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Young Democratic Socialist
| YDS Socialist Summer School The Young Democratic Socialist Summer School took place on August 11 and 12th 2007 in Manhattan, New York. The event consisted of 15 sessions, a party, and elections over the period of two days. The Democratic Socialist have a vision of the United States that involves equality, justice, and peace. The organization is a not-for-profit activist group and not a political party. The YDS works with, and is affiliated to the Democratic Socialist of America. The groups and ventures of the organization are typical freedom fighting actions which include; protests, petitions, and rallying. The YDS and DSA seek to build a multicultural left who struggle for an anti-capitalist and anti-exploitation policy. The democratic socialist front is an international force that has gathered support from the South American socialist, American democrats, liberal, and progressive parties. The purpose of the conference was to improve actions and efforts of the YDS members in accordance to the group’s principals. The majority of the participants were members of campus chapters from around the nation. The bulk of the conference dealt with popular grassroots issues such as; healthcare, wages, equality, immigrant rights, and mobilization to name a few. YDS facilitators led the sessions. The sessions started out as informative lectures and ended with discussions. A majority of the sessions involved consensus and feedback via experiences of YDS members and friends. A donation was suggested in order to participate in the event, the facilitators welcomed the audience amicably. Once inside, the participants were offered free food and pamphlets. David Duhalde, YDS Organizer and conference facilitator, ensured that every participant was given a free slice of pizza. The session entitled “YDS Fundamentals” dealt with the policy and ideology of the YDS. The session also dealt with the effectiveness of chapters and efforts as of recent. The session entitled “Building an Organized Socialist Voice” addressed the obstacles of opening a local chapter within a town and campus. Participants related how there are conflicts between liberals, socialist, and anarchist that need be resolved. Also, a better means of rallying support is also important for any organization. Participants noted that building bonds of trust and communication is important in building effective networks. The session “Building the Progressive Majority” dealt with empowering the democratic socialist movement and dealing with the ruling oligarchy present in this day and age. The workshops addressed the problems from a grassroots angle. The workshops also addressed controversial issues such as the Iraq War, White House protest, and the Impeach Bush Movement. The YDS seeks to work together with similar organizations struggling for similar causes. Other issues, such as Palestine, labor rights, immigrant rights, and health care were granted special consideration by the YDS. The YDS in general believe that new policy and government reform will improve the society for all people on all levels. The Democratic Socialist are a force to be reckoned with. The appeal of the movement is the agenda. The movement seeks to create an order where power would be granted to the many and not to the few. This agenda seeks to decentralize the economy. Members want to ensure that resources are granted to the consumers in a fair manner. The most compelling aspect of the YDS and DSA is the effectiveness of the executive board. These organizations take full advantage of college campus and the social capital of schools, something that most activist organization never take into consideration. The YDS and DSA seek to network with similar organizations in order to build momentum instead of impeding one another. Most of the techniques of the movement are granted by scholars of activism, such as Noam Chomsky and Barbara Ehrenreich. The structure of the organization is in itself a model for socialism. All issues are granted petitions and proposals, voted on, and documented professionally. The YDS and DSA are models for activist organizations. Abdul Hakim aka Christopher Roberto Molina |