Weekly Spotlight | Vassar Dems prepare for last leg of year’s events

Rukshana Jalil Guest Writer

Waiting for some political action on campus? The Vassar Democrats, a Vassar Student Association (VSA) group with an e-mail list of 500 members, can help with a spring full with events. In addition to a panel discussion, the Vassar Democrats have decided to participate in the National Student Day of Action for Climate Change. But that’s not all. They are also co-hosting the annual issues forum toward the end of April. Through these events, the Vassar Democrats hope to raise campus awareness of under-publicized issues.

The panel discussion, “The De-Feminization of Female Politicians,” will take place on Tuesday, April 1 (for more details, see page 4). Professors from the women’s studies and political science departments will speak on issues that have arisen regarding Hillary Clinton’s campaign, especially since “the crying incident.”

The National Student Day of Action to Fight Climate Change on April 4 is a project undertaken by College Democrats chapters across the country. With the help of VSA Vice President of Activities Jimmy Kelly ’09 and Operation Donation, the Vassar Democrats will meet congressional staff to discuss climate change. They and other chapters of the College Democrats will be traveling to Washington, D.C. to meet the congressional staff that works on such bills.

“It’s really a great opportunity to be able to have an impact and to get to hear and to meet the people who get to work on the bills, something we rarely get a chance to do on campus,” said Vassar College Democrats President Alexander Sheff ’08.

Last fall, the members met with 45 congressional staff members, including members from the offices of Senators Ted Kennedy and John Kerry. This year, they look forward to another exciting trip.

But not everyone on campus agrees that the meeting will be useful. “I don’t think meeting with senators or congressional staff can impact legislation,” said Ali Jamil ’10. “Right now, our government is more concerned about conflicts in the Middle East. I don’t think they care what college students have to say about climate change,” Jamil stated.

The group, however, remains confident. “As a group, college students…can make an impact…it puts pressure on Congress because there is a large group of people who care about an issue,” said the Vassar College Democrats’ Director of Community and Voter Outreach Lionel Dripps ’08.

The Vassar Democrats will also co-host their annual issues forum with the Dutchess County Democrats on April 26. There, both students and community members will discuss education funding, health care, redistricting and campaign finance. Such town-gown events have been successful before; at a primary debate held during the fall semester, more than 200 people showed up to the Martel theater.

The Vassar Democrats emphasize and encourage students to get involved in politics both locally and nationally. Its members see the group as a means to bring political science out of the classroom. “We have more fun than people might think,” said Sheff, “If you like watching Jon Stewart and cracking political jokes at your friends, you’d probably have a pretty good time at our meetings, because that’s a lot of what we do in addition to all our organizing.”

Like many VSA groups, the Vassar Democrats’ membership tends to dwindle over the course of the year. Their weekly meetings attract 15-20 people. Dripps noted, however, that the core group of students is very dedicated. “We tend to get people involved in activism who never before were active in any type of politics,” said Dripps.

The Vassar Democrats also publish Quorum, a biannual magazine, which encourages students to be politically active by writing about political concerns. Quorum’s theme for this semester is the intersection between democratic politics and student activism.

Not everyone on campus is aware, however, that there is a printed publication dedicated to expressing political views and concerns.

“I never knew about Quorum,” said Jamil. “I guess if it came out more frequently, it would help inform and make people aware of national and state issues.”

Vassar Democrats members also have concerns about the publication. “I would say it has not been entirely successful, but you have to understand that in a college, when it comes down to writing optional papers, people don’t really want to do it,” said Dripps.

The Vassar College Democrats have worked and are currently working with the Vassar Greens, ACT OUT, Hunger Action and Feminist Alliance to increase political involvement on campus. The Vassar Democrats meet on Mondays at 8 p.m. in the Rose Parlor.