UK College Democrats

Ok, so this weekend is kind of a big deal. Whether you’re a Democrat working to elect progressive leadership which cares about America, or if you’re a social justice activist celebrating the past 25 years of the Central Kentucky Council for Peace and Justice, this is an important year.

As those of you reading may know, all four of you, we are heading out at 6 pm today, after phone banking to help Bruce Lunsford ‘Ditch Mitch‘, to Portsmouth, Ohio. Wish us luck, as we work in the Appalachian Rust Belt to help Barack Obama win Ohio. We’ll be knocking on doors, phone banking, attending festivals, and just having general merriment and revelry as we spread the message of Hope in Ohio. However, I know many of you will not be joining UK College Democrats out there, due to other commitments.

If you cannot join us, please join the hardworking people of Kentuckians for the Commonwealth, who are working with CKCPJ, Greenthumb, and WRFL to bring a great free campus at 7 pm tomorrow night on the Student Center patio at UK. This 2nd Concert for the Commonwealth, which will feature Devine Carama, Varsovia, and Groove Manifesto, is part of both Operation Voter Madness from the Kentuckians for the Commonwealth, and also kicking off the 20 Days for Peace and Justice by the Central Kentucky Council for Peace and Justice. So, if you’re not helping elect a progressive candidate at that time, come celebrate progressive values and social justice (isn’t that redundant?).

I know it’s been a long time since yours truly has posted, but I’ve got a schedule that I can post with again. (Thank the Lord!)

Alright, rather than talking about how scary the concept is of a Vice President that does not have to answer to the legislative or executive branches, how excited I am about this weekend (where UK College Democrats are joining the Morehead State University College Democrats in Ohio), talking about voter madness, or even discussing the Concert for the Commonwealth tomorrow night (which, if you’re not in OH, you should go to…), I’m just going to talk about how important it is that we work like our lives depended on it.. because they do.

Our lives depend on having a vision of America where we all realize we are in this community together. It is the interconnection between all Americans that make the growing disparity in wealth disconcerting, and that fundamental good and services we all depend on in this country, whether it be a roof over our head, food to feed our children, the opportunity to better ourselves through education, or the health care to allow us to continue to work, are all becoming luxuries that are increasingly reserved for the privileged classes in this country. Every child deserves a roof over their head, every child deserves the best education we can give them, and every parent should not have to worry what the next illness may mean for their family.

We’ve all lived in moments where our families were not sure if they would make it. Today, more Americans than ever face these moments every day. It’s time we had a government who would listen to the 90 million Americans who go without healthcare for part of the year; the students who are being forced to take out tens of thousands of dollars to get the education to guarentee that they too can partake in the American dream they have believed in their entires lives.

I am fortunate to be a part of an organization dedicated to electing the candidates who are willing to make the tough decisions to ensure that every American can afford health care coverage, every child can afford an education, and that will reinvest in America and the American dream. From Barack Obama to Kelly Flood, from Joe Biden to Bruce Lunsford, and from Ben Chandler to Kathy Stein, we have the candidates who are putting working Americans before the moneyed interests. We have the candidates who care more about the condition of Main Street, rather than the condition of K Street.

Fired up and ready to go in Invesco!

Keep reading →

Hey everyone!  Last night we had our first official meeting of the year and I think it was a great start!  We had around 50 people at the meeting, which is an excellent and encouraging showing.  In case you weren’t able to make the meeting, below I’m including an abbreviated version of the minutes from the meeting so that you can keep up with the exciting things going on.

Tonight I went to the Student Government Informational Banquet, so now I know what we have to do in order to apply for a grant at some point this year for an event.  We only get one grant this year, so we’ll have to really look at what we want to accomplish and prioritize.  If you have any great ideas for an event, let us know by either leaving a comment here, by e-mailing one of the officers, or by brining it up at a meeting.

Make sure that you’re a member of our facebook group, which can be found by searching for UK College Democrats.  I’ll be sending out messages to the group about events and different things.  We’ve got a listserv that we use periodically, but probably the majority of our communication with you all will be through our Facebook group.

Reminders:

• Debate on Thursday against College Republicans - 7pm, Worsham Theater
• Canvassing for Kelly Flood and Kathy Stein this Saturday - meet at FCDPHQ at 10:30 for canvassing from 11-2
• SEEDS training this Sunday - 3-8:30

- Sarah Short, Secretary

Minutes - Meeting 9/8/08

Pizza (brought by Nichole Stark - woo hoo!) and Sign-in

Introduction to the group and Officer Introductions

Speakers:

Tess - UK Students for Obama Campaign

• voter registration drives, campus involvement

Stephen Shepherd - coordinated campaign

• canvas on Saturday mornings
• phone banking daily 9am-9pm
• some of the candidates they work for are Kelly Flood, Kathy Stein, Bruce Lunsford, Barack Obama

Brittany Ingram - Delta Sigma Theta sorority

• Presidential Affair Forum - Tuesday, September 9
• room 211, 6 pm
• College Dems reps are Hannah Alsgaard and John Ghaelian
• educate students on campaigning and the candidates

*Brief announcement about Debate against College Republicans

• Thursday, September 11
• Worsham Theater - 7pm
• Panel: Chad Reese, Hannah Alsgaard, John Ghaelian, Joe Gallenstein, Robert Kahne (maybe)

KFTC rep (Kentuckians for the Commonwealth)

• involved with environmental and social justice issues
• nonpartisan - promote voting

*Brief announcement about 3 members who went to CDA/DNC in August - more about next year’s CDA trip in a few months

Sally Evans - VIP center

• SEEDS training - Sunday, September 14
• 3-8:30
• drop by to volunteer any time

Kelly Flood - candidate for State House 75th district

• replace Kathy Stein who is running for State Senate seat
• spoke about background and reasons for running
• more information: www.kellyflood.com

I’m sitting here watching CNN’s coverage of the DNC tonight and I have to say that all I really want to do is scream at the TV for the analysts to shut up! Last night they complained about not much happening and said that the Democrats wasted the night because they didn’t really grab the audience’s attention except for the excellent speeches by Ted Kennedy and Michelle Obama. However, tonight, when there are speeches one after another from different women leaders, they keep just talking over them. It’s like all they care about letting us hear is Hillary Clinton’s speech. Yes, I care about that and I think it will be interesting to see what she says, but I would also like to hear the other women and other speakers rather than listening to the same analysis over and over and over again. What’s the point of them even being there and broadcasting live if we’re just going to hear the same stuff that they say everyday in their own newsroom?

On a slightly related note, I read this story: www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/08/24/fox-news-ad-targets-cnns_n_121026.html and I was just like, wow, that’s so totally ridiculous.

-Sarah

As many of you have heard, and many more have not, UK College Democrats, together with UK KFTC and Accio Rock!, present Wizard Rock the Vote! Now, I know many of you will ask, what is Wizard Rock? Well, the wikipedia entry explains it better than I could.

We are teaming up with these organizations to help register voters, get information out about the candidates, and present an awesome concert. Acts included are The Mudbloods, Wild Magic, The Wands, Justin Finch-Fletchley and the Sugar Quills, and the Remus Lupins. The price is just $6, and admission is free for all children under 12. So, how can you afford NOT to go?

So, where is it? Well, Memorial Hall on UK’s campus. Why else should you go? You’re friendly local student activists will be there with merchandise on hand, trying to raise money to ensure we defeat you-know-who and his minions (read John McSame, Mitch McConnell, and various other extremists who have made a career of fighting against protection of minorities, against equal pay for women, against ensuring everyone has a retirement, against worker safety, against heath-care for all Americans, and for unwarranted, unwanted, and ill-advised wars.)

I hope to see many of you out!

- Joe G.

Joe and Stephanie have been busy on here talking up our ongoing fundraising drive.  As we move into a vital year in the life of our organization, it is crucial that we raise enough funds to turn our dreams into actions. Donating to our organization is one step you can take to ensure that our state turns blue in November, as we have set forth plans of campaing for our Democratic Candidates across the Commonwealth.  To help make this process easy for our supporters, a donation spot has been set up through the College Democrats of America. Here you will be able to donate to our cause via the internet using an ordianary credit card (Visa, Mastercard, ect.).  I will post the link in this post but it has also been posted in our UK College Democrats Fundraising Page as well.

http://partybuilder.collegedems.com/page/outreach/view/total/UKCD

Thank you for Your Support!

-Allyson - VP

To thank those who have kindly donated to the UK College Democrats, we have created two distinctions —  “Friends of UK CD’s” and “Honorary Members.”

“Friends of UK CD’s” are organizations or individuals who have worked side by side UK College Democrats on a variety of tasks and/or who have donated $35 dollars to our organization.

‘Honorary Members’ are individuals who have greatly assisted the UK College Democrats by providing supplies, meeting space, have attended UKCD events and/or have donated more than $50 to our organization. 

Honorary Members will receive their choice of one of our two t-shirts for the year. Individuals who donate an amount exceeding $75 will receive 2 t-shirts. (2 of one, or one of each.)

Please check our fundraising drive page for updates!

-Stephanie 

For those of you paying attention, and I know you all are, you will notice same changes on the left side of the page. Where’s Liberty, a blog a friend of mine started, has been taken down. Also, so has the Michigan College Democrats blog. Each of these blogs are no longer up and running
Replacing them on our list, though occupying different parts of our hearts, are Murray State University College Democrats’ blog and The Underground Rooster.

I hope everyone takes time to check them out!

Joe G.

Oh yeah, and it looks like we have a nominee. Check out MSU’s post on it!