SWARTHMORE COLLEGE YOUNG DEMOCRATS
Group Charter
Drafted: November 14th, 2005
This charter outlines the structure, goals, and guidelines of the Swarthmore College Young Democrats.
Mission Statement
It shall be the mission of the Swarthmore College Young Democrats to advocate for and advance the values of the Democratic Party on campus and beyond. We are a group of students who work to educate our fellow students about political issues, work on electoral campaigns for Democratic candidates, and try to put progressive ideals into action at all levels of government. We are guided by the Democratic principles of equal rights and equal opportunity for all.
Meetings and Events
The Swarthmore College Young Democrats meet weekly. Meetings typically run about forty-five minutes to an hour. The agenda for all meetings is written on the board at the beginning so that if members must leave early, they know what they are missing. The president runs meetings but may call on other Executive board members or members who have taken an initiative in planning something to explain specific items. If there is a guest speaker, this speaker should be given the floor before the agenda is discussed if their schedule permits. The most complicated or potentially contentious items are discussed first, such as the group endorsement policy or a proposed issue based campaign. The meeting then moves to discussing reminders and the president opens up the floor for announcements about Democratic, progressive or fun events. The meeting always ends with a joke, the responsibility for which rotates among the members. The secretary sends out detailed minutes from the meeting to the mailing list and posts the minutes on the website no later than 48 hours after the meeting.
The leadership, which consists of the elected officers, the executive director, and any other appointed members, meets once a week before the regular meeting to plan the agenda for the next meeting and delegate tasks. This can be a dinner meeting.
All meetings are open to all those who believe in democratic principles. Students need not be registered democrats, or over the age of eighteen to attend. Executive board meetings are also generally open, although the executive board retains the right to close a planning meeting if they feel it is to the greater benefit of the group to do so.
ACTIVITIES
Our group’s activities include election work, issue campaigns, service, and social events. We contribute to local, state-wide and national elections through canvassing, phone-banking, Get Out the Vote drives, fund-raising, and literature drops. Occasionally, we travel out of state to work on races that are particularly heated or of interest to our membership. We also provide information to students about elections and voting, conduct voter registration drives on campus, and assist in helping students get to their polling places. We encourage local candidates to speak at our meetings and/or on campus so that members know who is running. We also encourage members to attend near-by political training sessions and conferences.
The Swarthmore College Young Democrats may also identify political or economic issues that they would like to mobilize around. These should be issues that a salient majority (about 75%) of the membership can reach a consensus on, and that members believe the group can impact. In the past, issues have included Bush’s plan to privatize social security, passing the Violence Against Women Act in Congress, and the need for designated funding for SEPTA, Philly area mass transport. This can include providing information for the campus or outside community about the issue through literature, storm the dorms, or hosting a debate, forming partnerships with other groups that target the same issue, signing petitions, letter writing, tabling, film screenings, and rallies.
Our group carries out service outreach projects because we believe that the way to create a better America is not only through voting. We look for service projects in the communities we are liable to be registering voters in during the election seasons to build a deeper relationship with these communities. Examples of this might include assisting with a Habitat for Humanity project or planning a ‘block party’ in Chester.
We also try to strengthen our membership and build a cohesive group through fun social events. We hold several small weekend get-to-gethers per semester and an end of semester potluck banquet. We have an annual milk-drinking contest against the College Republicans.
Integral to the work of the Swarthmore College Young Democrats is our website, www.garnetdonkey.com. This website serves an important function because all our minutes and announcements are posted on it, so members who do not attend meetings or students who are interested in what the College Democrats do can easily find out by accessing our website. This website is valuable for new leaders who can look back through the archives and see what has worked best in the past. We feel this is a significant improvement over solely sending out the minutes through email. Pictures of group events are available through the website. We also have a wide assortment of links to other political sites, the occasional poll, and student and guest bloggers.
Membership
Swarthmore College Young Democrats does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, age, religion, national origin, sexual orientation, gender, or handicap. Any student may be a member whether or not they are registered with the Democratic Party as long as they have a commitment to the Democratic ideals of justice, equality, and fairness. All “active members” can vote in elections and run for office. To be an active member, a student must:
A) Be a current Swarthmore College student.
B) Attend three meetings or two events within the past semester
C) In the case of members who want to vote and plan to be active in the group in the future but have not been active in the past semester due to a conflicting time commitment, (including, for instance, a Tuesday night seminar), their eligibility to vote will be granted based on:
i. attendance to more than 50% of meetings the semester before OR
ii. a history of major contribution to the group (i.e., serving as an officer, blogging on the website, consistently designing and putting up posters, etc)
The Executive Board will determine active member status. If members are not sure whether they qualify as active or not, they should email the secretary.
Organizational Structure
The Swarthmore College Young Democrats consists of the Executive Board and the remaining members. The Executive Board consists of 6 members, four of which are elected, and two that are appointed at the pleasure of the President. The Executive Board meets before every weekly meeting to plan the agenda and discuss upcoming issues.
Elected Offices
Elections are held each December. The term runs from January to the following December. Active members, as defined above, are eligible to vote. All officer platforms must be sent to the mailing list, posted on the website, and read at the meeting before voting can occur. Voting must be by secret ballot, and ballots are counted by two students who are not on the ballot designated by the Executive Board. In the event of a tie, the sitting President breaks the tie. If it is a three (or more) way race and two candidate tie, there should be a run-off race between the top candidates. In the event that an elected officer goes abroad, drops out, is appointed to another office, or can no longer serve, a special election should be held as soon as possible, unless it’s the President. In this case, the Vice President becomes President and a special election for Vice President is held. The Treasurer may not be a senior; only first years and sophomores are eligible for election to this post.
A. President- The annually elected President has the following duties, rights, and responsibilities:
i. Establish administrative procedures not otherwise provided for by the Charter of this chapter.
ii. Preside over group meetings and Executive board meetings.
iii. Break ties in elections if necessary
iv. Appoint non-elected officers, appoint chair persons of committees, and remove these persons at her/his discretion
v. Draft and update the charter
vi. Administer election protocol, count ballots if not on the ballot
B. Vice President- the annually elected Vice-President has the following duties, rights, and responsibilities:
i. Act as President Pro-Tempore in the absence of the President. In the case where the President’s office becomes vacant, the Vice President will become the President automatically and will assume all powers, duties, and responsibilities associated with that position. The office of Vice President will then be filled by a special election.
ii. Head recruiting efforts; appoint and oversee a recruiting committee if they want to
iii. Assist the President
iv. Administer election protocol, count ballots if not on the ballot
v. Ensure publicity for all upcoming events and meetings
C. Secretary- the annually elected Secretary has the following rights, duties, and responsibilities:
i. Keep accurate minutes of all chapter meetings and send these minutes out to the list and post them on the website within 48 hours after the meeting
ii. Update the Democrats mailing list
iii. Collect and compile platforms before the election
iv. Keep an accurate mailing list and phone directory of all members, maintain other lists at the request of the Executive Board
v. See to all correspondence of the chapter as directed by the President, including correspondence with other chapters if an outreach coordinator has not been appointed
vi. Be in close correspondence with the Internet Director and make sure that events are publicized on the website
vii. Maintain a list of active members
D. Treasurer- the annually elected Treasurer has the following rights, duties, and responsibilities:
i. Assume responsibility for fund-raising initiatives; appoint and oversee a fundraising committee if he/she wants to
ii. Maintain accurate financial records for the organization
iii. Coordinate all financial activities, including any tax responsibilities with the Internal Revenue Service (IRS).
iv. Advise the Executive Board of the financial condition of the chapter
v. Make sure that members are reimbursed in a timely fashion for Executive board-approved expenditures they assume for the chapter
vi. Prepare the annual budget; negotiate this budget with SBC
Appointed Officers- the following officers serve on Executive Board and are appointed at the pleasure of the President. These offices do not have to be filled and may be left empty if the Executive Board does not feel that there is a need for them or if there is no individual the Executive Board feels is qualified. Additional appointed offices may be created: for instance, in Fall ’05, the President appointed an outreach director whose job was to stay in contact with the state and national organization. In the future, Executive Board may feel that there is a need for a Publicity Chair, etc.
A. Executive Director- the Executive Director is appointed to assist the President. The role of the Executive Director can vary but often consists of maintaining databases of media contacts or outside organizations, long-range planning for the organization, making walk lists for GOTV efforts, general logistical planning, assisting with website content, preparing press releases, and making slide shows of photos from chapter events.
B. Internet Director- the Internet Director is responsible for the content and direction of the website. He/she should blog frequently, and develop a system to encourage and support student bloggers. He/she should assess what would improve the function and appearance of the website, and then carry out these changes. The Internet Director should work closely with the secretary to ensure that minutes are posted on the site, and should make sure everything is archived properly. He/she should also keep in close correspondence with the rest of Executive Board about changes to the website.
Expenses
Specific funding needs include but are not limited to refreshments for special events and movie screenings, keeping in mind the usually large attendance, transportation costs for trips in and out of state which can fill anywhere between one and three vans, the costs of flyers to advertise special events, the costs of literature for issue-specific campaigns and funds to send members to national and regional Young Democrat conferences.
