Much like the College Republicans, the College Democrats are hard at work preparing for the upcoming presidential election in November.
College Democrats is a student organization concentrated on supporting, implementing and furthering Democratic ideals: equality across all the spectrums of race, gender, sexual orientation, religion and class.
“We are focused on increasing the political activity of students on campus and assisting in strengthening the Democratic Party both on campus and in the community,” said Sydney Crowder, president of the College Democrats. “We are also partnered with the Democratic Resource Center and the Tri-Cities Young Democrats.”
The organization is currently working with the local Democratic Resource Center in Johnson City to assist the campaigns of the candidates that they support. They will also be hosting candidate information sessions in the Atrium of the D.P. Culp University Center to keep people well informed of the stances that each candidate is taking.
“My biggest expectation is for us to really gain a presence on campus and to show the students that there is a friendly place for Democrats in East Tennessee as well as the university,” Crowder said. “We would also like to partner with other organizations on campus to assist in the forwarding momentum of equality across the board.”
Just like the College Republicans, the College Democrats interacts with a very diverse group of individuals.
“We have a good mix of Bernie supporters and Hillary supporters,” Crowder said. “This allows us to have an open and respectful dialogue about the important issues that we are faced with both as citizens and college students.”
According to Crowder, her favorite part of the organization is being involved in such an important part of our nation’s history.
“Elections and political involvement are some of the most important things you can participate in,” Crowder said, “and I am more than happy to facilitate a way for students to truly become involved and emerge themselves in the process.”
If you’re interested in joining the College Democrats, the next meeting is at 5:30 p.m. Feb. 25 in meeting room 2 in the D.P. Culp University Center.
“If you would like to join, we will have a table set up in the Culp Atrium around the day of the local primaries with candidate information as well as information about local issues and our organization,” Crowder said. “You can also join by requesting membership on Buc-Hub and/or liking our Facebook page, ETSU College Democrats.”