Youth News
Video
Platform
More details coming soon...
(please submit your ideas in the Feedback section)
I am running to be president of California College Democrats (CCD) because I want to sustain and build upon the student involvement inspired by the 2008 election. During the election, I served as State Field Coordinator for California Students for Barack Obama (SFBO). Our primary mission was to elect Obama, but our broader vision was to train new student leaders and organizers to stay involved and active, even after the campaign. Now that the election is over, CCD has a unique opportunity to strengthen and expand by building from the momentum generated in this election.
While State Field Coordinator for SFBO, one of my highest priorities was chapter expansion. I felt that it was vital for the strength of the organization to reach out and bring in new people. As the former president of a community college Democrats club, I realize the potential of building chapters at these schools, and I successfully advocated that we bring a Community College Outreach Coordinator onto the SFBO state team. There are 109 community colleges in California, encompassing 2.6 million students, the largest system of higher education in America. If we cast a wider net, we can engage students who have not always identified with the Democratic Party and charter new chapters on campuses without existing College Democrats chapters. Young people in California believe in progressive values. They voted overwhelmingly for Barack Obama and against Prop 8. They care about the cost of education, the future of our planet, and their ability to find employment after graduation. We need to reach out to these students and show them that there is a party out there that is fighting for their beliefs.
Just as important as expanding chapter membership, we must also support our current chapters by giving them the resources they need to succeed. A key way to do this is to increase our online presence and use technology to streamline our membership management. Through my training with the New Organizing Institute I gained a background in online organizing, which has given me the understanding necessary to implement these changes on a statewide level. It is also vital that we provide our chapters with the tools to fundraise effectively so that they are able to sponsor the programs and initiatives important to their respective campuses. I will ensure that the CCD state team is accessible at all times to strengthen and maintain communication between chapters and to support a more cohesive statewide network of College Democrats.
While we expand and support CCD chapters, we can also help them integrate with other campus organizations to realize their collective potential. We can do this by reaching out to existing SFBO chapters as well as other progressive groups on college campuses across the state. There are many students who are doing excellent work on progressive causes, such as women's rights, LGBT issues, and environmentalism, all of which fit into a larger set of Democratic values. If we create a partnership between these groups, we will be able to mobilize students to effect change on the local, state, and national levels, and ensure that our voices are heard. California College Democrats can be the organization that unites these groups to build a foundation for progress and bring about the change that young people want in California.