College Democrats of America

College Democrats of America
President Marv McMoore, Jr. (MA)
National Council Chair Rawley Van Fossen (MI)
Honorary Chair Tulsi Gabbard (D-HI)
Eric Swalwell (D-CA)
Founded 1932
Headquarters Washington, D.C.
Ideology Liberalism
Progressivism
Social liberalism
Mother party Democratic Party
Website
collegedems.com

College Democrats of America (CDA) is the official youth outreach arm of the Democratic National Committee. It claims over 100,000 college and university student members in College Democrats chapters across the United States.

History

Hillary Clinton addresses the 2007 CDA National Convention

The organizational structure of the College Democrats of America has changed significantly since its founding in 1932. The College Democrats of America organization was founded in 1932 to further the election campaign of presidential nominee Franklin D. Roosevelt. On August 24, 1935, President Franklin Roosevelt delivered his first of many radio addresses to the Young Democrats of America clubs.[1]

After several years, President Lyndon Johnson proclaimed the week of September 6 as college students registration week, thus calling attention to the challenges and importance of registering college students. The Young Democratic Clubs of America continue to register college students across America.[2]

Originally founded as a branch of the Democratic National Committee (DNC), the group became independent following its split with Lyndon B. Johnson on the Vietnam War.

By 1988, members of the College Young Democrats of America planned to split from the Young Democrats of America due to the age and interest difference between college students and young professionals. With the support of then Senator Al Gore, they organized a 1988 convention in Nashville where a constitution for the new College Democrats of America was approved and David Hale was elected the first President of the College Democrats of America. Following the efforts by Senator Al Gore and Executive Director Jonathan Miller, and officers Alex Haught, Silas Deane, Matt Pinsker and Abe Amoros, the DNC accepted the College Democrats of America as their official youth outreach branch.

Since 1992, CDA has actively promoted the Democratic legislative agenda and Democratic candidates for office. Thanks in part to the work of CDA activists, John Kerry won 54% of the youth vote in 2004.[3] CDA continues to have a large presence today, with college chapters across America. At the 2012 Democratic National Convention in Charlotte, NC former CDA President Alejandra C. Salinas (2010-2012) delivered a speech in support of President Barack Obama.

Activities

Every year, the national organization of the CDA holds a national convention. These conventions include meetings for CDA's standing committees (like the constitution committee) and CDA's national caucuses (like the women's caucus) as well as the elections for CDA's National Executive Board. The convention also offers workshops on how to be effective in government and campaigning, and prominent speakers from the national Democratic party (previous speakers have included Bill Clinton, Al Gore, Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama, John Edwards, Nancy Pelosi, members of Congress, and Cabinet members). The CDA convention that occurs on presidential election years is typically held in conjunction with the Democratic National Convention.

Organization

Colleges across America organize Democratic chapters at the local level. Many of these then charter with state federations (such as the California College Democrats, Texas College Democrats) for support and to unite college Democrats within each state. Many state federations then charter with the College Democrats of America or the Young Democrats of America.

The national organization is overseen by the CDA Executive Board.[4] The function of the Executive Board is officially to "determine and implement the organization's goals"; its members are elected annually at the national convention. Pursuant to the CDA Constitution, each local chapter receives three (3) votes, each state federation receives two (2) votes and each member of the outgoing Executive Board receives one (1) vote. More than 600 members attended the 2008 convention.

CDA is also guided by a National Council, which consists of state officers from every state federation. The National Council is presided over by a Chair, Vice Chair, and Secretary, also elected annually at the national convention. The National Council Chair serves as a voting member of the Executive Board. The day-to-day operations of CDA are handled by the Executive Director.

Israel - Palestine conflict

In August 2014 during Operation Protective Edge, TruthRevolt, a conservative website, reported that a national officer of CDA, Giovanni Hashimoto, was subjected to a "series of withering attacks" from colleagues after posting on Facebook in defense of Israel's assault on Hamas.[5][6] The episode was widely covered in right-wing media which reported that fellow College Democrats officers Evan Goldstein, Christopher Woodside and Zainab Javed made expletive laden attacks on Hashimoto for holding pro-Israel views.[5][6][7][8][9] After an outpouring of outrage, both Goldstein and Woodside were forced to resign their position in the College Democrats.[8][10][11][12][13] Javed was later appointed CDA historian.[14]

The incident was later cited by USA Today as "perhaps the most notorious, and public, example of inter-party tensions" over Israel.[10]

CDA Presidents

President Term
Steve Grisky 1983 - 1985
Mark Elliot 1985 - 1987
J.B. Davis 1987 - 1989
David Hale 1988 - 1989
Matthew Pinsker 1989 - 1990
James DeBord 1990 - 1991
Jamie Harmon 1991 - 1993
Adam Kreisel 1993 - 1994
Jennifer Ritter 1994 - 1995
Kevin Geary 1995 - 1996
David Wade 1996 - 1997
Molly Morrison 1997 - 1998
Harold Powell 1998 - 1999
Kevin Nicholson 1999 - 2000
Felicia Harvey 2000 - 2002
Ashley Bell 2002 - 2004
Grant Woodward 2004 - 2006
Lauren Wolfe 2006 - 2008
Katie Naranjo 2008 - 2010
Alejandra C. Salinas 2010 - 2012
Tori Taylor 2012 - 2013
Taylor Barnard 2013 - 2014
Natasha McKenzie 2014 - 2015
Marv McMoore, Jr. 2015–Present

References

  1. ↑ FDR's Radio Address|
  2. ↑ LBJ's Proclamation 3614
  3. ↑ CNN Election 2004 National Exit Poll Results
  4. ↑ CDA Officers Contact Page
  5. 1 2 Mael, Daniel. "College Democrats of America Student Leader Equates Israel With Nazi Germany". Truth Revolt. Retrieved 2015-12-08.
  6. 1 2 Neff, Blake (2014-08-06). "Blue On Blue: College Dem Leaders Assail Israel Supporter". The Daily Caller. Retrieved 2015-12-08.
  7. ↑ "College Democrat leader compares Israel to Nazi Germany, Netanyahu to Genghis Khan". Campus Reform. Retrieved 2015-12-08.
  8. 1 2 "UPDATE: College Democrats of America Bigwig Resigns - The College Fix". The College Fix. Retrieved 2015-12-08.
  9. ↑ "Top student officials in College Democrats of America caught saying CRAZY things on Facebook - Young Conservatives". Young Conservatives. Retrieved 2015-12-08.
  10. 1 2 "Pro-Israel activists pursue college Democrats". USA TODAY. Retrieved 2015-12-08.
  11. ↑ "College Democrats of America Student Leader Resigns After Inflammatory Anti-Israel Comments". Truth Revolt. Retrieved 2015-12-08.
  12. ↑ "Democrat Youth Wing Fires Members Who Criticized Israel's Child Killings". Truthout. Retrieved 2015-12-08.
  13. ↑ "Resignation of CDA Appointed Leader « College Democrats of America". collegedems.com. Retrieved 2015-12-08.
  14. ↑ "College Democrats of America 2014 Appointments « College Democrats of America". collegedems.com. Retrieved 2015-12-08.

External links

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