CDM Chapter Guide

8/7/2019 CDM Chapter Guide

1/15


2/15

2

This chapter guide is compilation of the successes and advice of College

Democrats chapters from across Massachusetts.

Thank you to all of the College Democrats that helped us put thistogether!

While we have tried to put together as comprehensive of a guide as possible, please contact us withany other questions at [email protected]


3/15

3

The Creation of a Strong Executive Board 4Retaining Membership 5

Recruiting Members 6Securing and Raising Funds 7Chapter Meetings 8Successful Events 9Off-Campus Events 10Getting Involved with Campaigns 11Traditions 12

Speakers 13Challenges 14Working with Other Groups 15


4/15

4

One of the first steps once you decide to form achapter is to put together your clubs executiveboard. Below are some sample executive boardstructuresevery chapters board is different! Becareful about having too small or too large of aBoard, too many or too little voices can be a hugechallenge. Here are a few examples:

Boston College: President, Vice President,Finance Director, Communications Director, Campus Issues

Director, CampaignsDirector, Programs Director

Emerson:President, Vice President,Treasurer, Director of Communications,and Director of Recruiting

Holy Cross:Two Co-Chairs, Secretary,Treasurer, Publicity Coordinator,Campaigns Coordinator, PolicyCoordinator, Freshman Apprentice

Stonehill:President, Vice President,Publicity Coordinator, Treasurer,Secretary

Tufts:President, Vice President,Treasurer, Secretary,Communications Director, SpeakersCoordinator, Issues of the Future

CDMs suggestion: Many chapters have an executive boardposition reserved for a freshman such as a FreshmanRepresentative position elected every fall. This is a great way toget your new members involved right away and build infrastructureby teaching new members how the E-Board functions!


5/15

5

Advice for getting student participation for your chapter and maintaining activeparticipation from your members. Keeping a strong base of active members is criticalto your success both as a chapter and as a political force.

Boston College:Through weekly meetings (West Wing Wednesday), email,Facebook, and social gatherings.Clark: We put a lot of effort into fun activit ies and the E-Board makes an extraeffort to spend time with members outside of the meetings

Northeastern:We advertise at the student activit ies fair, do one stand out ortabling activity in the fall (voter registration, Veteran's Day fundraiser, etc.) to get ourname out there, then use Facebook and email to keep the group informed aboutmeeting times and events.

Smith:One of our most successful tactics for recruiting members has been to offer awide range of activities for students, and emphasizing that there is no minimumor maximum commitment. Our best advertising is word of mouth otherSmithies who bring their friends and classmates to meetings and events. This year, wealso emphasized leadership opportunit ies for younger students , particularlyfirst years. Our campaigns committee provided first-year members with theopportunity to liaise with campaigns, building their own experience and increasingtheir engagement with the organization.

Stonehil l: Each week we make sure to have an activity planned. We may watch amovie, hold a let ter wri t ing party, vis i t an off -campus location, etc. This waywe keep people involved by doing something fun all the time. We get studentparticipation mainly by using our email system, which allows us to listserv the entirestudent body at one time. We also have a Facebook group that we use to messagemembers quite often.

Tufts: We try to have large social events to get members involved (such as awinter trip to New Hampshire) or house parties. Then over time we get members totake on more responsibility in planning events.

CDMs suggestion: Use the resources and networking that CDM already has in placeto join with other Chapters for joint events. Joining with other schools makes eventsfun and is a casual way to meet Dems from other schools. As one Tufts student said,The mixer we had with the Harvard Dems last year was the highlight of my time on

the Board.


6/15

6

How to Recruit NewMembers: master this andyoure golden!!

Boston College: Wetable at Student ActivitiesDay in the fall, have afreshman leadershipprogram called the First-YearProgressiveXchange,and hold socialgatherings (parties,meals on- and off-

campus).

Clark: We recruit heavily during the student activities fair,freshmen orientation, and through the political science department.

Smith: We always have tables both at the activities fair for admitted studentsin the spring and at the Organizations Fair that takes place at the beginning ofthe academic year. This is when most new students will sign up for our email list,and gives us an opportunity to explain the org. We follow this up with a big firstmeeting, laying out plans for the year and introducing the board. At our secondmeeting, we always elect a first year representative to the board,immediately bringing a new perspective to the board and reiterating that wewant participation from all class years.

Suffolk: Through our orientation fairs we usually tell new recruits we provideinternship opportunities and their eyes light up, since having an internship isbasically a requirement for graduation at Suffolk and word of mouth, flyers, ourFacebook page, etc. Keeping them around: make things fun and make surethere is FOOD.WPI: Our school has activities fairs, and we make sure to set up a table withposter, flyers, and candies so that we can meet new students and add their emailaddresses to our listserv.


7/15

7

Advice about to get maximum funding fromyour college/university for your chapter:Almost all of the chapters in Massachusettsare funded through the Student Government.

Allocated funding ranges from $50 to$20,000 per year.

Stonehill: Do a lot of programs with otherclubs, such as activism club, PRIDE, or SEA,the school likes it when clubs work together. Also, beas detailed as possible when presenting your budget.Explain why you are asking for the money and what it will be used for. Also, beon the lookout for other ways to save money. We have a Fun Fund at Stonehill,which students can apply for to get up to $200 for an event.

Tufts:Explain how many people your programs reach (both studentsand candidates) and how a strong college democrats chapter is a good recruitingpoint for the University. Colleges love to say how politically active their studentsare and if their money is behind their mouth, they will fund political groups oncampus.

Smith College: It is really important to have a thematic frame for theyear, even if you aren't able to plan out each individual event. This makes it mucheasier to defend in the budget and makes it clear that you are not making thenumbers up on the fly. We save receipts and invoices from previous years

and include them with our budget,so we can demonstrate what ourcosts actually are. And we arealways able to explain eachevent we include in the budgetand why it is important to ourprogramming for the year.

Suffolk: Spend every dimeof your budget, thenhopefully the SGA willrealize we need moremoney that year or the

following year.


8/15

8

Meetings are very different frompolitical events. It is critical to holdregular meetings (whether with aguest speaker or just a discussionabout politics) so that students seeand associate with a reliable and

solid group.

Emerson: We generallymeet once a week . Meetings

are comprised of speakersessions and opportunities to

network and get involved with campaigns inthe area.

Boston Universi ty: We met weekly, with our meetings varyingin both attendance and function. Some meetings would center ondiscussion of predetermined topics such as the health care bill or talk points forelections while others would be team building games, or campaign representativeslooking to get our chapter involved in their race.

Tufts: We have general meetings every Tuesday night at 9 PM open to the entirecampus. Meetings include guest speakers as well as planned discussion topics.The executive board meets every other week with a rotating time to fit everyone'sneeds.

Boston College: Our regular weekly meeting is West Wing Wednesday- freedinner, an episode of the West Wing, and poli t ical chi tchat. We alsodiscuss upcoming events and involve regular members in the planning process.

Smith: We meet weekly, usually for about halfan hour. We generally start with announcementsof events and campaign trips. Then, the first-yearrepresentative is responsible for "This Week inPolitics," a synopsis of current political events.The meetings are highly structured, butvery informal, making them bothinformative and fun.

Clark: We meet every single week where wehave speakers, plan events, and do differentservice projects. Every other week we host "Issues Night",that are informal debates over coffee and donuts.


9/15

9

This is where CDM comes in handy. Feel free tocontact CDM and ask for help and ideas forplanning and carrying out successful events. Wehave the resources to help you get it done! Talkto representatives in your area to get them tocome speak on campus for an added incentive forstudents to attend the event.

Stonehil l: On campus events are usual ly more successful than offcampus ones. We have had good luck with movie nights, letter writing parties, andgoing to other school events together as a group. For example, we went to theschool play together because it focused around the issue of poverty, whichhappened to be our theme for the semester. Our most successful event last yearwas the South Shore Kickoff. It was well attended by members of CDM as well aslocal chapters and local politicians.

Emerson: Political Satire or trivia events. Pizza and Politics. In the past, our mostsuccessful events have been speakers and canvassing/phone banking in NewHampshire in 2008.

Smith: Each year, we host a Five College Kickoff event, a tea with theRepublicans over Family Weekend, a Halloween Party, and the Liberal DateAuction. We've also had a lot of success with debate watching/election returnswatching parties (often co-hosted with the Smith Republicans and/or theGovernment Department) and with speakers. In terms of what we are most proudof though, our campaign tr ips are our best events . Each election season, weknock on thousands and thousands of doors and make tens of thousands of phonecalls.

Suffolk: We did a "Taste of Haiti" event last year where we teamedup with the Black Student Union, Caribbean Student Network andvarious other clubs where we raised over 600 dollars for the victimsof the Haiti quake...we also have a debate with the Republicans every year, where the room is packed and things needless to sayget pretty heated!

Tufts: We have held a number of events ranging from a ParentsWeekend Bagel Brunch with an elected official to bowling nightwith the Tufts Republicans. Gathering with other groups andengaging many people in social events real ly makesstudents feel connected to the group.


10/15

10

Stonehill: For off-campusevents we try to take advantageof our close location to the T.However, our school also

provides us with SGA Vans thatwe are welcome to use. (Thevans do get book quicklythough, and this has been amajor problem for us in thepast). Last year we had a greattrip to the JFK Library, and weserved meals at a soup kitchen in our localcommunity. We also went to an OFA Strategy Session. During electionyears we are able to make some of our off campus events campaign-related as

well.

Boston University:Annual trip to Washington DC. This year we visited thecapital building, the Center for American Progress and the DNC.

Smith: The bulk of our work is off campus, on campaign trips. Weprimarily use the Student Government Association vans, though sometimessupplement that with members' cars. We try to do at least one or two overnighttrips each election season, which are always the most fun (we generally bringsleeping bags and sleep in the campaign office), and allow us to be most efficientwith our time. Mostly, we go for one day, leaving early in the morning and puttingin a full field day.

Tufts: We oftencampaign off-campus. Ifits in the Boston area,we'll take the T (bus orsubway), but if its outof the area, we usually

can find cars. For ourannual trip to the TuftsMountain Club Loj inWoodstock, NewHampshire we havebudgeted a van rentalfrom the school.


11/15

11

Tufts: We try to have some of our most acti ve members intern orwork on local campaigns to give us a foot in the door. They typicallystart over the summer and it allows us to bring on more volunteers as we goalong. Also, the leadership of the group makes an effort to get to know staffers

for local politicians.

Boston University: The chapter got involved in CDM endorsed races suchas Setti Warren and also had members involved in a variety of other state andnational races. Our President and Campaign Relations officer were in charge ofmanaging contacts with campaigns.

Smith: The campaigns coordinator begins developing relationshipswith campaigns over the summer, figuring out where we can reasonablytravel to, and when we can commit a weekend (either via phone or email).

Many campaigns will also contact us, asking us to come canvass or phone bankand we do tend to give priority to these campaigns. We extend invitations to allthe field staff and candidates with whom we work to come to Smith and speak --and this often significantly increases student interest in the campaigns. In termsof the work we do, it's really whatever the campaign needs. Primarily, wecanvass and phone bank (this is the best option for campaigns that are furtheraway), but we also do literature drops, visibility, work events, and help withoffice tasks (entering VoteBuilder data, etc.).

Suffolk: We door knock, phone bank, hold signs and do whatever elsecampaigns need, also intern!! Usually, we receive emails from the campaignsthemselves, there hasn't beenan instance in which we hadto go out and offer, they arealways asking!

Clark: Political campaignshave always contacted us inthe past. We offer to do

phone banking or canvassingcandidates, and turn outstudents on Election Day. Wehost Election Day events andhelp drive students to thepolls, etc.


12/15

12

This is an amazing way to engage new members in the group and create lastingmemories and traditions for excitement year after year!

Stonehill: We always have an opening BBQ or dinner and a end of year BBQor dinner. We feel like it's the best way to have everyone get to know each otherat the beginning of the year and to celebrate a successful year in May.

Boston College: West Wing Wednesday, Fr. Drinan Award (annual awardfor a prominent Catholic Democrat), and something that is not yet a tradition butsoon will be- the Grand Old Party (a Republican-themed party, complete with redkool-aid)

Smith: We always havethe Family Weekend Tea, the

Halloween Party, debatewatching, and the DateAuction. We are known forour hard work and our funcampaign trips -- things Idid with the Smith Demsare among my favoriteSmith memories. Maybethe best example of this is our

annual Election Day visibility.Each year, we make tons of signsencouraging people to go and vote the nightbefore Election Day, and then get up at the crack of dawn onTuesday (often in the bitter cold, and sometimes in the snow and rain) andhold the signs at key intersections in Northampton. We have a morning, midday,and evening shift and while we usually freeze and are incredibly tired, it is one ofthe most fun things we do all year. Everyone gets to bond with other members,and there is such a rush from election adrenaline.

Clark: We try to show a funny video clip and do an ice-breaker at everymeeting, Issues Night, and State of the Union watching party.


13/15

13

Bringing speakers to campus takes a lot of planning and communication on yourpart. Take the time early to set up a schedule of speakers that you like and knowyour club will like. Use resources at your school or from CDM to network and

communicate with special speakers.

Stonehill:Usually we have professors help us invite speakers. Last year,the Martin Institute, a building named after the former speaker of the house,invited Tim Murray to speak to students and faculty.

Tufts: We always try to play every connection we have and we often aimhigh and see what we find. Last year we hosted the following speakers: DNCExecutive Director Jennifer O'Malley-Dillon, Education Advocate Deborah Meier,Alan Khazei, Rep. Carl Sciortino, and Rep. Sean Garballey among many others.

Smith: It is really important to invite speakers early and to be persistentwith them. We tend to pick speakers who will provide an interesting perspective,and with whom students will connect. This year, we hosted Lauren Wolfe andAlex Cornell du Houx from Operation Free, Alan Khazei, Rep. Mike Capuano,Speaker of the Maine State House Hannah Pingree, as well as numerousprofessors and all of the speakers we had for the CDM convention.

Northeastern: Its best to invite guest speakers as far in advance aspossible and provide them with as many options as possible. Flexibilityis key for people running on a tight schedule, and you may have to switch thetime or night of your meeting to accommodate specific people. NUCD has hostedmany speakers, including State Sens. Downing and Flanagan, Former GovernorMichael Dukakis, Tito Jackson, and candidates for the Middlesex, Suffolk, andEssex special senate election. We also worked with the university to co-hostevents featuring Gov. Deval Patrick, Atty. General Martha Coakley, andPresident Barack Obama.


14/15

14

WPI: Getting the apathetic students involved in politics is one of ourbiggest problems. Getting people to show up to meetings each week andcome to events that we hold.

Stonehill: Apathy from students, a lot of students don't care politically. Wesuch a huge rise in political apathy after Obama was elected because no one

really cared about elections besides the 2008 election. We do face someproblems in being at a Catholic school, college Republicans were allowed todistribute pro-life pins during the anniversary of Roe v. Wade but we did notrespond because we wary of school possibly stopping us from distributing pro-choice pins. We face problems in terms of gay rights, pro-choice, and birthcontrol. This means that we are notallowed to do anything that goesagainst the Church's stanceon these topics. Despitethese challenges, westay true to what webelieve in asDemocrats and try notto get our religiontangled up in it.Boston College: BC isa Catholic school sothere are many issues

we can't touch- namelybeing pro-choice. Thestudent body is also veryapathetic, and many people try to avoididentifying with a particular party.

Smith: Smith has a reputation as a liberal campus, but we often face anapathetic student body when it comes to real political issues and campaigns. It isvery frustrating to hear classmates and housemates complain about a politicalproblem, but then never see them at a meeting or event.

Holy Cross: We are a Jesuit school so we have problems sometimes opposing"Catholic" issues such as abortion. Because there is such a large Catholic andwealthy population in HC there are many outspoken conservatives; there is evena well-funded (by alumni donors) newspaper that comes out every couple ofweeks by extreme conservatives that while not read by the vast majority of theschool, presents by its mere presence a challenge to Democrats. There is alsoa fair amount of political apathy on campus and we are strugglingto change that.


15/15

15

Tufts: We work a lot with the Tufts Republicans and other groups that are relatedto various issues we are working on. During Election Seasons, we work with TuftsVotes, a non-partisan voter registration group, to bring attention to upcomingelections especially among freshmen.

Boston College: We work with BC Students for Sexual Health, environmentalgroups, other progressive groups on campus (because we're so well funded, wetry to help less fortunate progressives on campus!).

Emerson: Emerson Feminists, Communication, Politics, and Law Association and afew of our advocacy related groups. We hope to collaborate with CDM chaptersnear Emerson, like Suffolk and Northeastern.

Clark: The groups we collaborate with are mostly on campus. We collaboratewith Invisible Children, Clark Student Council, Clark High School Partnership Club,Black Student Union, and International Students Union. At least once a year, oftenonce a semester, a non-partisan group hosts a debate between the Demsand Republicans that is usually well-attended. Last year we also co-organized a Veterans Day fundraiser with the College Republicans by selling smallflags on campus.

Smith: We have a very good relationship with the Smith Republicans,collaborating every year on the Family Weekend Bipartisan Tea at the beginningof the year and the Dems-Republicans Kickball game at the end of the year. Thisyear, we made an effort to meet regularly with the president of theRepublicans so we wouldeach know what the otherclub was doing and how wecould cooperate even more.

Documents

CDM Chapter Guide