College Democrats
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The College Democrats (officially named the College Democrats of America) are the official organization of the United States Democratic Party for college students. The group consists of more than 1200 chapters across the United States.
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History
The College Democrats organization was founded in 1932 to help the election campaign of presidential nominee Franklin D. Roosevelt. It had a good deal of success during its first decades, and claims on its website to have been "the largest student organization in the nation" during the 1940s. However, in 1967, the College Democrats took up a position opposing the Vietnam War; this enraged then-President Lyndon B. Johnson, who cut the College Democrats out of funding from the Democratic National Committee. It was eventually revitalized by then-Senator Al Gore, and by the time Gore was Bill Clinton's vice presidential nominee, there were more than 50,000 members.
Activities
The College Democrats' activities vary from chapter to chapter. Typical activities include inviting guest speakers (often elected officials or party activists), arranging for members of the club to work on campaigns, and organizing students for letter-writing campaigns or phone banks. Local clubs also organize voter registration drives. Every year, the national organization of the College Democrats holds a national convention in Washington, D.C.. Features of the convention include workshops on how to be effective in government and campaigning, as well as prominent speakers from the national Democratic party (previous speakers have included Bill Clinton, Al Gore, members of Congress, and cabinet members).
Organization
The College Democrats are run by a seven-member executive board, consisting of:
- President
- Vice-President
- Director of Communications
- Director of Development
- Director of Membership
- Director of Political Affairs
- Director of Programs
The function of the Executive Board is to "determine and implement the organization's goals".
See also
External links
- Official website (http://www.collegedems.com)
- College Democrats of Portland State University (http://www.psudems.org/)