MU College Democrats fired up for new year
After a low-key year, the group hopes to pick up under new direction.
Published Jan. 22, 2010
Changes are on the way for the MU College Democrats this semester.
The group, which held officer elections before winter break, has made some changes in hopes of focusing more on student involvement and community activities.
MU College Democrats President Amanda Shelton said one way the group has done this is by changing how it organizes events. During the coming semester, each executive board member is in charge of organizing a different event.
"Rather than unloading everything on the president and vice president, we're dividing and conquering," Shelton said. "There's teamwork, definitely, but we're having different individuals be responsible for different aspects of our semester."
Addressing these events, MU College Democrats spokesman Tyler Ricketts said they would deal with issues important to students. He cited one event centered on higher education funding.
"We want to take charge of the higher education issue and funding, or lack thereof," Ricketts said. "And this is a non-partisan issue, it's something all students care about and want answers on. At the same time, though, it is a partisan issue, because the Missouri House and Senate are controlled by the Republican Party, which comes up with these budget plans, which cut away at higher education funding."
More philanthropic events are in the works as well, Shelton said.
These events show the College Democrats are not devoted to only political issues, MU College Democrats Vice President Iavora Vlaytcheva said.
"It's really important to have a presence on campus and in the community that isn't partisan," she said. "We're an organization that is here to help, and we want people in the community to realize that instead of just having maybe three or four charity events in a year."
Last semester, some criticized the MU College Democrats for not having as great of a presence on campus as the MU College Republicans. Shelton said though she was not familiar enough with both organizations to compare them, she acknowledged the need for improvement.
"College Democrats definitely has room to improve on last semester and last year," she said. "And we're ready to make those improvements. It's OK to acknowledge areas that need improvement if you're willing to change them, and we've already started to do that."
Vlaytcheva attributed some of this to the lack of interest some students have in non-election years, and she said the group now has more direction.
"As with every kind of new beginning, we're all re-energized this year," she said. "As I said, last year was kind of a down year because it was after the big 2008 election. Most college students, who aren't as involved as we are, don't get as interested if it is not an election year."
Exposure is a key way to help increase this interest among students, Ricketts said.
"My big goal is I want to see College Democrats become more visible on campus," he said. "I feel there are many students who might be interested in joining College Democrats, but they may not know we exist."
Friday, the MU College Democrats are hosting their first event of the semester, marking the 37th anniversary of Roe v. Wade. According to a news release from the group, a table will be set up offering reproductive health information from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. in Speaker's Circle.
--Nichole Ballard contributed to this report
