As always, the College Democrats have a had a busy year. Of course, the 2016 presidential campaign is in full swing at this point and Wisconsin basked in the limelight when competitive primaries on both sides of the aisle descended upon us.
Fall semester, however, found us in a rare case of no national, state or local elections. In many ways, this made our work even more important. It was our responsibility to continue student engagement in the election off-season.
We hit the ground running in September with a voter registration drive, registering hundreds of students to vote and educating students. We simultaneously educated students on what they needed to do to prepare to vote on Election Day in light of the absurd new voter ID law in Wisconsin, which disproportionately affects students.
Throughout the year, we ran issue advocacy campaigns for salient issues including concealed carry, voter ID and the proposed Higher Ed Lower Debt bill, which would allow students to refinance their student loans just like a mortgage. These campaigns both educated our fellow students on these issues and also provided a space within which organization around these issues could happen.
To vote or not to vote: Many still unaware of voter photo ID law
The presidential campaign dominated the news and campaign activities second semester. But while Sen. Bernie Sanders, D-Vermont, and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton campaigned hard for the Democratic delegates from Wisconsin, we were most focused on a local race.
Hayley Young, a recent University of Wisconsin graduate and former College Democrats Chair, ran for Dane County Board. She earned our endorsement and College Democrats hit the pavement knocking more than 14,000 doors for Young. She won the election and was sworn in recently. She will be an advocate we can count on for the next two years on the County Board.
Wisconsin Legislature should pass bill to refinance college loans
Building relationships and working together with the campus community is a vitally important aspect of our work, as well. We held an intersectionality panel in conjunction with PAVE and the Campus Women’s Center. Earlier in April, we had an interactive workshop with the Working Class Student Union to discuss privilege. These events and collaborations are important to informing students and facilitating dialogue on these important issues.
Looking ahead to next year, the presidential campaign will no doubt take over again as it did in the lead up to the primary. UW’s College Democrats will campaign aggressively to ensure Wisconsin goes blue. Keep an eye out for us on East Campus Mall or outside of Gordon Dining and Event Center next fall registering students to vote or spreading the Democratic nominee for president’s message.
As life goes, the time between now and the November election will fly by and real activism does not begin and end with presidential elections. After November, we will be turning to another round of local elections; Madison City Council alders are up for election in spring 2017. Throughout all of this, we will continue to build relationships with other students and student organizations on campus through events and collaboration.
The state of our organization is strong, which is important as we enter an intense national campaign. We have a lot of work to do on all levels of activism next year, inside and outside the realm of electoral politics. From the presidential election to the Black Lives Matter movement to protesting the UW budget cuts to educating students on voter ID and educating ourselves about our own privilege to local government elections, every and all types of activism we engage in are imperative to progressive ideals. We’ve had a great year this year, we’re going to have a fantastic year next year and I hope you’ll join us.
August McGinnity-Wake ([email protected]) is a sophomore majoring in political science and economics.
