College Democrats is an organization located on several college campuses. Their main focus is to elect Democratic Party candidates and provide networking and leadership opportunities for student members. The chapters have served as a way for college students to connect with the Democratic Party and Democratic campaigns, and has produced many prominent liberal and progressive activists.
Many of these chapters are organized under the College Democrats of America, the official youth outreach arm of the Democratic National Committee, which claims over 100,000 college and university student members from across the United States. Other chapters are organized under the Young Democrats of America and its College Caucus.
Activities
Immediately leading up to election day, chapters are expected to participate in get out the vote (GOTV) activities, both on-campus and in surrounding communities.
Other activities are not centrally determined, and thus vary from chapter to chapter. Typical activities might include inviting guest speakers (often elected officials or party activists) to campus, organizing issue advocacy and lobbying efforts (like letter-writing campaigns or phone banks), and arranging service activities for members to attend.
College Democrats chapters also often organize social events (like sporting competitions with College Republicans chapters) and other recruitment activities.
During the election season, campus chapters typically partake in campaign work. These efforts generally include voter registration drives and dorm storms to register youth voters that have just gained voter eligibility. They also include providing youth manpower to campaigns for canvassing and phone banks. During presidential election years, chapters have organized proxy debates and run mock elections.
Presidential Primaries Many chapters of the College Democrats took part in the 2016 Democratic Primary between Secretary Hillary Clinton (D-NY) and Senator Bernie Sanders (I-VT). In the run-up to the campaign's launch, many students participated in Ready for Hillary PAC's efforts to build support for Clinton. The statewide organization in California actively supported the PAC and recruited supporters while many chapters hosted the PAC's Hillary Bus on their campuses to build support for Clinton.
Notable College Democrats
Name Notability CampusMadeleine Albrightformer United States Secretary of StateWellesley CollegeBryce Bennettmember, Montana House of RepresentativesUniversity of MontanaEvan Bayhformer U.S. Senator from IndianaHoward Bermanformer U.S. Representative from CaliforniaUniversity of California, Los AngelesEdward Cassoformer member, Colorado House of RepresentativesUniversity of Colorado BoulderDavid CicillineU.S. Representative from Rhode IslandBrown UniversityMark B. Cohenmember, Pennsylvania House of RepresentativesUniversity of PennsylvaniaLee Fanginvestigative journalistUniversity of Maryland, College ParkKirsten GillibrandU.S. Senator from New YorkDartmouth CollegeDavid J. HaleUnited States Attorney for the Western District of KentuckyMarina Keeganauthor, playwright, and journalistYale UniversityChris Kellyformer Chief Privacy Officer of FacebookJohn F. Kennedy Jr.son of President John F. Kennedy and Jacqueline KennedyBrown UniversityAmy KlobucharU.S. Senator from MinnesotaYale UniversityPaul Krekorianmember, Los Angeles City CouncilMatt Lesserformer member, Connecticut State SenateWesleyan UniversityScooter Libbyformer Chief of Staff to Vice President Dick CheneyYale UniversityMarko Liiasmember, Washington State SenateGeorgetown UniversitySeth MagazinerU.S. Representative from Rhode IslandBrown UniversityTerry McAuliffeGovernor of Virginia and former chair of the Democratic National CommitteeCatholic University of AmericaJonathan Miller former Kentucky State TreasurerJohn E. Mossformer U.S. Representative from California and California State Assembly Majority LeaderGlenn Nyeformer U.S. Representative from VirginiaGeorgetown UniversityNancy PelosiU.S. Representative from California and Democratic Leader, Speaker of the HouseTrinity Washington UniversityDan Pfeifferformer senior advisor to President Barack ObamaGeorgetown UniversityHannah Pingreeformer Speaker of the Maine House of RepresentativesMark PocanU.S. Representative from WisconsinUniversity of Wisconsin–MadisonJason Raemember, Democratic National CommitteeMarquette UniversityStephanie Herseth Sandlinformer U.S. Representative from South DakotaBrad ShermanU.S. Representative from CaliforniaEric SwalwellU.S. Representative from CaliforniaLevar StoneySecretary of the Commonwealth of VirginiaJames Madison UniversityMark TakanoU.S. Representative from CaliforniaHarvard UniversityJesse M. Unruhformer speaker of the California State Assembly and State TreasurerAlex WagnerAmerican JournalistBrown UniversityMark WarnerU.S. Senator from VirginiaSteve Warnstadtformer member, Iowa SenateDrake UniversityDebbie Wasserman-SchultzChair of the Democratic National Committee and U.S. Representative from FloridaUniversity of FloridaHenry WaxmanU.S. Representative from CaliforniaNan WhaleyMayor of Dayton, Ohio
See also
Young Democratic Socialists of America Democratic Party Democratic National Committee High School Democrats of America College Republicans
References