The scope of political activity among student groups at the University of Pennsylvania features a wide-spectrum of interests that includes but goes far beyond the 2016 presidential election.

Max Levy, a junior communication and public service major from Atlanta and president of the student-run Penn Dems, is among those on campus who are actively working to get students and members of the community registered to vote.

Members of Penn Dems are organizing lectures and rallies, engaging in debates, circulating petitions and staffing voter registration drives.

“We plan on registering voters both on campus and beyond to make sure that everyone in the community can have as large an impact as possible in this coming election,” Levy says.

He says the group plans to continue its efforts into November’s general election with a robust line-up of voter registration events during the fall semester.

Junior Jennifer Knesbach of Houston is the president of the Penn College Republicans. The dual-major in finance at the Wharton School and political science in the School of Arts & Sciences says that group is currently focused on engaging conservatives on campus through social media and events, such as debate watching parties.

“There are a lot of different views represented in the club and there’s support for all candidates, so it’s important that we host these events for discussion’s sake and for the sake of the political community,” Knesbach says.

Penn Dems and the Penn Republicans are part of a non-partisan umbrella organization, the Penn Political Coalition, or POCO. It promotes collaboration between its member groups, provides funding and support for events and hosts the annual Political Action Week and Policy Week.

POCO members represent broad and varied causes, among them Penn for Immigrant Rights, Students for Sensible Drug Policy, the Undergraduate Economics Society, the Government and Politics Association, Penn in Washington, the Women’s Political League, the Penn Education Society and the Penn Environmental Group, a student-run organization that works to increase environmental awareness at a local level and on a global scale.

Freshman Susan Radov, a cultural and linguistic anthropology major from Baltimore, serves as the POCO communications director and is also the current events senior deputy for the Penn Dems and political director for the Penn Environmental Group. She came from a large, politically active family and started campaigning at the age of 4.

As a part of the environmental group, Radov organizes environmental policy events, leads greening initiatives and keeps members up to date with weekly reports about relevant environmental and agricultural news.

“For the Penn Political Coalition’s Policy Week, the Penn Environmental Group is joining with other groups to bring in a panel about renewable and alternative energy,” says Radov.

Senior political science major Jordan Dannenberg, of New York City, is a co-director of the Penn Women’s Political League. The group encourages women to run for office or become leaders in public service and advocates for policy issues related to women’s rights. They host speakers and workshops, provide mentorship opportunities and discuss policies specifically affecting women.

Dannenberg says, “We often discuss how the media represents women. We’re a non-partisan group, but one way we hope to contribute to the election life at Penn is to try to bring awareness to the sexist language that is often used in association with women candidates.”

Dannenberg says Women’s Political League has given her the opportunity to advocate and work to address the gender inequality in politics that exists not only in Congress, but also closer to home.

WPL is also helping female candidates in the undergraduate elections to market themselves and manage their campaigns.

Says Dannenberg, “I want the women at Penn to feel empowered to lead. I strongly believe that leadership in college will translate into post-college experiences.”