audience.”

One CR, who asked not to be identified, expressed some discontent with the manner in which the rally before the dinner was run.

“This rally slowly crumbled to a high school pep rally to the point where a CR leader was actually jumping up and down, trying to rile up the crowd as if (Sen.) Strom Thurmond (S.C.) was a captain of the football team,” said the CR member.

“While I do believe the CR intentions were good, they cheapened an event which should have been classier,” he said. “Once I got inside, however, I had a great time and wouldn’t trade it for anything in the world. I give the CRs a lot of credit for organizing and providing me with such a great opportunity.”

CRs also said they enjoyed meeting Thurmond and watching him dance with women at the party, while the swing band played.

“Strom Thurmond – he’s one swinging cat,” Haskell said.

“You have a picture of Democrats having all of the fun on campus, but this event showed that the Republicans are just as active, if not more so than the Democrats,” Kanevsky said. “No one parties like the Grand Old Party.”