Maybe you read the news. If you have a strong stomach, maybe you’ve even read the tweets. But you don’t have to follow politics that to tell that something’s gone wrong.
It’s in our high schools, where students are interrupting their math classes to practice how to hide from gunfire. It’s you, or your family, friends, or loved ones who are immigrants, people of color, or members of the LGBTQ community, walking the streets carrying the weight that the rhetoric of this country’s highest leadership emboldens hate crimes targeting you. It’s even in the weather — the record-setting summers and the bitter Polar Vortex driving you inside as the seasons grow more extreme.
And as each new crisis seems more overwhelming than the last, every headline prompts the same question:
“What can I do?”
At College Democrats of UW-Madison, the answer is “a lot.” It was students like you knocking on doors, calling phones, and registering voters who elected and re-elected talented, compassionate and dynamic liberal officials like Sen. Tammy Baldwin and Justice Rebecca Dallet. It was students like you who beat big money to replace a budget-slashing union buster with education expert Tony Evers as governor.
It doesn’t matter how bleak it seems — when students join America’s flagship progressive party, they get stuff done.
Point Counterpoint: College Democrats celebrate a year of success
College Dems is a great way to meet new people who share your convictions, whether it’s at ice cream socials or teaming up for trivia “Jeopardy!” But you won’t just meet friends who will last a lifetime — you’ll also see elected officials and party luminaries speaking at meetings.
Is there something you’ve wanted to ask a state or congressional representative, a city councilor or a senator? At College Dems, you’ll get your chance.
With the 2020 election around the corner, you can get the skills that will have your peers looking to you for help. When you want to support the leaders who share your ideas or make sure you and the people you know have a voice, it always pays to know your way around the electoral process, whether that’s getting people on the voting rolls or reaching out to local officials.
If you want to go even further, it’s College Democrats that can take your progressive career to the next level. It could be an internship with your favorite Wisconsin Dem’s office or their campaign, in the state or down in D.C. We can help you get the best application and references to connect you with the work you love.
When you join College Dems, you aren’t just joining a student organization here — you’re joining an organization that spans the entire state. With opportunities to visit campuses around Wisconsin and link up with fellow Democrats from across America’s dairyland, as well as all the exciting opportunities our organization’s conventions present, who could resist taking the dive and broadening their horizons?
If it makes you happy to see headlines about well-funded schools instead of slashed revenues, there’s a place for you here. If you want to have a state where the pride flag can fly over the capitol building, there’s a place for you here. If you believe in an American dream that has a place for immigrants, a country that shows steady global leadership, and a state where opportunity doesn’t come from a wallet, there’s a place for you here.
After 2016, pundits labeled America’s political left “the Resistance.” But here at College Democrats, we don’t just fight against — we fight for what we believe in, whether that’s healthcare, equality or a living wage.
If you stand up with us, you can change the world — and sometimes, there will even be pizza. What could be better?
Ethan Carpenter ([email protected]) is a junior majoring in political science. He is the press secretary for the College Democrats of UW-Madison.
Editor’s note: Ethan is a columnist for The Badger Herald. Here, his views strictly represent those of the College Democrats and do not represent the Herald.
Read about why you should join the College Republicans of UW-Madison here.
