Happy 100th Day! Change truly has come to America!
End-of-Year Party Thursday, April 30, 2009 – Kimmel 909 – 7:30pm!
And to celebrate that change, come to room 909 in Kimmel this Thursday and have a great time with the NYU College Democrats at our End-of-Semester Party!
We’ll have great food and a great time recollecting on all of the fun times we shared in this, what will go down as one of the best years in American history to be a college student. The Hillary-Barack drama, the Palin insanity, and sleeping in barns as we campaigned for our party and the future of our nation.
So if you came with us to Pennsylvania, Connecticut, New Jersey, upstate New York, Long Island, or to a debate-watching party or a speakers event, or just want to see what this whole “Generation O” thing is about, this is your chance to bid farewell to this past political season.
Hope to see you all there!
Filed under: NYU College Democrats
Thursday, April 9th,
7:30pm in Kimmel Room 909
Tomorrow, we will be electing next year’s officers. With a majority of our officers leaving the University for study abroad or graduation, now is a great time to play a major part in one of the most consistently successful and involved groups on campus.
The positions available are:
President - In charge of organizing and running the club, sending out group mailings, and making decisions about the club’s direction.
Vice President - Offering support for the President and running the club when the President is unavailable.
Treasurer - Control the money for the group and care for the funding of club events.
Secretary - Record what occurs in meetings and care for the NYUDems website.
Policy Chair - Arrange cosponsorships with other groups, coordinate with outside events, and prepare for the group’s biannual debate with the College Republicans.
Each candidate will need to give a one minute speech about why they feel they can best fulfill the job’s requirements and why they feel they are prepared to help the Dems.
We’ll also be chewing over the upcoming state convention at St. John’s University and helping the St. John’s Democrats make a great impression as tons of out-of-city Democrats come to NYC.
And of course, we’ll have delicious food to meet over.
Tuesday, March 31st (tomorrow as I’m writing this, probably today by the time you read this) there is a special election in New York’s 20th Congressional District to fill Senator Gillibrand’s vacant seat in the House of Representatives. The Democratic candidate, who the NYU College Democrats warmly endorse, is Scott Murphy. Scott has a proven track record of creating good paying jobs in upstate New York by investing in small businesses, which are the lifeblood of our economy. Scott will work hard in Congress to help President Obama spur our economic recovery and he will work to find the common sense solutions to our problems. We all know that the President’s economic recovery plans will save and create jobs and rebuild our outdated infrastructure; Scott Murphy will fight to bring those jobs and infrastructure projects to the people of his district.
If you live in the 20th CD, we urge you to go to the polls and vote for Scott Murphy. Polls are open from 6 am-9 pm, and you can find your polling location by clicking here. Special elections tend to have low turnout, so every vote matters and you can the difference, either by voting for Scott Murphy if you live in the district or by making Get Out the Vote phone calls on the 7th floor lounge of Kimmel from 2-7 pm on Tuesday. Every little bit counts, so stop by even if you can only stay for 20 minutes. Can’t make it to Kimmel to phone bank with friends? That’s okay, you can call from home by going to dccc.org/ny20.
Let’s get out there and win this election!
Filed under: NYU College Democrats | Tags: clinton, gillibrand, kennedy, New York Dames, Quinn
Tina Fey Would Be Proud
In conjunction with NYU’s Women’s HerStory Month, we will be discussing the legacies and effects of New York State’s most prolific female politicians. Join us – it should be a fascinating, candid conversation on gender, sexuality, and political correctness.
- Luke Pattan
Filed under: White House
Tonight it’s the first of many States of the Union joint sessions of Congress where President Obama is speaking. I’ll be watching with the College Dems E-board and members of NYU Students Organizing for America in Kimmel. Remember: drink every time there’s a standing ovation or Obama says the word change. Updates to come through the speech.
9:05 “The President’s cabinet”? How many people is the sergeant at arms going to announce?
9:12 I’ve lost count on how long the applause is.
9:14 Barack and Nancy, sitting in a tree…
9:16 Starting with the economy. Get to the concern on everyone’s mind.
9:20 I’m watching MSNBC who is polling the speech based on Obama and McCain voters. It’s too bad people can’t change their votes, McCain voters are giving huge approval to Obama so far.
9:25 Even though Obama said he’s not for bigger government, I’m glad that he’s highlighting the importance of the stimulus bill that just passed and how it’s going to help the country.
9:26 “Nobody messes with Joe.” That’s a huge grin on Biden’s face there.
9:28 Obama is getting to the crux of the problem in the economy: credit must be flowing again. He summarized it in plain English during the town-hall debate and it’s just as true today.
9:32 Obama is acknowledging the fear of a lost-decade if we refuse to act on the economy. ARRRA won’t be the last stimulus or bailout bill that we see. Congress cannot act in it’s interests for November 2010 in order to do this properly. This goes for members of Congress in both parties.
9:36 There’s a major difference between tonight and past SOTU’s from Bush: Obama is not claiming to be perfect and knows that he will screw up at some point. Stubbornness is what brought the economy to its knees.
9:39 I’m glad to hear that Obama is following on campaign promises such as green energy. Rahm Emanuel did say to never waste a crisis, after all.
9:40 Cap-and-trade: boldest statement so far.
9:43 The growing cost of health care is the most practical approach to address the issue, but Nancy Pelosi is way too audacious in her applause.
9:47 I think Joe Biden forgot to drink his coffee…
9:48 Why does everyone love charter schools so much? Studies have shown the results are no better than regular, public schools.
9:49 “Quitting school is not quitting yourself, it is quitting your country.” Ouch.
9:54 I’m noticing that the Republicans aren’t applauding when Obama mentions that we got this high deficit from Bush. As Andrew Sullivan notes, Republicans will not be trusted if they fail to acknowledge Bush’s faults.
9:58 Will Obama end the war? I hope so, but I think certain realities will complicate that challenge.
10:00 “There is no more force more powerful than the morals of America.” MSNBC Republican line is dropping, fast.
10:03 Shout-out against protectionism. Maybe a disappointment for some, but history shows otherwise.
10:05 That school in South Carolina that Obama just described sounds like my apartment. If my landlord is reading, I’m kidding.
10:09 Ending on a high note, that we will be okay if we tackle our problems in unity. I don’t have time to watch Jindal’s opposition speech, but I’ll add some remarks about that later.
-Jack De Stefano
Filed under: 1 | Tags: obama, ofa, organizing for america, sofa, students for obama
You may have heard by now about Organizing for America, a project of the Democratic National Committee that aims to transform the campaign infrastructure of Obama for America into a permanent political organizing group. Here at NYU, the former leaders of NYU Students for Obama have transformed their group into NYU Students Organizing for America (NYU SOFA). We’re at the forefront of a new student movement, as we’re one of the first and so far only SOFA chapters in the country. That means we get to set the agenda, so let’s talk about just a little bit of the enormous creativity we have in establishing this movement.
1) We can be bigger than President Obama. Fingers crossed, President Obama will finish a second term in 2016, and we want OFA and SOFA to still be here. We can work not just on those issues the President raised during the campaign that were so vital to all of us, but also on more local elections and issues. From the heights of the direction our nation takes down through state, city, neighborhood, and NYU politics and issues, NYU SOFA can be a progressive force for change.
2) We can answer the President’s call to national service. Working on the Obama campaign and giving him your vote were a good start, but if we want to fundamentally change this country we all need to find the time in our lives for public service. NYU SOFA will be a vehicle for regular community service projects, projects that will improve us as people, improve the community in and around NYU, and prove to the world that we meant what we said in 2008 when we shouted “Yes We Can!” to changing the world.
3) We can train a new generation of organizers. Organizing is a great skill to have, regardless of whether you want to go into organizing per se. Join SOFA as we teach you the tricks of the trade that we’ve learned and embark on a shared journey to become better organizers. There is an endless number of worthy progressive causes in our city and university communities; we want NYU students to be able to come to SOFA and learn how to effectively organize around the issues important to them.
4) We can have a hell of a lot of fun. So join our Facebook group, NYU Students Organizing for America. Check out our upcoming events, check out our blog at nyusofa.wordpress.com, and feel free to shoot an email to any of the SOFA leaders. We’re all ears for your ideas and we want you to be a part of something amazing.
-Pat McClellan
PS- We’re not a part of the College Democrats, but they’re our good friends and allies, so definitely get active with both NYU SOFA and the College Dems.
“Waiting On The World To Change 2008″ – Joe Budden, Twista, John Mayer
- Luke Pattan
History by Jay Z
Over the next four days, be coming back to see our four favorite songs concerning the election of Barack Obama as President of the United States.
Our first pick is an incredible song by Jay-Z with a user-created music video to go along with it. Enjoy!
- Luke Pattan
