 |
|---|
     |
|
2006-2007 Meeting Minutes September 20, 2006 I left my notebook in my car, but hopefully this covers everything we discussed at the meeting. Ryan can email out the emails if I miss some of them. John Sarbanes: Sam came in and told us about various opportunities to help out with the Sarbanes campaign, mostly canvassing and phonebanking. If there is a Sat. or Sun. when we are all available to phonebank (or at least a few of us) then they can have someone come down and train us, or I can train you guys to work the system. It’s pretty simple. Just call into the system on your free cell phone minutes and you get calls that way. You can even do it while you do some easy homework! For more info on John Sarbanes, you can go to www.johnsarbanes.com. He has a pretty right-wing opponent, so he’s someone we can all get behind, whether you were for him in the primary or not. Ben Cardin/Martin O’Malley/Victory 2006 Campaign For the general election, the Democratic party has begun a coordinated campaign that organizes every candidate’s field operations to avoid overdoing one area while ignoring another. Cardin and O’Malley are working on a GOTV campaign until Nov. 7th. This involves phonebanking to not only talk about Ben and Mayor O’Malley, but also encourage people to vote by absentee ballot to avoid the problems that happened by election day! Ben’s Catonsville area organizer came in and, again, went over various opportunities to help the campaign. The Cardin office is on 22 Bloomsbury Ave. in Catonsville (right by Frederick Rd.) and I can figure out for you guys which bus comes by it if you need it. The Cardin campaign canvasses on Saturday and Sunday mornings, and phonebanks every night of the week. I’m not sure about O’Malley’s people. Additionally, the Democratic Party is canvassing on Saturday. Rides are available, so e-mail Ryan if you’re interested and he can get the right people to you (and girl who works at the Democratic Party whose name I’ve forgotten, shoot me an e-mail so that I have yours to give out in the future. Sorry! I didn’t get a chance to get it from you after the meeting!!) All in all, we have a ton of opportunities to help out. If you’re interested in coming to the Cardin campaign to phonebank tonight, let me know. Any time you can give would be helpful, whether it’s after class at 7, an hour in the evening or more! Remember, this election year is incredibly important. All the analyses that I’ve seen calculating what seats the Dems need to win to get the Senate don’t include losing this Senate seat to Steele, which is a HUGE possibility if we don’t keep our grassroots operation up. We’re working against a well-funded operation with plenty of support from the Bush Administration. Any time you spend calling or canvassing is time that gets Ben’s name out there and people to the polls. The Democrats need your help! ….Plus, you can put it on your resume. September 13, 2006 Just want to give all of you that did not make it a brief summary of the things discussed at yesterday's meeting. Before I get to that, I just wanted to remind you all about the Baltimore Democratic Rally on Saturday morning at 10AM. If you'll be attending RSVP to mterreforte@mddems.org and if you need transportation, let me know by Friday morning. At our meeting, we had Kristen Hayden, our Secretary, talk about the Cardin campaign as well as UMBC student and O'Malley Intern Mike Cherry and Director of Advance Tom Smith talk about the O'Malley/Brown campaign. The gubernatorial and senatorial elections are the arguably the most important and competitive elections in Maryland this year, and fortunately for us both campaigns have an office close to UMBC. We created a sign up sheet where people could add their favorite candidates/preferred time of the week to volunteer on campaigns - the goal of this is to hopefully have an evening/day where we as a group go down and help out with a campaign. As we get closer to the election, we hope to have a pre-election rally where we invite Democratic candidates to UMBC. We will also be participating in Political Action Week (the week before election day) which will include a four-party debate and the publishing of our newsletter, The Democrats Digest (so start thinking of ideas for newsletter articles!). Our next meeting will be next Wednesday at Noon in Commons 332 - I will send out an email on Tuesday as a reminder. Hope to see you there. |
|
2005-2006 Meeting Minutes April 5, 2006 DEMOCRATS' DIGEST APRIL 12 Submissions preferred/Tentative deadline Contributions to our newsletter are still welcome. Any submissions that we cannot print in the hardcopy edition will be posted to our website. We’re looking for articles about a current political issue running to about 500 words. OMFG BUSH IS TEH SUCK isn’t quite up to par. E-mail Allen if you’re interested. SPINBOWL APRIL 14th This semester’s SPINbowl will be a soccer game with liberals against conservatives. If you’re interested in playing, contact Allen (allen7@umbc.edu in case you forgot). POLITICAL PARTY DEBATE APRIL 17 Location is yet to be determined. Come out and support the Democrats in this debate between all of the political parties on campus. The debate topics aren’t settled but will likely include the South Dakota ban on abortion, weapons on campus (…) and some other issues the Libertarians are pushing for. If you’d like to participate or steer the topics toward something more…not weird, be in touch with Allen (allen7@umbc.edu). We’re not sure about any snacks/refreshments as of now, but the Greens will likely come prepared for the munchies. ROE V. ROE? APRIL 21(?) UC 312 12:00 Details are still sketchy on this event, but Norma McCovey will be speaking on campus. The same “Jane Roe” after whom the infamous Supreme Court case is named is now a pro-life advocate. Her remarks should be interesting. Details….can you guess?...are forthcoming. QUADMANIA APRIL 22 We’re accepting volunteers to *person* our table during Quadmania. We’ll be displaying the goods from 1-7PM, so if you’d be available during that time, drop a line to…well, you can figure it out. MARCH/RALLY FOR DARFUR APRIL 30 Two buses will be available to take students to and from Washington, DC for this event. We’ll be rallying for US/UN action against genocide. This event takes place on a Sunday. To confirm or to have questions answered, send an e-mail to levi@umbc.edu. CANDIDATE MEET-AND-GREET We’ve got the funds for this event. Aside from that, details about this and Duke Nukem Forever are forthcoming March 15, 2006 Wednesday, March 29, 2006 Study Abroad Informal Lecture We will not be having a College Democrats meeting on this date, due to a stampede of early confirmations for the following event. College Democrats' Vice President Sam John will be giving a presentation in PUP206 about his travels abroad. The talk will include materials gathered from Russia, Estonia, Ukraine and England. Part show-and-tell, part question-and-answer, this event should be educational and fun for all. Wednesday, March 29, 2006 Wal-Mart Movie We will be showing "The High Cost of Low Price," a film that takes a critical view of Wal-Mart that same evening. Beginning at 8:15 in the Sports Zone, this event will have light snacks and drinks--likely not purchased from Wal-Mart. Friday March 31, 2006 SEB's The Jump Off The College Democrats are preparing a skit for this talent-show-like event. While details are hush-hush at the moment, we are currently looking for eager performers to assume the roles of President Bush, Osama bin Laden, a couple of extras playing discouraged jihadists or pesky reporters. Contact Allen McFarland (allen7@umbc.edu) April 10, 2006 Democrats' Digest submissions due Anyone interested in writing a short (500 word) article for our campus newsletter must submit their drafts by this date. We hope to have the published material out during Liberty Week--prime time to distribute them during other campus events. Contact Allen (allen7@umbc.edu) if you'd like to contribute. Monday, April 17, 2006 Campus Political Organizations' Debate Join the College Democrats, Republicans, Greens and Libertarians for the time-honored, cordially orchestrated slugfest. This event will be held during Free Hour either in the Sports Zone or on Main Street in the Commons. Some details may or may not be forthcoming. Sometime Spring Semester 2006 Candidate Meet and Greet The campaigns of Doug Duncan and Ben Cardin have yet to confirm dates when their candidates will be available. We're aiming to hold this event somewhere around Liberty Week. As you've likely deduced--details forthcoming. Sometime in April, 2006 Conversation on Iraq This on-campus group, with the aid of the College Democrats are planning on hosting a panel discussion about our present strategy in Iraq. Proposed speakers include Ben Cardin, Kweisi Mfume, Paula Hollinger and others. This will be the second such forum that this group has hosted. Details, you guessed it, are forthcoming. Friday April 21 SPINBowl This semester's SPINBowl is going to be a soccer game on Erikson Field. The format is simple: liberals (Greens and Democrats) against conservatives (Republicans and Libertarians, Phalangists are sitting this one out). E-Mail Allen (allen7@umbc.edu) if you're interested in playing. Sunday, April 30, 2006 March for Darfur We're planning to spend this Sunday afternoon putting pressure upon national and international organizations in order to do something about the crisis in Darfur. A bus (re: free transportation) will take students to and from Washington, DC. Interested in volunteering for Ben Cardin's Senate campaign? Opportunities are open and the office is literally up the street from UMBC. Contact Joyce Leviton (joyce@bencardin.com) or stroll up to 22 Bloomsbury Avenue. There are positions open for phone backing, mail preparation and field work. The Baltimore County Young Democrats Volunteer and employment opportunities are popping up all the time. Students with free time or soon-to-be graduates should contact president@bcyd.org if interested March 2, 2006 UPCOMING EVENTS: CANDIDATE MEET-AND-GREET We're planning another meet-and-greet event similar to successful ones from previous semesters. While we are awaiting a response from Ben Cardin's people, we have other important leaders in mind to attend as well. Details forthcoming. WAL-MART MOVIE We're planning on showing the acclaimed film "The High Cost of Low Price," a film critical of Wal-Mart. This will likely be during the last week of March. LIBERTY WEEK (with College Libertarians) A forum/talk is proposed featuring UMBC Political Science Professor Jeffrey Davis discussing issues concerning limited government and security issues. Salient topics may include the presidential prerogative on wiretapping, treatment of GITMO detainees, etc. Details, as always, are forthcoming. SEB THE JUMP-OFF This SEB event seeks to entertain audiences with a talent show featuring performances of drama, dance and song. The show will be on March 31. The College Democrats are interested in performing a 10-minute political skit, likely in the vein of heavy satire/parody. If you're interested in performing or writing, contact either myself (Sam samjohn1@umbc.edu or Allen: allen7@umbc.edu). We need to register by March 10, so please reply promptly. NEW STUDENT DAY April 8 New Student Day brings soon-to-be Retrievers and their parents to campus to get a real feel for life at UMBC. This is a great opportunity to display our thriving College Democrats organization and recruit new members. Once more, contact one of us (Sam, Allen, Kristen) if you'd like to volunteer to help out during this event. QUADMANIA If anyone is interested in vending (for fundraising) during Quadmania, don't hesitate to contact either myself, Allen or Kristen. March 31st is the deadline to sign up for this. ACTIVISM OPPORTUNITIES: DEMS' DIGEST Anyone interested in contributing to our campus newsletter? Submissions should be 500-word articles dealing with an important political issue or topic. All are welcome to submit their ideas: contact Allen McFarland--allen7@umbc.edu. MARCH FOR DARFUR April 30, Washington, DC If you'd like to carpool to Washington, DC on April 30 for the March for Darfur, be in touch. This is a great opportunity to become involved with an internationally pressing issue and see the Nation's capital with your fellow Democrats. February 15, 2006 Possible events for Dems: Debates with Cardin and Mfume not happening Another Meet and Greet during free hour on April 12 or 19, hopefully featuring Cardin, Duncan and others Wal-Mart movie screening in March in SportsZone T-shirts "Because nobody ever heard of a nice piece of elephant…" Party Debate during Liberty Week Co-sponsoring other events? Perhaps a speaker on wiretapping? Anyone have other ideas? March on Washington for the cause of Darfur, March or April? Dodgeball SpinBowl in the RAC...or elsewhere? Resolution in the MD State Legislature against tuition increases (Malone and Bartlett are working with it) Another bill: polling places on campus Democratic sketch comedy skits-any ideas? Another edition of our newsletter, the Dems’ Digest New Student Day (8:30-10:00 April 8) November 9, 2005 Dems Digest is out since last week! Its also (going to be) posted online if you wanna read it and can't find an copy Thanks to everyone who came out to the debate! Thanks to everyone who participated in the football game! We won too! Apparently we have a picture of Allen taking a swig of the Listerine bottle (this was the trophy). It should be posted on the website sometime soon SPIN wants to organize a sports game once a month. We need suggestions/votes for sports: Dodgeball, Kickball, Softball, Lasertag, Volleyball !!!!!!!Event next Wednesday the 16th at 7:30pm!!!!!!!! - Log Cabin Republican and Democrat for Life T-shirts will probably be done next semester… slogan… "Nobody's ever heard of a nice piece of Elephant". Probably about $5 We'll be having an election for a new VP next week. Anyone who wants to nominate themselves or someone else, you need to come for to the meeting! End of Semester Dinner! Probably in December before finals. We're thinking Double T Diner. Yay cheap and good food. (and for anyone obsessed with chocolate, like me, they have HUGE pieces of chocolate cake that is to die for). October 19, 2005 Another lovely meeting on a lovely Wednesday! Here are the notes: Anyone who wants to write a letter to soldier you can either type it and email it to Nicole (nikkir8481@aol.com) Or if you just write down like 5 things about you, She will write the letter for you Dems digest items are due Fri, 21st, please email them to Allen Political Action week is the week after next!
October 5, 2005 Collecting Stuff for the Troop went really really well! We've got lots of stuff- books, playboys, maxims. And 12 dollars! Oct. 21st is the due date for submissions for the Dems digest. Political Action week is Oct 31st through Nov 4th
Go out to dinner tonight in support of Katrina victims - a great excuse for asking out that cute guy or girl you've been dying to ask out- Hey, would you like to do something to help Katrina victims? Go out to dinner with me! Anyway, you can look for local restaurants at www.dineforamerica.org There's a Friendly's on Frederick Rd that's donating 100% of their profits Next Week's Topic for the Meeting is: Judicial Activism v. Judicial Restraint We'll be spending a few minutes discussing what they are, and letting people discuss how they feel about them. How does this relate to Roberts and Miers? Show up and tell us what you think! The next meeting will probably be in two weeks September 21, 2005 Second week and I’ve already forgotten to send out the meeting notes. Sorry for the delay everyone, I know that you were all just waiting anxiously to read the College Dem meeting notes! We’re tabling all next week in the commons to get people to sign up to donate stuff for the troops in Iraq. We need people to man the table, between 11am-1pm. Please email Allen if you’d like to help, with the day and time you can help. Dems Digest again! Again, please email us if you want to contribute. Its fun! Don’t you love ranting about something? Think you can put in a short article so lots of people can hear your lovely rant? You know you want to! SGA is organizing a political activism week, It'll be around Halloween week (No, there is NO significance there)
Extremely short meeting this week, Please come out and join us next week! September 14, 2005 We had a great meeting! Yes, I really am that cheerful and you have to live with my exclamation marks! Anyway, here are the notes from the meeting today. In the future, there will separate emails- the first with upcoming events, the second with the actual notes from the meeting. Involvement fest went well, with 40 people added to the listproc! Welcome to all of them! Visitors to the meeting:
If you need to register to vote, please contact an officer, or a member of SPIN to get a voter registration card (this is only for Maryland voters, though we'll be happy to help if you live out-of-state too!). Possible Events:
Non-Dem Events:
|