The NYU College Democrats

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.