That they are dues paying DSA members in good standing as of April 21st, 2024 and for the duration of the convention.
That they are listed on the YDSA chapter’s most current membership list as recorded by the national office by April 21st, 2024
Their chapter has received a formal charter from the National Coordinating Committee (NCC), and that this charter has not expired or been otherwise nullified as of April 21st, 2024

Voting at the 2024 YDSA Annual Convention (hereafter referred to as the “Convention”) shall be apportioned on a ratio of one (1) delegate per every ten (10) constitutional members in their chapter. Each chapter may elect no more than one (1) alternate for every two (3) apportioned delegates. No chapter shall have less than one (1) delegate and one (1) non-voting alternate. (E.g. a chapter with 10 constitutional members would receive 1 delegate and 1 alternate, a chapter with 20 constitutional members would receive 2 delegates and 1 alternate, etc.) If a chapter is found to have fewer than three (3) constitutional members they will not be apportioned any delegates or alternates.
The national office will provide YDSA chapters (hereafter referred to as “chapters”) with the number of delegates and alternates they have been allocated. A chapter’s members are dues-paying or dues-waived members of DSA in good standing who have affiliated with their specific YDSA chapter in the national membership database through the Chapter Affiliation Form, or who declared their affiliation upon joining DSA by using the join YDSA form. No updates to membership lists will be accepted for the purposes of the Convention after April 21st, 2024, except in cases specified in Rule 3 Section a. No applications for chapter recognition will be accepted for the purposes of the Convention after March 24, 2024, unless granted an extension by a YDSA National Organizer.
Chapters shall conduct and supervise their own elections of Convention delegates and alternate delegates in accordance with the applicable provisions of the YDSA constitution. Only dues-paying/dues-waived members are eligible to be elected as delegates or alternates.
Each local must report the result of its elections in writing to the national office no later than May 19, 2024. The report must include full contact information, including an email address and phone number, for all delegates. If any of the names submitted are found not to be members by the national office, that person will be issued a credential upon joining DSA before May 19, 2024, however these members will not be counted when determining their chapter’s delegate apportionment. If they fail to join DSA before May 19, 2024 they will not be issued credentials and the chapter will be responsible for determining a replacement before the registration deadline. All official chapters receive weekly membership lists.
Each Local delegation shall designate a chair who shall be responsible for official communications with the Convention Secretary.

Convention Organization

Committees

The Convention committees shall consist of the following:

a Resolutions Committee, to be appointed by the NCC, to manage all submitted constitutional amendments and resolutions. They shall work to reconcile any submissions that are out of order or beyond the scope or powers outlined in the YDSA constitution. (E.g. amendments that attempt to define powers outlined in the DSA constitution or resolutions that attempt to prescribe actions to DSA, both of which would be outside of the powers of the Convention.) The Resolutions Committee shall also work with sponsor(s) who submit similar or overlapping submissions in the interest of developing a single mutually agreeable submission for all sponsors. The Resolutions Committee may propose steps to facilitate consideration of resolutions, including but not limited to appointing small groups to redraft or combine resolutions, preferably in advance of the convention, and in consultation with the sponsors. The Resolutions Committee will structure the order in which resolutions are to be considered, the time allotted to each, and the number of speakers pro and con, taking into account the priorities expressed by the delegates in the poll (see Rule 24). They shall also submit a Consent Agenda to the convention based on the results of the poll, consisting of resolutions for immediate adoption and to be deferred to the NCC in the interest of time. A vote of 20% or more of the full delegated strength of the Convention may bring to the plenary for discussion and vote any resolution or amendment submitted by the deadlines specified in rules 19 and 23, but not recommended to the convention by the Resolutions Committee.

The Resolutions Committee will also oversee any credentials challenges. Any challenges to credentials must be submitted to the national office no later than Sunday, July 2 and will be forwarded to the Resolutions Committee for consideration. At the opening of the convention the Resolutions Committee will report on any credentials challenges and provide their recommendation concerning them. There shall be no more than one speaker for and one speaker against each credentials challenge. The delegates listed on the Temporary Roster of Delegates shall vote on the Resolutions Committee’s recommendations, except that no delegate may vote on a challenge to their own credentials. Upon acceptance of the Resolutions Committee those persons listed on the Temporary Roster of Delegates who are not subject to successful credentials challenge shall become the Permanent Roster of Delegates.

a Convention Planning Team, appointed by the NCC, which is responsible for coordinating with the national office, the DSA Convention Planning Team, and Resolutions Committee around logistics and developing a final schedule for the Convention, pending approval from the Convention itself. This includes developing the programming around plenary sessions, workshops, and strategy sessions.
a Presidium, to be confirmed by the Convention, whose duties shall include interpreting the the rules of the convention (see Rule 26 and 27), designating chairs for each Convention session, conducting the elections of members to the National Coordinating Committee and all other elections requiring a written ballot, and for making recommendations to the Convention on any challenges made to any election. The outgoing NCC may propose a slate for the Presidium for the Convention. The Convention Secretary shall be an ex-officio member of the Presidium.
a Styles Committee, to be elected by Convention, to meet after the Convention is concluded which shall be responsible for compiling all adopted constitutional amendments and drafting them into a revised copy of the YDSA Constitution as amended by the Convention. This committee’s aim is to incorporate the language of adopted amendments into the constitution in the interest of consistency and clarity. They will submit their draft to the NCC within six weeks of the conclusion of the Convention for the NCC to review and adopt. The Presidium may propose a slate for the Styles Committee for the Convention to adopt.

Recording

The NCC shall appoint rotating notetakers responsible for keeping the official record of the Convention.
The National YDSA Organizers and the Conventions and Conferences Organizer shall be responsible for convening Convention committees and act as a liaison between all Convention committees and the national office.

Voting

A quorum of the Convention shall consist of fifty percent plus one of the registered delegates and seated alternate delegates.
An accredited alternate delegate may be seated for a delegate temporarily or permanently. The permanent seating of an alternate must be reported immediately to the Credentials Committee.
Each delegate and seated alternate shall be entitled to one (1) vote on all questions coming before the Convention, except that each chapter delegation may vote its full strength provided that no individual casts more than three votes unless authorized to do so by the Convention.
All questions to the Convention shall be decided by majority vote of the delegates and seated alternate delegates present and voting, except where a specified super-majority vote is required by the Constitution. A motion to suspend rules will require a two-thirds majority vote. All other procedural motions shall require a majority vote, except where otherwise provided in the Rules.
At the chair’s discretion, unanimous consent may be used to expedite business. Such motions will be considered adopted unless there is an objection by a minimum of 10 delegates and seated alternates.
No secret ballot shall be conducted. All votes other than election of officers shall be by hand with Voting Cards. The Chair of the Convention session shall determine the results of hand votes and report the results to the Convention Secretary as well as announcing it to the convention session. A vote will be recounted at the request of one-third of delegates and seated alternates, or if in the judgment of the Chair it is warranted due to closeness of the initial count. The Chair reserves the right to exercise discretion in the event of a recount. The Chair shall appoint such tellers as needed to assist in the counting of the vote.

If the Convention must be held virtually, all votes shall be conducted through an online voting system approved by the Convention Planning Committee.

Roll call votes shall be conducted at the request of thirty percent of the delegates and seated alternates present and voting, and shall consist of a recorded vote by delegation.

Plenary Procedure

Only delegates, seated alternate delegates, 2023-2024 NCC members, and DSA staff members may speak on questions coming before the Convention in plenary session. Speakers on all motions shall be limited to three minutes, unless the convention accepts a different limit.
No additional amendments will be accepted from the floor of the Convention. Only primary and secondary amendments submitted and distributed in advance will be heard.

Procedural Authority

Except as provided in these Rules, or the Constitution, the latest edition of Robert's Rules of Order, Newly Revised shall govern the proceedings of the Convention.
Presidium shall be the sole interpreter of the Convention Rules.
Any delegate or seated alternate may appeal any ruling of the Presidium. In such instances, the person making the appeal may speak for up to two minutes to advocate the appeal and the Chair may speak for up to two minutes to defend the ruling. No other debate shall be permitted. The ruling of the Chair may be overturned by a vote in favor of the appeal by a majority of delegates and seated alternates present and voting.

Submissions

The national office will hold at least one (1) informational call open to all members conducted over Zoom about the submissions process and NCC elections before May 12, 2024.
All proposed amendments to the constitution and resolutions shall have a sponsor and at least nine (9) additional cosponsors. All sponsors and cosponsors must be members. Proposed amendments and resolutions shall be submitted via a digital form to the Resolutions Committee no later than May 26, 2024. The national office shall make the digital form for submissions available through the national website.
Resolutions should consist primarily of statements of policy or outlines for organizational activity. This may include campaign initiatives, the formation of national bodies, direction for local activity or structure, or statements of support that may help guide the NCC in their direction of the affairs of the organization.
Resolutions are to include a summary section which outlines the intent and reasoning of the resolution in accessible terms. This summary is not to exceed four (4) sentences. Jargon words in the resolution should be defined below the summary.
Resolutions are encouraged to submit a work plan alongside the text. The work plan should include a timeline of events necessary to achieve the resolution goal as well as who would be assigned to take them on (e.x. The Campaign organizing committee with do X before the day of action). Work plans are to be date neutral as much as possible and are not to prescribe specific deadlines but a template for execution.
All constitutional amendments and resolutions shall be submitted electronically to the Resolutions Committee.
The Resolutions Committee shall submit a report to the national office containing all primary submissions in time for their inclusion in the June Members’ Bulletin.
Amendments to submissions shall be submitted digitally no later than June 23, 2024. All proposed amendments to submissions shall require one sponsor and five (5) cosponsors. The Resolutions Committee shall work to reconcile any out of order or overlapping submissions as it sees fit under the same guidelines enumerated in Rule 7, Section A. Sponsors of the original submission may decide whether or not they consider an amendment to their submission to be friendly.
After June 23, 2024, the national office shall distribute to all Convention delegates an online form listing all constitutional amendments and all resolutions, each resolution grouped together with its proposed amendments as a single item. The delegates will be allowed at least 48 hours to rank the items in terms of which should be allotted the most time for debate. The Convention Planning Team will allot greater time for debate and earlier scheduling to those with higher priority, unless a logical need to vote on some item before another demands different ordering. The Resolutions Committee shall submit a report to the National Office containing all primary and secondary submissions no later than July 17th for their inclusion in the Final Member’s Bulletin to be distributed at the Convention.
All submissions will be reviewed by members of the NCC and given an estimated capacity cost based on the amount of labor they call for (ex. One NCC member on point, Two NCC members supporting, one committee chair, five committee members). These estimations are to be used by the convention to consider priorities based on the historical inability of Y/DSA to complete all of its convention mandates.

NCC Elections

In order to be considered an eligible candidate for the NCC, a candidate must:

Be a member (as defined in Rule 1)
Receive no fewer than ten (10) nominations from individual members with at least two (2) being from outside of their chapter.
Be 29 years of age or younger.
Review and agree to the YDSA Collective Accountability Agreement.
Accept their nomination by submitting the NCC Candidate Questionnaire

All candidates for NCC are expected to comply with the rules outlined in the YDSA and DSA constitutions and bylaws and publicly disclose any past or current political affiliations upon acceptance of their nomination that may be reasonably considered pertinent to the conditions of their election.
Candidates who are eligible for nomination and receive the adequate number of nominations will be asked to accept their nomination in the form of a digital candidate questionnaire submitted to the national office. Eligible candidates for NCC will be asked to report how they self-identify for the purposes of parity. All information collected via this digital form will be made available to the membership. This questionnaire will also ask candidates to declare either for the office of “Co-Chair” or “At-Large”.
The deadline for submission of nominations for the NCC shall be the end of Sunday, June 23, 2024.
The names of all candidates, along with their answers to the candidate questionnaire, will be published and distributed in the final Convention Bulletin, along with their nominations. If their nominations exceed ten (10), only the first ten (10) nominations chronologically will be published.
The national office will be responsible for confirming eligible candidates and their inclusion in the Convention Bulletin.
Contested elections for office shall be conducted by online ballots.
*The election for the NCC Co-Chairs and NCC At-Large Members shall be conducted by Scottish single transferable vote. Votes shall be conducted through and counted by OpaVote. All ballots from which the voter's preference can be clearly determined shall be counted. The candidate(s) with the highest scores, after the application of all parity requirements as stipulated by YDSA constitution have been applied, shall be declared elected. Ballots are not secret.
Co-Chair and At-Large candidate elections will be held separately. Candidates who run for election as Co-Chair who are not elected may be added to the pool of At-Large candidates if they so choose.

*On Friday, July 19, the 2024 YDSA Convention Delegation passed an amendment to the Rules to amend the voting method for NCC Chairs from Borda to Scottish single transferable vote.

National Coordinating Committee Nominees

Co-Chair Candidates

Carlos Callejo III, Cal Poly Pomona

Self-identified Male Person of Color

Nominations (10 total):

Marwah Alasady	Cal Poly Pomona
Guadalupe Blancas	California State University Northridge
Mae Bracelin	University of Oregon
Winnie Marion	New York University
Nicole Martin	Cal Poly Pomona
Ali Noorzad	San Francisco State University
Carolyn Roderique	University of Oregon
Elliot Summers	Cal Poly Pomona
Noah Thompson	University of Oregon
Charlie Walner	University of California Los Angeles

If you would like to, please elaborate on your identity and how it has impacted your experience in YDSA:

My politics are deeply informed by my immigrant grandparents from Mexico, who secured good-paying union jobs to support their family back home and create a new family here. Their experiences of moving to the United States and the discrimination they faced as immigrants continue to influence me deeply. Some of my grandparents became activists and artists in the Chicano Rights Movement, fighting against the imperial war machine in Vietnam and racial segregation in Los Angeles. Growing up in a working-class Chicano household and community taught me the realities of capitalism early on and that being a Chicano is about respect not just for your community but for all working people. Working with my grandfather and his veteran comrades after high school was a deeply formative experience that helped me develop practical organizing skills I use to this day and a sense of perspective to my work. I aim to bring these lessons as YDSA co-chair.

Please describe your involvement with YDSA:

I co-founded a YDSA chapter at my commuter public university, Cal Poly Pomona, in 2020 at the height of the pandemic. Despite the political culture being non-existent at CPP, my chapter built up a progressive coalition on campus through strong, diverse campaigns. We managed to stop mental health funding cuts, help pass rent control in the city of Pomona, and become de facto student leaders during the recent CSU strike wave. As deputy YDSA-LA coordinator, I helped build a city-wide organizing committee and intentionally develop young, diverse YDSA leaders. After much encouragement, I ran and joined the NCC for the 2023-2024 term. I was the lead national coordinator for our hugely successful national solidarity priority campaign with Starbucks Workers United and lead coordinator for California YDSA. Amidst the turbulent times at the UC and CSU systems, which included unionizing undergraduate student workers, numerous campus worker strikes, anti-tuition hike campaigns, and Pro-Palestine encampments, it was an honor to collaborate with so many inspiring young organizers.

How should YDSA push the socialist movement forward?

As socialists within Y/DSA, building a lifelong socialist cadre truly representative of the multi-racial working class is of paramount importance. To achieve this goal of a more diverse Y/DSA, we need to have real intentional leadership development through meaningful relational organizing and energize movement across public universities through bold struggles like Palestine. Continuing our groundbreaking labor work is another absolute necessity, with helping aid new union drives through mentorship and continuing the rank-and-file pipeline. The recent UAW 4811 strike has highlighted the importance of the latter. Introducing the tried but true model of student unions from across the world to the United States would be another huge development for the socialist movement. This model has such untapped potential to politically radicalize and harness the power of the unorganized multi-racial working class. Our development of militant student unions and influence in the labor movement can lead to, in time, a national strike for Palestine.

What work do you think the NCC should prioritize? What do you hope to accomplish as a member of the NCC?

The fight for Palestine is the defining issue of our generation. As young socialists, we must do our part in the “belly of the imperial beast” as my grandfather once told me. Helping chapters organize democratically run campaigns demanding their school’s divestment from Israel, a ceasefire in Gaza, and protecting free speech on campus, all with the goal of a future national strike for Palestine, should be a top priority for the upcoming year. Having experience with forming city-wide and state-wide formations, I, alongside the NCC, will create spaces for coordinated organizing for YDSA chapters in public university systems. In order to develop more cross-campus, system-wide relationships, YDSA national will host calls and engage in local chapter visits to foster relationships among chapters, coordinate actions, share information, and build campaigns. Vital to organizer development, we must restore YDSA’s budget and host in-person events for YDSA conferences and conventions. These in-person events are by far some of the most meaningful and critical moments for young socialists to learn from one another and develop their skills as organizers. We also must begin to lay the foundations for five student unions across the US. This is an experimental process that is bold but must be done correctly over time with proper care and mentorship. Of course, continuing to help new union drives through the Youth Labor Committee and building bridges with organized labor is a top priority. Our labor work is without a doubt the most dynamic in both YDSA and DSA, we must continue to build it up properly.

Aron Ali-McClory, University of Florida

Self-identified Non-binary Person of Color

Nominations (11 total):

Evan Ali-McClory	University of North Carolina Chapel Hill
Sean Bridge	University of Cincinnati
Vivian Dai	Boston University
Thomas Diamante	University of Florida
Arjun Janakan	Purdue University
Callynn Johnson	University of Central Florida
Niko Johnson-Fuller	University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign
Valentina Kleckner	University Of Illinois Urbana-Champaign
Gabriel McAdams	University of California Berkeley
Natalie Noble	University of North Carolina Chapel Hill

If you would like to, please elaborate on your identity and how it has impacted your experience in YDSA:

I am a mixed South Asian-American, Indian by way of Trinidad & Tobago, with proud working-class socialist roots on the Irish side of my family. As a person of color in YDSA, I have often felt alienated from an organization that is often so white, and which has long placed the material organizing and prioritization of people of color on the sidelines, instead choosing to adopt platitudes of anti-racism and liberation. This experience has driven me to think critically about how YDSA engages with communities of color, let alone other underrepresented communities, as we seek to build a mass, multiracial movement for socialism.

Please describe your involvement with YDSA:

I started in YDSA in my first year at the University of Florida, co-founding our chapter, now one of the largest in the South, serving in many roles including Chair for over a year. As a chapter leader, the reality of Floridian fascism provided some of the toughest organizing conditions in the country-- but nonetheless, I led YDSA as a leader of a mass movement in Gainesville which routinely fought against state repression, engaging in tactics like an internationally reported on building occupation.

Nationally, my experience is diverse. I've served two terms on the NCC, first as an At-Large Member, before being elected as Co-Chair for this current term. On the NCC, I've sought to prioritize building YDSA as a resilient and cohered national organization that is capable of taking on the political moment. Our national Communications Committee and Growth & Development Committee are two examples of critical, needed changes that I've brought to national and fostered throughout my tenure.

I've also been a member of many DSA committees as an NCC member, fighting to give YDSA a voice on critical issues from hiring processes to internationalism and everything in between.

How should YDSA push the socialist movement forward?

YDSA must be the tip of the spear that ends capitalism, the most developed and innovative section of a mass movement and mass party for socialism that wins victory in the heart of empire. This is more easily said than done, though, and there are several key things I believe YDSA must do or continue to do as we seek to move the socialist movement forward--

I believe YDSA must continue to grow our base of organizers. Thousands of students and hundreds of campuses remain unorganized, let alone the communities they often sit at the center of. If our principal task is building a mass movement, we must focus on recruiting by building winning campaigns, focusing on issues that appeal to diverse communities; for example building sustainable divestment campaigns to win material gains for Palestine.

YDSA must also continue to be innovative and creative in the ways in which we build towards socialism-- from our annual conventions to the way we respond with agility to political moments, it's clear that YDSA must not only lead politically, but with tactics, strategies, and solutions which build working class power well beyond our campuses and their communities.

What work do you think the NCC should prioritize? What do you hope to accomplish as a member of the NCC?

If I'm re-elected Co-Chair, I plan to continue the work I've started during my past term, as well as expanding upon the national transformation of YDSA into a body of organizers. I envision an NCC that prioritizes political work by expanding our capacity through the tried and true organizing cycle, creating more efficient committees by doing list work on committee co-chairs, and having committee co-chairs do list work on their members. This system will allow YDSA national to cohere around national projects more efficiently, allowing us to implement more of our convention mandate and respond to political moments with the agility that is becoming of the foremost youth socialist movement in the U.S. empire.

Furthermore, I believe that as an NCC we must continue to pursue more broadly a national culture of organizing and socialism, acknowledging that a mass movement can only exist within the context of casual community, mutual aid, and solidarity. Mentorship of chapters by the NCC has been a key part of building this so far, but we must continue to equip our members, through national committees, with the skills and resources to expand this project. This is ultimately in service of expanding YDSA-- there is no reason we shouldn't have chapters in all fifty states, organizing the hundreds of thousands of unorganized, albeit politicized, students which should come to call our movement home.

As an NCC, we must look to tackle the political moment, which at this moment, is Palestine. However, learning from the setbacks of the past year, we must not be afraid to pivot as political leaders, even if it is within the political moment of Palestine itself. We must continue to hone and develop all parts of our national movement in service of this priority- and win victory in the heart of empire.

Sean Bridge, University of Cincinnati

Self-identified Genderqueer Transfemme White Person

Nominations (14 total):

Maxon Agosta	University of Cincinnati
Aron Ali-McClory	University of Florida
Vivian Dai	Boston University
Rey Hicks	University of Cincinnati
Arjun Janakan	Purdue University
Callynn Johnson	University of Central Florida
Niko Johnson-Fuller	University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign
Valentina Kleckner	University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign
Noah Levy	Miami University of Ohio
Gabriel McAdams	University of California Berkeley

If you would like to, please elaborate on your identity and how it has impacted your experience in YDSA:

I am a transfeminine genderqueer antizonist Jew who started HRT at the beginning of this year. My identity -- whether that be gender, sexual, or religious -- is inseparable from my political vision for a socialist future. I have had multiple first hand experiences fighting against fascist republican’s attempts to restrict access to both abortions and HRT in my home state of Ohio while the democrats were unable to do anything due to their further marginalization in Ohio politics. Through these experiences it is clear to me that we need a real political alternative to the two capitalist parties that is able to connect trans and working class struggles into one.

Additionally, I attribute a significant amount of my socialist and antizionist politics to my Jewish upbringing. I would not have been involved in YDSA as early as I was if it was not for being Jewish. Furthermore, my Jewish upbringing gives me some unique insights into the modern american zionist movement especially the ways that it co-opts Jewish religious practices and institutions to give itself an image of false legitimacy. This is part of the reason that I think that Palestine Solidarity organizing is such an essential task in this political moment.

Please describe your involvement with YDSA:

I joined DSA September of 2021 to help found the University of Cincinnati YDSA chapter. I served as its first secretary in 2022 and then as co-chair in 2023. During my two steering committee terms the chapter grew from a small core of 5 SC members to now being one of the top 10 largest chapters in the country and one of the largest chapters in the midwest.

During this time we have run campaigns around free laundry, housing conditions on campus, access to HRT through our school’s student health services, and are currently planning to launch a divestment campaign in the fall.

Nationally, I helped create the materials for the 2023 Fall Drive, helped run our national “Trans Rights and Bodily Autonomy -- Never Surrender” Campaign as a member of the Campaign Organizing Committee, and was appointed by the NCC to YDSA’s Communication Committee Co-Chair at the beginning of 2024.

Throughout my term as Communications Committee Co-Chair I helped to ensure that YDSA has been on the forefront of the “Student Intifada” through our social media posts, most notably by directly elevating the work of local YDSA chapters in their encampments to a national audience.

How should YDSA push the socialist movement forward?

The biggest value that YDSA brings to the socialist moment right now is our ability to bring coherent politics, strategy, and theory of change to all of our campuses across the country. The wealth of knowledge, experience, and political insight that YDSA members have across the country is undeniable, now is the time to institutionalize this knowledge.

For YDSA to form into a true working class political party we will need to create structures on the national level to bring this wealth of experience directly to every chapter across the country. The NCC has done a fantastic job starting this process via consistent one-on-ones with chapter leadership, but we must go further.

By creating a strong national organization and expanding our existing member-led national committees we can take the experience held by members across the country -- currently accessed through personal and caucus connections -- and put that at the fingertips of every YDSA member.

Every YDSA member should -- either via NCC one-on-ones or directly -- have access to training, resources, and mentorship provided by committees on how to best go about pushing the socialist movement forward. We’ve already seen this started in the yLC, it should be the norm in every committee.

What work do you think the NCC should prioritize? What do you hope to accomplish as a member of the NCC?

Palestine is the issue of our time. By being clear eyed on Palestine and getting as many of our chapters running campaigns to get their universities to divest from Genocide we will be able to mark ourselves as the place to organize outside of the corporate political binary that we find ourselves stuck in.

The NCC must prioritize supporting chapters directly, providing them with all of the resources, mentorship, and training they need to meet the moment based on the conditions of their campus and stressing that every chapter can participate in the demands to disclose, divest, and boycott. This means focusing the most on chapters who are new, small, and are often in red states where the conditions for organizing are not ripe for immediate high profile direct actions. No chapter should be left behind because their conditions are not immediately conducive to large scale actions -- such as a student strike.

This does not mean devolving into decentralized localism. Through a shared set of national demands, the NCC must work to ensure that the campaigns of all of our local chapters are able to cohere into a true national presence. The bulk of this work has begun, and will continue to take place, through YDSA National Communications Committee. I have been very proud to co-chair the communications committee and if I am elected to NCC Co-Chair I will ensure that in my role as “chief spokesperson for YDSA” that this incredibly important work will not just continue but be expanded upon with trainings for local chapters, editorials, press releases, and potentially interviews from the national co-chairs.

Uma Clemenceau, University of California Santa Barbara

Self-identified Nonbinary White Person

Nominations (10 total):

Rafi Ash	Brown University
Nate Behrendt	University of California Santa Barbara
Michael Collin	University of California Santa Barbara
Caela Erickson Imbrogno	University of California Santa Barbara
Isabella Ferraro	University of California Santa Barbara
Allan Frasheri	University of Florida
Margot Grotland	Columbia University
Josue Herrera	University of California Merced
Ciara Johnson	University of California Santa Barbara
Winnie Marion	New York University

Please describe your involvement with YDSA:

I joined YDSA in fall of 2021 when I first arrived at UCSB. I have served as secretary, vice chair, co chair, and internal affairs chair in the past three years. I helped maintain our chapter as the second-largest, emphasizing the need for lots of one-to-one mentorship and leadership development. When I was co chair, we ran a successful campaign to retain on-campus healthcare services. This year, we were able to negotiate with our campus dining services to win a meal-swipe pilot program to combat food insecurity. We have also been very active in the labor scene on our campus, supporting two historic strikes that some of our UAW worker members were a part of. The labor solidarity experience transferred into real organizing when I and a few other YDSA members began to work on a campaign to unionize the dining halls at UCSB. In face of UC union busting, we continue to organize, and our effort now includes many more YDSA members who have jobs all across campus, not just at the dining halls. All of these experiences in YDSA have taught me the power of collective action to win material demands on campus and build a better world.

How should YDSA push the socialist movement forward?

In my view, YDSA is the only organization in the country with the ability to create a mass movement for socialism from below on college campuses. Our theory of change has proven successful in pressure campaigns, our labor work, and our social justice work. We must be the ones on our campuses to bring forward working class politics in our widely felt campaigns, to educate a diverse array of students on class struggle that knows no borders, and to train the socialist organizers of tomorrow. Our power comes from our trust in each other, the relationships we build with each other -- so we must be willing to put in the work to mentor young socialist leaders one-to-one, doing the hard work of politicizing and activating the everyday student. This is how we build our movement for liberation from the bottom up: by being willing to do the work of power-mapping our campuses, engaging the student body in our fight, tying back our wins into the larger socialist struggle, and diligent leadership development to not only grow the movement we've created, but make sure it lasts beyond our time at school.

What work do you think the NCC should prioritize? What do you hope to accomplish as a member of the NCC?

The NCC must prioritize one-to-one political and leadership development of young socialists. Whereas some chapters need advice how to start their first campaign, others need support in salting their campus stores or taking on organizing for Palestine; but regardless, any chapter will benefit from having one-to-one meetings with experienced organizers to both develop their technical skills, and also apply socialist politics to their organizing. This is how we ensure that we grow our membership and turn our already committed activists into lifelong socialist leaders. The NCC must ensure that large public schools are strengthened through this method, as this is how we build a large base in the multiracial working class. For these same reasons we must activate our membership in the fight for a healthy and sustainable YDSA budget. Only when YDSA is fully funded can we do the deep organizing that is required to reach the masses of students at public schools and community colleges, where working class students can use the tools of socialist organizing to win concessions from their school administration. The experiences confronting the ruling class are invaluable and it's our job to give the support necessary to bring this struggle to campuses across the country. On the NCC, I hope to prioritize mentorship of chapters, especially in labor or student union campaigns, which I think are transformative models of organizing the unorganized on our campuses. I hope to couple these campaigns with strong political education programs that ground our organizing in socialist theory, and the best way to do this is by training chapter leaders to do one-to-one political mentorship with their members!

Nat Leach, University of Michigan

Self-identified Transmasc Lesbian White Person

Nominations (11 total):

Shubh Agrawal	University of Michigan
Cole Appoloni	University of Michigan
Annabel Bean	University of Michigan
Kaeden Boudreaux	University of Texas San Antonio
Rhea Chappell	University of Michigan
Zackariah Farah	University of Michigan
Oliver Kozler	University of Michigan
Madeline krawczyk	University of Michigan
Alec Martirez	University of Missouri Columbia
Tess Mello	University of Michigan

If you would like to, please elaborate on your identity and how it has impacted your experience in YDSA:

I am also physically and mentally disabled. In addition to being susceptible to severe depressive episodes and burnout I live with a personality disorder that serves as a lens that I see the world through, the lessons of which heavily inform my organizing and focus on accessibility, organizing self-care, and trauma-informed spaces.

Please describe your involvement with YDSA:

I joined UMich YDSA in fall of '21 and by January, while recovering from hospitalization, I designed flyers and led our communications strategy for a victorious Fight for $15 campaign. As a sophomore the burnout from intense organizing while managing chapter leadership amid a grievance and subsequent interpersonal conflicts led me to fail two classes. We supported our Graduate Union's illegal strike, bottomlining undergraduate solidarity and rewriting our campus reputation. Continuing my involvement, I've shadowed GEO comrades in organizing despite not being a formal member. At the same time, our chapter has initiated our undergraduate unionization campaign toward a wall-to-wall union. In collaborating with EWOC and our parent DSA chapter we established leads in nearly all major units and currently have Resident Advisors preparing to drop cards before the fall semester ends. After an intense summer restructuring the chapter and overhauling our constitution for increased member participation and democracy. As a Co-Chair I have continued to do chapter comms, and following our swift response in October I have become a cadre member of the TAHRIR Coalition for divestment and student reinvestment at UMich, doing everything from rapid-response comms to encampment raid jail support to having felony charges against me dropped.

How should YDSA push the socialist movement forward?

We are experiencing a pivotal moment in campus organizing, reminiscent of the antiwar and anti-apartheid protests of the 70s and 80s. Failing to harness this moment towards a mass, working-class liberation movement would be a missed opportunity for Y/DSA. To drive this forward, we must mold Y/DSA into not just a political party but a leftist community, adept at mentoring, navigating, and organizing within the complex layers of campus life regardless of the issue at hand. As YDSA members, we occupy a strategic position to mobilize individuals at the nexus of class, imperialism, racism, transphobia, and ableism. This provides us with the means to enact material change in those intersections. At this moment we can fill the niche this mass movement needs with our structure, knowledge of "how" to be an organizer, and platform for our Palestinian comrades' demands for and beyond academic boycotts, endowment divestment, and available sanctions against the zionist state. By positioning ourselves as militant ideological leaders and agitators connecting Palestine to labor, specifically, over the next year we can create the groundwork for a national student strike for endowment disclosure and divestment demands -- and more importantly liberation beyond Palestine and our schools alone.

What work do you think the NCC should prioritize? What do you hope to accomplish as a member of the NCC?

The NCC, and especially Co-Chairs, have a responsibility to prioritize and advocate to DSA for the most strategic campaigns that align with the immediate conditions chapters exist in and adapt to changing material and sociopolitical structures, even on a regional basis. In my analysis, this necessitates two priorities with explicit underlying purposes: organizing for Palestinian liberation and undergraduate unions. The immediate priority for the NCC is to mentor and equip organizers with the skills and confidence required to run a BDS campaign on any campus. In addition to decolonizing the institution of YDSA through critical reflection and member-involved action, during my tenure as co-chair, I am dedicated to positioning YDSA as the organization that embraces the "outside agitator" role among our off-campus DSA comrades and compels academia and other public institutions to truly serve their communities. YDSA and DSA must collaborate in the coming year to blur the line between on- and off-campus actors, and it is the responsibility of Co-Chairs to advocate for support and provide mentorship to chapters forming stronger ties with their parent DSA chapters. YDSA must embody the student intifada, and advance its affiliation with groups like SJP and PYM through concrete actions and local organizing in academic boycotts and divestment campaigns. We understand the intersectionality of socialist liberation and have the capacity to serve as an agitational force in campus political spaces to promote Y/DSA's theory of change and continue the party-building project. Our theory demands that the working class leads; therefore, organizing all sectors of undergraduate workers is a complementary second priority. Not only does labor organizing teach the unique skills that transform “activists” into “organizers,” but it also provides the material force that is essential to win significant demands, such as endowment divestment from funds implicated in Palestinian Genocide and imperialism at large.

At-Large Candidates

Madhulika Singh, University of Cincinnati

Self-identified Butch Person of Color

Nominations (13 total):

Maxon Agosta	University of Cincinnati
Aron Ali-McClory	University of Florida
Sean Bridge	University of Cincinnati
Vivian Dai	Boston University
Callynn Johnson	University of Central Florida
Niko Johnson-Fuller	University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign
Valentina Kleckner	University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign
Nat Leach	University of Michigan
Noah Levy	Miami University of Ohio
Gabriel McAdams	University of California Berkeley

If you would like to, please elaborate on your identity and how it has impacted your experience in YDSA:

Being a brown, trans, disabled person impacts me in every aspect of how I navigate life, including the experiences that I have had in YDSA. One of the reasons that diversity and accessibility is so central in my platform is due to the repeated experiences I have had in national and local spaces of being the only or one of the only non-white people present and/or being in a situation that I cannot navigate without harm to myself due to inaccessibility. These situations implicitly placed the burden of advocating for my inclusion on my own shoulders, and that shapes my approach towards addressing the same.

I do not believe that my marginalized identities give me inherent insight into systems of oppression, and I recognize how thinking like that would encourage white or able-bodied people to think they are overstepping if they decide to be part of the pushback against racist and ableist systems. My view of an intersectional approach is shaped by this, wherein I both acknowledge the value of lived experience and the ability of allies to formulate a correct and insightful analysis of oppression that they themselves do not face.

My experiences are also why I give as much weight to ensuring that YDSA is not accidentally hostile to more marginalized members as I do to our external campaign work; we cannot be a true revolutionary force in society unless we can have the most marginalized able to organize with and within YDSA.

Please describe your involvement with YDSA:

I joined my local YDSA chapter in 2022, and in those two years have seen the chapter balloon in size from barely ten members to now being amongst the ten largest chapters in the country. This achievement was facilitated by consistent recruitment and mentorship, which I helped formulate processes for.

I served as treasurer in 2022 and as co-chair in 2023. During my terms, I helped organize and lead various actions, such as protests and demand deliveries, in collaboration with other activist groups in the city and in support of various campaigns of the chapter, such as housing justice and access to HRT. I oversaw our campaigns, which have included free laundry, housing justice, and access to gender affirming care and will include in this coming fall, a divestment campaign.

Nationally, I served as chair of YDSA’s political education committee this past year. The committee worked to fulfill convention mandates, update existing resources and create materials to support chapters in Palestinian solidarity work. I was also on the Disability Oversight Committee and Conference Planning Committee to ensure the accessibility of conference, which brought me face to face with accessibility concerns in national spaces and how to address them.

How should YDSA push the socialist movement forward?

To push the socialist movement forward, YDSA must ensure that it clearly and publicly takes an intersectional approach in its campaigns that incorporates more than just class analysis. One of the most pertinent ways to do this is to continue supporting and participating in the Palestinian solidarity movement.

Our strength is our encompassing analysis and theory of change so we must ensure that our messaging as well as our organizing reflects the same. We must make clear that all struggles against oppression are connected by meeting the moment and taking a socialist stance in defense of Palestine.

In addition, we must focus on the recruitment and retention of members as well as working to increase diversity within the organization. We must show, through our trainings, one on ones, and other support, that we are an organization that recognizes how capitalism is entwined with all our social issues such as racism, ableism, misogyny, and more. In doing so, we will be able to expand the scope of our work and increase our base of membership.

What work do you think the NCC should prioritize? What do you hope to accomplish as a member of the NCC?

I believe that the NCC should prioritize the recruitment and development of members. To this end, there needs to be maintained accessibility of national spaces, whether online or in person, theory communicated in clear and simple language, support for members of marginalized groups, among other things.

Continuing the precedent established by the communications committee this past year, we must broadcast our politics in a way that is both accurate and easy to understand while also consistently highlighting our wins. Our political education committee should be utilized to create spaces for new members to be introduced to our theory of change.

Aside from the work of our function-based committees, one on ones as well as training resources must be used to develop and support local chapters. Concentrated efforts must be made to increase understanding of the structures and processes of DSA and YDSA through consistent communication and, if needed, explanatory calls around NPC decisions, the organization’s finances, committee work, and the like.

If elected, my hope is to expand upon the work of the past NCC and continue in aiding the development of our local chapters as well as ensure that individual members are able to keep abreast of what is happening nationally, whether it be in DSA or YDSA. I hope for national to keep being a resource for local work while also establishing it as a space for political discussion where we can both meet the conditions of the present and discuss our orientation for the future.

Brian Ramirez, Georgia State University

Self-identified Cis Male Person of Color

Nominations (14 total):

Asuagbor Asuagbor	University of Georgia
Claybourne Barrineau	University of Georgia
Justin Bowen	Georgia Tech
Keziah Chebe	Georgia State University
Yuvraj Dhadwal	Georgia Tech
Keziah Chebe	Georgia State University
Adia Gilbert	Georgia State University
Leonardo Hinnant	Georgia State University
Lake Liao	Princeton University
Brian Ramirez	Georgia State University

If you would like to, please elaborate on your identity and how it has impacted your experience in YDSA:

My family and I came from Colombia to the United States as undocumented immigrants. I faced the constant fear of deportation and the systemic barriers that limited my opportunities. These experiences growing up fueled my passion for activism. My involvement in Y/DSA has been an important part of my organizing journey. It provided me with a platform to channel my experiences into meaningful action, advocating for the rights of immigrants and other marginalized groups.

Please describe your involvement with YDSA:

I played a key role in founding and, until recently, co-chairing Georgia State YDSA. Since its official chartering in October 2023, the chapter has grown to over 100 dues-paying members, making it the largest political organization at our university.

I was actively involved in training and recruiting new members, helping create a sense of community, and building coalitions with other progressive organizations. YDSA helped me develop my leadership and organizing skills and provided me with the opportunity to collaborate with passionate individuals which is something I will never forget.

I helped establish our Reproductive Justice Committee campaign which ensured access to free menstrual products on campus and distributed hundreds of free birth control items during our tabling events.

I also helped establish our Afrosocialism Committee, which focused on promoting BIPOC involvement and addressing the unique challenges faced by students of color. We organized events, discussions, and advocacy efforts that highlighted the intersections of race, class, and socialism.

A significant moment in my activism was helping lead the University of Georgia encampment to protest the genocide in Gaza. During this, some of my comrades were arrested while I fortunately was let go.

How should YDSA push the socialist movement forward?

We need to harness the energy and enthusiasm of the growing number of progressive youth eager for change. We must focus on educating and activating these young people, providing them with the tools and knowledge to advocate effectively for socialist policies. By positioning ourselves as a genuine alternative to the Democratic Party, which has often compromised on progressive values, we can attract those disillusioned by mainstream politics.

As we face issues such as climate change, far-right threats to democracy, and declining living standards, it is crucial to build a powerful and organized working class. We must continue to engage in grassroots organizing, participate in labor struggles, and focus on local and national campaigns that address economic inequality, climate justice, and racial equity.

We also need to create spaces for young activists to connect, collaborate, learn from each other, and foster a sense of collective power. By educating and activating progressive youth, we can lead the socialist movement towards a socialist future that engages with the broader struggles against all forms of oppression, recognizing that class exploitation intersects with race, gender, and other identities.

What work do you think the NCC should prioritize? What do you hope to accomplish as a member of the NCC?

Our biggest priority should be transforming YDSA into a truly multi-racial movement, actively addressing the current lack of diversity. This involves actively working to increase BIPOC representation and leadership within our organization, intentional outreach and support for BIPOC communities, and ensuring their voices and issues are at the forefront of our agenda. We need to create inclusive spaces where all voices are heard and valued, and ensure our campaigns and initiatives address the unique challenges faced by these communities.

In addition to this, the NCC should focus on providing tailored support to our rural and southern comrades. These regions usually face different challenges compared to our northern counterparts, necessitating distinct strategies for effective organizing. Deep canvassing, for instance, can be a powerful tool in these areas, allowing us to build genuine connections and introduce key issues in a way that resonates with local communities. By focusing on the issues that matter most to them rather than leading with socialism as a label, we can foster greater understanding and support for our movement.

Taking advantage of my experience as a Public Education Lobbyist (my current job), I want to empower our members to engage more effectively with state, county, and city legislation/ordinances. I plan to conduct training sessions on how to prevent harmful bills from passing and advocate for progressive policies. This would be crucial for our members to influence change at the legislative level and protect the rights and interests of our communities.

My goal is to ensure that YDSA is not only inclusive and diverse but also strategically effective across all regions. By prioritizing multi-racial engagement, supporting rural and southern organizers with appropriate strategies, and equipping our members with essential skills, we can build a stronger, more unified movement capable of driving significant social change.

Daniel Salup-Cid, Florida International University

Self-identified Cis Man Person of Color

Nominations (15 total):

Oscar Alvarez	Florida International University
Sofia Baker	Rollins College
Felipe Barroso Ramos	Florida International University
Bailey Bond	Florida International University
Nelson Calles	University of Florida
Luis Cendan	Florida International University
Judith Chavarria	Florida International University
Megan Christle	Virginia Tech
Elijah Knier Knier	University of Wisconsin Milwaukee
Lael Licht	Florida International University

If you would like to, please elaborate on your identity and how it has impacted your experience in YDSA:

I may have been born in the United States, but as the first on both sides of my family to be born in this country, my upbringing has been thoroughly latino. I owe a lot to the strong Chilean and Cuban women that raised me, equipping me with the determination and perseverance so many come to this country with in an effort to survive. Spanish is my first language, and my preferred language at that, having not spoken a lick of English when I started school. Whether it is with my family, my neighbors or the kind workers at "la ventanita," I can go entire days without speaking English, experiencing life as a member of the working class, latin community in Miami. This lived experience of mine has directly informed my politics and principles, and has equipped me with a unique perspective which is important for socialists to understand when organizing the multiracial working class. It means that to me, bringing diversity to YDSA means bringing people in with stories like mine, whose political struggles are rooted in international solidarity and a desire to fight for the dignity of immigrants.

Please describe your involvement with YDSA:

In my chapter I have led our electoral work in student government as a socialist in office. By turning student government into a site of struggle for socialist politics, I have been able to help build YDSA, drastically expand my chapter’s reach, amplify our fighting campaigns, and contest the $20,000,000 student government budget in the interest of students and faculty.

As a YDSA cadre representative I helped organize the Trans Rights and Bodily Autonomy campaign locally, where alongside comrades in my chapter, we were able to fight for and pass the “Equal Restrooms Access Resolution”, organizing queer students against our conservative administration. I’m also proud of our Palestine solidarity work, where leading the struggle for a ceasefire resolution in student government allowed my YDSA chapter to fight alongside our coalition partners on campus and grow the movement through struggle.

How should YDSA push the socialist movement forward?

As a proud member of Reform & Revolution, I believe that the best way to build the socialist movement is turning DSA into a political party. YDSA has an indispensable role to play. We can be the youth wing of this future socialist party, and we can help it emerge right now with a campaigning approach and a revolutionary spirit.

I believe we have two important tasks in building YDSA. We should aim to grow DSA by creating strong, cohesive campaign structures which clearly advocate for socialist politics in every major struggle, while simultaneously winning over our peers and classmates to revolutionary positions. Fulfilling this dual task will require us to be fully engaged, helping every chapter to reach its potential. We must also unify YDSA under common, democratically chosen goals which make the most of our membership.

By building party-like structures and a robust internal democracy; continuing to wage the anti-imperialist struggle in the service of socialist internationalism; linking every fight, every campaign, and every action to the class struggle; and uniting with the labor movement, we can achieve the revolutionary transformation of society. The future is something we build today.

What work do you think the NCC should prioritize? What do you hope to accomplish as a member of the NCC?

The socialist and anti-imperialist movements are intertwined. As the genocide in Gaza continues, millions of people are watching in horror, looking for ways to fight against the capitalist system which has allowed this to happen. Socialists are a critical part of the struggle for Palestinian liberation, and on the NCC I would ensure our internationalism is at the forefront.
On the NCC I plan to implement the 2023 YDSA Convention resolution “Building the Youth Wing of a Socialist Party,” charting a six-year course to building a partyist YDSA, which includes organizing youth off-campus. If we’re serious about building YDSA into a diverse, politically independent youth wing, we can’t stop at the university. One year has gone by without a plan to implement the resolution – I’m committed to starting this vital project now.
Young people everywhere should feel empowered to organize under the socialist banner, and that means proving ourselves in action. By consistently engaging with chapters, helping YDSA members work through their political conditions, developing a culture of comradely discussion and collective decision-making, and presenting a fighting socialist message, we can build the best foundations for our movement.
Everything the NCC does should be centered around growing the socialist movement. By building YDSA’s presence in student governments across the country we can begin to wage the battle for democracy on new terrain and by developing our national campaigning infrastructure, we can fully join the fight for a free Palestine. It's time to expand our political horizons by dedicating ourselves to the project of party-building and committing to helping chapters run class struggle campaigns. I believe in YDSA, and I believe in what we’re fighting for. The NCC can help bring out the fullest potential of our membership, and I hope to be a part of this alongside my comrades.

Arjun Janakan, Purdue University

Self-identified Male Person of Color

Nominations (15 total):

Aron Ali-McClory	University of Florida
Sean Bridge	University of Cincinnati
Jeffrey Childs	Oakland University
Raisa Deotale	Purdue University
Ridge Falco	Purdue University
Destin Gentillon	Purdue University
Jade Gu	Purdue University
Jayden Kim	Purdue University
John Matulis	Purdue University
Joshua Petree	Purdue University

Please describe your involvement with YDSA:

Work on Palestine Liberation Organizing Comittee, Youth Growth and Development Committee.

How should YDSA push the socialist movement forward?

YDSA's role in the socialist movement is to mobilize young people towards socialist organizing by finding and highlighting local campaigns on college campuses that can bring wide swaths of leftist or left leaning young people into a big tent organization that has power to make decisions in both electoral and organizational avenues.

What work do you think the NCC should prioritize? What do you hope to accomplish as a member of the NCC?

Increasing presence on college campuses. Creating content to appear on college campuses that assist in growth and local campaigns. Maintaining and improving relationships with SJP and PYM.

Daniil Sapunkov, Hunter College

Self-identified Male White Person

Nominations (11 total):

Anthony Arredondo	Hunter College
Uma Clemenceau	University of California Santa Barbara
Allan Frasheri	University of Florida
Ezra Hubbard	Hunter College
Georgina Iljazoski	Hunter College
Winnie Marion	New York University
Charlie Muller	Brooklyn College
Carolyn Roderique	University of Oregon
Daniel Salup-Cid	Florida International University
Noah Thompson	University of Oregon

If you would like to, please elaborate on your identity and how it has impacted your experience in YDSA:

I am an immigrant. I was born in Moscow, Russia, and moved to the United States in 2015. Moving to the US radically pushed me towards socialist politics, as I witnessed my own family and the diaspora turn downwardly mobile, living paycheck to paycheck and fearing potential deportations. I joined YDSA and learned about the role of American Imperialism in destabilizing many countries and profiting from wars. As an immigrant, I believe that we must build a mass anti-war movement and YDSA is a place to organize for it.

Please describe your involvement with YDSA:

I joined my YDSA chapter in 2021 - my first day back on campus after a year of remote learning due to the pandemic. Hunter YDSA was relatively small back then but through a vibrant, student-led anti-austerity campaign called New Deal 4 CUNY we were able to build one of the most vibrant and diverse YDSA chapters in the country. In a year, became a co-chair of NYC-YDSA - a network of 6 different chapters across the city. I helped facilitate cross-campus organizing efforts, put together citywide events, socials, and coordinate protest movements. At the same time, I was a YDSA representative to the NYC-DSA Steering and Socialist in Office Committees advocating for YDSA presence and political lines. Such cohesion allowed us to effectively mobilize for Palestine. Additionally, I was part of the small cohort of YDSAers who took jobs as Sbux baristas and we coordinated our labor organizing efforts throughout the city. After my turn, I joined IC-YLC and for the past few months was involved in YDSA international work.

How should YDSA push the socialist movement forward?

YDSA is one of the most strategic parts of today's socialist movement. We are part of the largest socialist organization in modern history that advances the socialist project. YDSA is a space where we create and develop leaders who will go on and take those skills to continue to organize in DSA, labor unions, ballot boxes, and their communities. We have done strong work on developing rank-and-file pipelines and networks that help young socialists industrialize and transform the domestic labor movement. YDSA should present a dynamic and bold outward-facing vision that many young people across the country yearn for as they face depressing choices in the upcoming 2024 elections. The vision of independence from both racist Republicans and corrupt Democrats. The work that YDSA members have done during the Palestine Solidarity movement has shown that students are strategic to organize. As we have witnessed, in the spirit of Peter Camejo, our efforts became catalysts for the larger anti-war movement in this country that set up gear for a wave of political strikes and actions.

What work do you think the NCC should prioritize? What do you hope to accomplish as a member of the NCC?

The Palestine Solidarity movement has put International issues at the forefront of our political moment, and it has become a litmus test for various structures and political positions. It confirmed that the Democratic Party remains the enemy of the working class both abroad, as Biden signs off checks to genocide, and domestically, as our mayors and governors send off the military to disperse protestors who stand up against the destruction of Gaza. NCC should prioritize putting out independent political messaging that will capture the hearts and minds of thousands of young people who are alienated by the choices of Trump or Biden.

Despite all of our efforts, the genocide is still ongoing. My priority on the NCC would be to continue building YDSA as an anti-war force. We must have a better understanding of international issues and anti-imperialism as capitalism remains a global force. I am excited to build YDSA that fights to stop genocide in Palestine, embargo on Cuba, nuclear escalations against China, and for peace in Ukraine. Political education around those topics and 1-1 mentorship will be my practical priorities as a leader.

All of these issues are connected, because if we believe that masses of workers and students have the power to create revolutionary rupture, we must continue to pursue the rank-and-file strategy. Building on existing pipelines that turn radical students into life-long socialist organizers that transform the labor movement. Without RFS, victories at UAW and political strikes for Palestine would not have happened and YDSA members were central in this transformation - let's build on that!

Let us build a mass movement of students and workers that will have the power to destroy the bloody war machine of the capitalist class! Without YDSA it is impossible and I am proud to build it with all of you!

Steven Raney, Furman University

Self-identified Male White Person

Nominations (17 total):

Anthony Arredondo	Hunter College
Felipe Barroso Ramos	Florida International University
Sean Bridge	University of Cincinnati
Luca Dhagat	University of California Berkeley
Lael Licht	Florida International University
Berke Maltepe	Northeastern University
Abhiram Prathipati	Virginia Commonwealth University
Casey Purser	Georgia State University
Nico R	Florida International University
Gant Roberson	The New School

Please describe your involvement with YDSA:

I was part of the organizing committee that founded my YDSA chapter in January 2023. Since then, I've been an active organizer within Furman YDSA as chapter co-chair and a member of our Political Education Committee and Clinic Defense Working Group. I've been honored to organize alongside an excellent group of comrades through campaigns that have taken me from the front lines of defending reproductive freedoms to the fight for campus democracy and a free Palestine, building one of the largest YDSA chapters as a percentage of student population in the country, under the extremely unfavorable conditions offered by a conservative college in rural South Carolina.

Nationally, I served as my chapter's delegate to the 2023 YDSA National Convention, where, as part of the Marxist Unity Group caucus, I motivated two successful resolutions: "R21. Winning the Battle for Democracy" and "R22. Anti-Militarism on Campus," calling for a commitment to unyielding opposition to the undemocratic Constitution and oppressive military-police state. I then joined the Youth Political Education Committee to bottom-line the implementation of the political education work mandated by R21, and have remained an active member of the committee.

How should YDSA push the socialist movement forward?

DSA is the most promising part of the socialist movement, and YDSA is the vanguard of DSA. We've led the way for DSA time and time again, from the political advances made towards becoming the youth wing of an independent socialist party at the 2023 National Convention to our rapid mobilization during the Spring 2024 Student Intifada. We must continue to push DSA forward by showing what an organization committed to independent political struggle in our schools, workplaces, living spaces and elsewhere is capable of.

That means being honest about, and rectifying, the shortcomings that jeopardize our ability to cohere YDSA and ultimately DSA into a force that can lead those struggles and challenge the political system undergirding imperialist capitalism. Among those shortcomings are programmatic disunity, opportunist attachment to politicians like AOC or to a nonexistent coalition with the Democratic Party, and a tendency to isolate ourselves from sections of the multiracial working class who should be a socialist party's core constituencies. We should push DSA forward on these issues by both using YDSA as a vehicle for intervening in internal DSA politics and modeling revolutionary, party-oriented practices in our own work in our schools and communities.

What work do you think the NCC should prioritize? What do you hope to accomplish as a member of the NCC?

As I see it, NCC members have a twofold obligation to YDSA: to serve the rank-and-file membership of YDSA (one) in independent political struggle (two). To fulfill the second part of that obligation, I want to be as active as possible in overseeing the implementation of Marxist Unity Group's six convention priorities (check them out in the bulletin--R2, R15, R16, R17, and amendments to R4 and R18). To that end, I'll prioritize taking on an active role in the Political Education Committee, the Growth and Development Committee, and R18's Program Committee. I know there are already lots of fantastic organizers lining up to bottom-line work on the Communications Committee and R2's Electoral Committee, but I would also be more than willing to take on work in those areas if needed.

Fulfilling the first part of the NCC's obligation to YDSA, serving the rank-and-file membership, requires us to maximize the membership's ownership of the political project we're building together. The basic administrative tasks of the NCC, like chapter check-ins, should not be treated as apolitical. As an NCCer, the purpose of my work with chapter leaders around the country, in addition to helping them sharpen their organizing skills, will be to build a real sense of investment in the political interventions YDSAers are making on their campuses, in their communities, and even in their DSA chapters. Every YDSA member should feel like the NCC has a real stake in the battles they're fighting, and vice versa, should feel like they themselves have a real stake in the nationwide political struggles YDSA is engaged in.

To build and maintain that kind of deep participatory organizing culture, we need a budget that reflects YDSA's importance to DSA. On the NCC, I'll support the fight to rebuild YDSA's budget beyond pre-cut levels however possible.

David Lefevre, University of Oregon

Self-identified Man White Person

Nominations (19 total):

Mae Bracelin	University of Oregon
Raisa Deotale	Purdue University
Allen Dominguez	Texas State University
Diego Duarte	University of Oregon
Foster Elliott	University of Oregon
Ian Finn	University of Oregon
Will Garrahan	University of Oregon
Rowan Johnson	Princeton University
Reece Kikuchi	Oregon State University
Ian Mohr	University of Oregon

If you would like to, please elaborate on your identity and how it has impacted your experience in YDSA:

I’m a first-generation working class French American. My parents’ belief in the American dream has brought me here and growing up slowly learning it to be a myth informs my socialist politics. Hearing directly from family about the benefits of socialized French healthcare and education has shown me the criminal lies of the American capitalist establishment which is simultaneously the richest empire in the world but supposedly cannot afford accessible social services. This also allows me to see the need for socialism from the limitations of social democracy. Struggling to win and keep academic scholarships to pay for an unaffordable public higher education is a common experience that helped me union organize as a research assistant on campus.

Please describe your involvement with YDSA:

When I joined University of Oregon (UO) YDSA during the pandemic winter 2021, we had a handful of consistent members and no elected steering committee. As Chair over the past two years, I have helped my chapter grow to around 60 regular members and 30 cadre organizers while simultaneously organizing several successful pressure campaigns. I’m a founding member, core leader, and rank & file organizer of UO Student Workers union. Within our union, I’ve helped submit over 2100 signed cards, win our ballot election with a 97% yes vote, affiliate with the United Auto Workers, and win open bargaining due to a 1500+ signature letter delivery. To help the broader undergrad labor movement, I’ve given trainings and am mentoring Oregon State University Student Workers. Beyond labor work, I was a steering committee member of our Palestine encampment that lasted 25 nights and won a deal with the UO administration. These are the highlights of our deal: a ceasefire statement, Sabra Hummus boycott, scholarships for 5 displaced Palestinian students, and funding for two Faculty who are experts on Palestine. Experience organizing successful labor and Palestine campaigns as well as effective chapter building would make me a valuable NCC member.

How should YDSA push the socialist movement forward?

The American socialist movement is currently divided, weak, and often unserious. However, YDSA chapters have proven themselves capable of rapidly growing and successfully organizing people into class struggle, whether it's against exploitation of student workers, aiding imperialist wars, or attacks on trans rights and bodily autonomy. Thus, YDSA can advance the socialist movement by organizing winning campaigns that develop socialist cadre and bring masses of students into collective action on campuses across the country. New socialists of various tendencies are transformed into lifelong socialist organizers as struggle forces them to develop new skills, learn discipline, refine their politics, and gain conviction in collective action. Conversely, mass movements have the power required to change society and bring large amounts of working-class people towards socialist politics. Building democratic, militant, and rank & file student worker unions has been and continues to be an important way that YDSA can help embed the socialist movement within labor movement and build power on campus. YDSA must win campaigns that raise expectations for labor, Palestine, trans rights, bodily autonomy, and climate change to build a serious socialist movement capable of challenging capitalism.

What work do you think the NCC should prioritize? What do you hope to accomplish as a member of the NCC?

To build winning campaigns that develop strong chapters as well as mass movements, the NCC should prioritize consistent and quality mentorship of chapters. The NCC should also find seasoned YDSA organizers who can also mentor chapters. Many chapters are loosely connected to national through occasional national training calls and convention/conference. With online convention/conferences this coming year, building stronger ties between chapters and national as well as between different chapters is crucial. Regular mentorship meetings will help build national cohesion of our organization, enabling us to be dynamic and meet the needs of the moment as circumstances change. This is essential during a presidential election year, where YDSA must use the obvious failure of our two-party capitalist system to channel disenchanted working-class people into advancing the struggle for worker self-emancipation, Palestinian liberation, reproductive justice, and trans rights. Building a stronger connection with national YDSA will also help pipeline graduating organizers into DSA more effectively. While national calls/trainings and clear communication are important tasks, there is no shortcut to building strong relationships between chapters and a strong base that advances class struggle. On the NCC, I will coordinate with the labor committee and put effort into preventing union drives from dissolving their YDSA chapters. My experience organizing positions me to help organizers navigate creating a symbiotic relationship between their student worker union and YDSA chapter. I will also push to continue building the rank-and-file strategy as well as a national student worker movement via the Student Worker Action Network (SWAN) and UAW’s Youth Labor Organizing Core (YLOC). Lastly, I believe the NCC should prioritize is securing a healthy YDSA budget. I will push to have in-person national conferences and conventions the following year, as in person national gatherings are essential to build a strong YDSA.

Callynn Johnson, University of Central Florida

Self-identified Non-binary White Person

Nominations (13 total):

Aron Ali-McClory	University of Florida
Sami Binning	University of Missouri Columbia
Sean Bridge	University of Cincinnati
Sean Crumpacker	University of Central Florida
Vivian Dai	Boston University
Liam Gundy	University of Central Florida
Seth Horwitz	University of Central Florida
Niko Johnson-Fuller	University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign
Valentina Kleckner	University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign
Gabriel McAdams	University of California Berkeley

If you would like to, please elaborate on your identity and how it has impacted your experience in YDSA:

I am a Queer, Trans/non-binary person, and much of that experience has shaped me as an organizer and informed my politics in critical ways. In Florida, organizing for my own bodily autonomy is a necessity. In my time at UCF YDSA, I’ve fought against waves of fascist legislation targeting Queer people on multiple fronts. And most recently organizing for the protection of abortion access in Florida and helping Ohio chapters do the same. These campaigns have also given me a deep understanding of the importance of supporting “Red State” organizing.

Please describe your involvement with YDSA:

I joined YDSA in the Fall of 2021, In the years before my NCC term, I went from learning how to knock doors on the Richie Floyd campaign, to co-chair of UCF YDSA. During that time I helped grow the chapter well past 160 members and we are still (at time of recording) the largest chapter in the country. On top of continuing the 800 person gender-affirming clothing drives the chapter is known for, we lowered the price of plan B on our campus from $40 to $6 in the face of Florida’s restrictive abortion ban.

Nationally, I have spent almost 2 years deeply involved with the Campaign Organizing Committee (COC). In this past year as co-chair of the COC and an at-large member of the NCC I coordinated the national bodily autonomy (TRANS) campaign which had accomplishments ranging from getting new chapters off the ground to Mizzou’s sanctuary city. During my term I’ve also helped chapters across OH and FL coordinate efforts around abortion ballot initiatives, did the often overlooked backend work of maintaining our databases of chapters’ work and other data management, as well as coached chapters through encampments and the first steps of their divestment campaigns

How should YDSA push the socialist movement forward?

YDSA plays an extremely strategic role in the socialist movement from the classroom, to the shop floor, to the front lines of the Student Intifada. YDSA should further the socialist movement by bringing our theory of change and collective campaign experiences to meet this political moment engaging thoughtfully in coalitions and using our years of institutional knowledge and 110+ chapters across the country to further the fight for Palestinian liberation. On the NCC this looks like robust mentorship structures, not just in the NCC’s 1:1s but in chapter training and committee level mentorship. Solidifying strong national committee structures will be vital to cohering any national effort, especially divestment demands.

What work do you think the NCC should prioritize? What do you hope to accomplish as a member of the NCC?

As an organization I hope we center Palestine work and I’m excited to apply my previous experience running our National Campaigns there. Covering as many chapters as possible around clear unified demands, disclose, divest, and boycott. With proper support and mentorship, our newest chapters can launch these campaigns, and our powerhouses can continue to escalate on their campuses. Building a national presence will require a diverse set of tactics for a wide variety of chapters and local conditions, a strong communications committee, mentorship, education, and training.

In a second term on the NCC, I hope to continue much of my work on our chapter mentorship and training. In my current term, I have served as a mentor to dozens of chapters and led our Fall Drive coaching program. Regardless of whether or not I am elected, I hope to be active on the YGDC, where I want to prioritize building up universities in the south, especially HBCUs, rural areas, and other historically under-organized campuses. Alongside building up new chapters I want to work on diversifying our chapters. As well as continuing my less glamorous work that has proven vital as staff capacity fluctuates and we in turn potentially lose years of institutional memory.

Bryce Springfield, Princeton University

Self-identified Male White Person

Nominations (20 total):

Declan Arthur	Grand Valley State University
Eva Asarlaiocht	University of Mary Washington
David Beeson	Princeton University
Sean Bridge	University of Cincinnati
Nelson Calles	University of Florida
Wilson Conn	Princeton University
Eric Cortes-Kopp	Hamilton College
Mitchell Good	American University
Arjun Janakan	Purdue University
Rowan Johnson	Princeton University

If you would like to, please elaborate on your identity and how it has impacted your experience in YDSA:

I am a disabled, queer, and formerly homeless working-class student. These aspects of my identity and life experience have profoundly shaped my political perspective, leading me not only to socialism but also to organizing within Y/DSA. Experiencing the harsh realities of capitalism firsthand, including housing instability, limited access to healthcare, and workplace alienation, has fueled my devotion to activism to realize a socialist future through labor, housing, and anti-Zionist organizing.

In my work with Y/DSA, I fight to create spaces where all members are empowered to contribute to the fight for socialism within our lifetime.

Please describe your involvement with YDSA:

I began my journey with Pinellas DSA in 2020, supporting the Bernie Sanders campaign in response to my frustrations with the political mainstream, and played a central role in DSA's first city council victory in Florida history, as one of the top canvassers for Richie Floyd in St. Petersburg. Since then, I’ve organized for tenant-managed social housing in Pinellas DSA, bottom-lined mutual aid organizing in Central Jersey DSA, and led the effort to re-establish the Princeton University chapter of YDSA, where we have directly engaged in labor organizing efforts to advance the burgeoning movement of campus unionism, co-organized protests for Palestinian liberation, trained new socialist organizers, and more.

More recently, I have been working with the Youth Labor Committee to support other chapters' labor organizing, ran as an Uncommitted delegate in New Jersey to call for an immediate and permanent ceasefire in Gaza, accepted the position of Central Jersey DSA's YDSA Coordinator to coordinate with and aid developing chapters, and gave daily support to the Gaza Solidarity Encampment at Princeton while engaged with Princeton's anti-apartheid coalition. Alongside this work, I have supported my YDSA chapter's ongoing work toward labor, anti-racism, immigrant rights, mutual aid, and other initiatives.

How should YDSA push the socialist movement forward?

YDSA is the future of the socialist movement as the most viable leftist political organization in the country, training young people to build effective, independent working-class power in ways that will stick with us for the rest of our lives. We already see this with YDSA's leadership in student labor, Palestine solidarity, trans rights, and more. Yet, we still have a ways to go.

YDSA must continue repairing relations with the Palestinian liberation movement, and consistently embed ourselves into the movement with unwavering commitments to anti-Zionism and material action as part of the student intifada.

We need to continue developing new organizers, especially during this critical moment, by presenting ourselves as the strongest alternative to the capitalist duopoly and coordinating the resources for chapters and OCs to reach their fullest potential. We have to continue developing chapters, particularly where organizing is uniquely challenging: public colleges, rural and red state universities, and HBCUs.

Our members should have the knowledge and confidence to take on labor struggles and thus build direct leverage for working-class people to win their demands both in the workplace and for community justice more broadly.

On the NCC, I will do all I can to make this happen.

What work do you think the NCC should prioritize? What do you hope to accomplish as a member of the NCC?

On the NCC, I will ensure that YDSA continues to grow by pushing for stronger participatory democratic mechanisms to better connect national resources to members' local organizing work and to give members a greater sense of ownership over the organization and our work.

Secondly, I will work to strengthen our national infrastructure to engage young organizers in the growing undergraduate labor movement and industrialization into critical industries, and ensure consistent one-on-one outreach with organizing committees and chapters leading labor campaigns.

Further, I will ensure we commit to anti-Zionist and abolitionist principles and organizing to build our reputation as a consistent and viable alternative to the political mainstream, and to tap into critically needed organizing expertise in these existing movements to build the organized, independent power necessary to overthrow capitalism, Zionism and systemic racism, and the carceral state.

Finally, we should expand our multitendency political education and deliberation through comradely debate, our outreach to underrepresented segments in YDSA such as graduate students and postdocs, and our role as a diverse and multiracial movement through an intersectional lens that recognizes the interconnectedness of all forms of oppression.

As a member of the NCC, I hope to contribute to these priorities by bringing my background as a working-class organizer, supporting local activism and DSA priorities toward a socialist future, and helping to build my chapter from the ground up. Ultimately, my goal is to make YDSA a powerful force for building independent working-class power and achieving lasting victories that bring us closer to a socialist, anti-colonial, and anti-imperialist world.

Bobby Woodruff, Louisiana Tech University

Self-identified Non-binary White Person

Nominations (10 total):

Sami Binning	University of Missouri Columbia
Nico Burris	Louisiana Tech University
Isa Gault	Grambling State University
Callynn Johnson	University of Central Florida
Casey Purser	Georgia State University
Madhulika Singh	University of Cincinnati
Bryce Springfield	Princeton University
Amani Millon	Centenary College of Louisiana
Aron Ali-McClory	University of Florida
William Pesnell	Louisiana State University

If you would like to, please elaborate on your identity and how it has impacted your experience in YDSA:

Im a queer disabled organizer! Though Im white, and masc passing so I try to stay aware of my privilege and always seek to learn more!

Please describe your involvement with YDSA:

I joined DSA in 2020 at the height of the pandemic. Being locked in a room gave me plenty of time to better educate myself on socialism and intersectionality, so when I saw a YDSA chapter at my school I rushed to join. I was elected into leadership my freshmen year and held my position for 4 years until recently, when I proudly stepped down so our new officers could replace me! Since joining my chapter I, tripled general and dues-paying membership, started the first DSA chapter in north Louisiana, started 3 YDSAs in Louisiana, helped to create some of the first pro-Palestine orgs and mass BDS protests in north Louisiana, and most recently got Trans housing on our campus! While I'm always invested in local work, ever since my first convention I've been involved in our national org! I've had the honor of serving on many of our committees and drives, and this year I've been lucky enough to chair the COC, an incredible committee! As COC chair I've been able to work on many amazing projects like our TRANS national campaign, and I hope that if I get elected I can keep doing this amazing work YDSA does!

How should YDSA push the socialist movement forward?

YDSA should be at the forefront of mass movements fighting back against white supremacy, patriarchy, imperialism, capitalism, and all other oppressive systems. While YDSA has been good at signaling support for these issues and has mobilized organizers around these issues if we plan to push a socialist theory of change to the working class we must not just signal and act on these issues, we must find ways to win! The best way to advocate for our theory of change is to show that it changes things! In order to do that YDSA as a national organization must have a structured and strong national body so that we can use the resources we have on hand to assist local chapters in creating material change for their communities. We must create organizing models that help chapters make wins both big and small, and we must promote of culture of positive enthusiasm for change! Liberal institutions have had decades to create political apathy within the working class, so we must fight tooth and nail to create the want for change and the energy to change things within the working class if we wish to build a socialist future in our lifetime!

What work do you think the NCC should prioritize? What do you hope to accomplish as a member of the NCC?

The next NCC should focus on creating national committees that are both elevating the work YDSA does beyond what a local chapter can do, but can also quickly and effectively address the needs chapters may have. The comms committee is a great example of this, being able to not only spread awareness about encampments in general but they were also able to assist specific local encampments by publicizing things like bail funds. Our committees need more structure and need to be better interconnected with themselves and to locals as well!

The next NCC needs to focus on growing and more importantly retaining our chapters! We need to update our recruitment approach to encourage more direct and on-the-ground forms of new chapter recruiting. We need to build our chapter density in rural and red state areas like Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, and Arkansas not just because of the low density but, because these areas have marginalized communities facing the harshest oppression in our country while the liberals have entirely abandoned them, we must be better! We must seek to directly recruit at HBCUs! From our records we only have 2 chartered, one of which is a chapter that I helped to recruit this year! YDSA has to do better!! We gotta stop talking about recruiting communities of color and instead, we must go out and actually try to recruit! As an intersectional org, we need diverse lived experiences to do our best work, and we can't learn those experiences by just reading theory!

Lastly, we must do better on building accessibility into our national structure and meetings! As a member of the Disability Oversight Committee, YDSA is getting better but is still seriously lacking!

If elected I hope to lead the charge on these issues to create a better and stronger YDSA!

Jeffrey Childs, Oakland University

Self-identified Agender Person of Color

Nominations (11 total):

Uma Clemenceau	University of California Santa Barbara
Jimena Garcia	Oakland University
Arjun Janakan	Purdue University
Lilac Lehman-Pace	Oakland University
Winnie Marion	New York University
Daniil Sapunkov	Hunter College
Rose Smith	Oakland University
Hailey Sowa	Wayne State University
Sierra Spry	Oakland University
Ethan Vela	Oakland University

If you would like to, please elaborate on your identity and how it has impacted your experience in YDSA:

I’ve felt elevated in certain spaces because of it, but I’m also acutely aware of the lack of diversity in a lot of spaces in YDSA. It’s something I’ve let wash over me but when I notice it can make me feel somewhat isolated, me being the only black guy in many spaces. Not sure of the circumstances, but I was somewhat sad to see Yusuf go.

Please describe your involvement with YDSA:

I’ve been in YDSA for ~2.5 years. Joined out of pure curiosity, and it being the only progressive organization on my campus. For a short time I was just a member, but because of the size of my chapter, I quickly became the treasurer, and soon after that, we began a Fight For 15 campaign. During that time I was pretty active in running the financials of the org, leaping through administrative hoops to get us material for our campaign, during which I did a lot of tabling and postering for our petition, along with one-on-one recruiting with great success. I helped pressure admin through meetings and protests, which allowed us to win our demand, and as our chair was leaving I was encouraged to run and then elected as cochair. As cochair I helped my chapter maintained steady growth, developed members through poli-ed, developed ties to other campus orgs including the professors union and started a “Know Your Rights” campaign to soften up the RAs for the prospect of a union.

How should YDSA push the socialist movement forward?

By being a principled and active left wing force in an unorganized youth movement, guiding alienated young people towards a lifetime of organizing and teaching them *how* to be lifetime organizers. At the bare minimum we should increase class consciousness in every space that we inhabit, and make it known that we are socialists first and foremost, normalizing radical politics, and bring revolutionary optimism to an increasingly depressing political climate, and also being a bastion of hope for the future of DSA, maintaining morale by being an active and growing force for change, that will funnel into DSA.

What work do you think the NCC should prioritize? What do you hope to accomplish as a member of the NCC?

“Putting the social back in socialism”

I think as an NCC member I’d like to be more active in leadership development and promote communication between chapters locally, giving them spaces and creating relationships that my be better in aiding their work. I think we should promote national actions by bolstering regional connections, giving chapters the support they need from across the nation, but also down the street. I’d love to get to know more than the cochair of chapters I check in with, and I’d like to have lots of resources to provide for chapters when they’re lost, or in need of advice. I see stagnation as I big reason for why chapters fall apart, and and encouraging chapters to be bold, while also giving them the knowledge and confidence to do that action would bring positive results. Resources could be as small as a palm card detailing current labor protections for that state, or as large as whole presentations that chapters can use for poli-ed. We should also have more regular national calls on the basics of organizing, Marxism, and/or labor rights, that chapter leaders can encourage newer or less developed members to attend. Since the loss of in-person convention will lead to an undefinable loss in cohesion between chapters that usually connect during then. Lastly, I think BDS should be on the mind of every organizer, and I think as NCC members we should keep internal morale focused on it, having calls on how to organize around Palestine, and encouraging chapters to put forward petitions or pressure campaigns, especially if resolutions pass at convention that encourage us to do so.

Resolutions

R1. Make YDSA an Anti-Zionist Organization in Principle and Praxis

Sponsor: Abel Amene, University of Maryland College Park

Co-Sponsors: Bryce S, Princeton University

Asarlaiocht S, University of Mary Washington

Anand K, University of Maryland College Park

Rowan J, Princeton University

Benjamin K, Swarthmore College

Diego H, University of Maryland College Park

Evan M, Northern Illinois University

Viv S, Swarthmore College

Hailey S, Wayne State University

Reasoning of Resolution:

Whereas, Zionism – as popularized by Theodore Herzl and explicitly described by him as “something colonial,” meant to be “a wall of Europe against Asia… an outpost of [Western] civilization against [Eastern] barbarism” – is and has always been a racist, imperialist, settler-colonial project that has resulted in the ongoing death, displacement, and dehumanization of Palestinians everywhere (i.e., in Palestine and in diaspora around the world);

Whereas, the establishment of a Jewish ethnostate in Palestine (i.e., the so-called “state of Israel”) and its maintenance via ongoing and illegal occupation, apartheid and ethnic cleansing represent the culmination of Zionists’ century-long colonization of Palestine;

Whereas, antithetical to YDSA and DSA’s contemporary principles and policies, DSA’s founding merger was heavily predicated on ensuring that DSA would uphold DSOC’s position of supporting continued American aid for Israel’s Zionist colonial project, as explicitly noted in DSA’s founding merger documents (e.g., Points of Political Unity) and by Michael Harrington himself in his autobiography;

Whereas, DSA’s historic and contemporary association with and enablement of Zionism has jeopardized YDSA rank-and-file membership’s confidence in the integrity of DSA’s overall politics, as well as YDSA’s working relationships with major Palestinian-led grassroots organizations across North America;

Action of Resolution:

Therefore, be it resolved, YDSA rejects and condemns Zionism, in all its forms, as a racist, imperialist, settler-colonial project;

Be it resolved, YDSA denounces DSA’s Zionist roots and reaffirms YDSA’s commitment to being an anti-racist, anti-imperialist organization by explicitly committing to being an anti-Zionist organization – in both principle and praxis;

Be it resolved, YDSA members who are credibly shown to:

have consistently and publicly opposed the Palestine liberation movement, even after receiving fair and ample opportunity for education about the Palestinian struggle for liberation,
be currently affiliated with the Israeli government or any Zionist lobby group(s), or
have provided material aid to Israel,

shall be considered in “substantial disagreement with the principles or policies of the organization”, and thus subject to expulsion in line with Article IV, Section 3a of the YDSA Constitution with written notice and a fair hearing as outlined in Article IV, Section 4;

Be it resolved, upon a member’s expulsion from YDSA under this resolution, the co-chairs of the National Coordinating Committee (NCC) shall move at the next meeting of DSA’s National Political Committee a motion for the member’s expulsion from DSA under Article 1, Section 3 of the DSA Bylaws;

Be it resolved, within a year after passage of this resolution, the NCC shall draft and adopt the Membership Policy required in Article IV, Section 4 of the YDSA Constitution;

Be it resolved, the Membership Policy shall include provisions requiring that members expelled from YDSA under this resolution may be reconsidered for membership reinstatement in YDSA once per year provided they write a statement to membership that:

demonstrates a basic understanding of Palestinian issues and Zionism and
apologizes for past anti-solidaristic behaviors with a commitment to putting their new anti-Zionist principles into practice;

Be it resolved, the Membership Policy shall include provisions requiring that membership reinstatement of reformed Zionists shall require a recommendation for reinstatement by their local YDSA chapter, followed by a majority vote in favor of reinstatement by the NCC;

Be it finally resolved, that in a reasonable time immediately after passage of this resolution, YDSA shall release a statement, to be publicized on social media and on the YDSA website, that clearly delineates the impact of this resolution to the general public.

R2. Bringing Class-Struggle to Student Government

Sponsor: Daniel Salup-Cid, Florida International University

Felipe Barroso Ramos, Florida International University

Co-sponsors: This was combined from two submissions, each of which individually met submissions requirements.

The author of R2 and the author of a resolution titled, “A National Strategy for Socialist Student Government Interventions,” mutually agreed to combine the resolutions due to similarities in content.

Reasoning of Resolution:

WHEREAS, as thousands of radicalizing young people have joined protest movements and taken an active role in campus politics, student government interventions provide a strategic avenue for advancing socialist principles and contributing to a movement for working-class emancipation on college campuses nationwide.

WHEREAS, YDSA chapters have had success running student government candidates in opposition to politically moderate and careerist student representatives with ties to their university’s administration and board of trustees, using these campaigns to promote their socialist politics and fight for key issues which affect the student body, and sharing the lessons learned through these chapter-level campaigns would help other YDSA members run similar campaigns in their chapters.

WHEREAS, YDSA’s national structures can play a strong supportive role in these electoral efforts by working with chapters to run bold, public-facing student government campaigns with the goal of growing the organization and winning students over to socialism, and an increased level of coordination among national bodies would allow YDSA to use every tool at its disposal towards this end.

WHEREAS, this resolution builds upon the directives outlined in the resolutions passed at the 2023 YDSA National Convention, including R8. Recommitting to Building an Independent Working-Class Socialist Party, which emphasized running chapter members in student government elections to train for off-campus electoral work. R8 stressed the importance of modeling campaigns after an independent working-class socialist party, presenting a strong socialist program tailored to campus conditions, and maximizing independence from liberal groups like the College Democrats and Young Democrats of America.

WHEREAS, this resolution also aligns with R9. Fighting the Right through Mass Action, passed at the same convention, emphasized the need for YDSA to provide national calls teaching chapters the skills necessary for organizing campaigns, such as power-mapping campuses, navigating student governments, organizing mass actions, and building power independently from establishment organizations on campus.

WHEREAS, the YDSA platform calls for transformative reforms that empower the working class, counter austerity, and advocate for education as a public good; centers struggles against oppression through a socialist analysis; aims to build independent working-class politics and organization; and strives to create just campuses and communities by combating campus capitalism, advocating for disability rights, and promoting tenant organizing and sustainability initiatives.

Action of Resolution:

RESOLVED, the Electoral Committee shall be responsible for conducting an initial period of mass outreach to chapter leaders to discuss possible interventions in student government, such as running YDSA candidates for student government positions, fighting for referendums, and potential strategies for running a successful class struggle electoral campaign.

RESOLVED, the Electoral Committee shall regularly meet and communicate with chapters that decide to run electoral campaigns or already have members in student government to provide political guidance and share relevant lessons from other chapters. The Electoral Committee should track student government activity to maximize its efforts and produce an electoral report for the next YDSA Convention. This direct collaboration with chapters shall be the core of the Electoral Committee.

RESOLVED, the Electoral Committee shall actively support and empower YDSA chapters to advocate for the following political issues and socialist governance initiatives within their universities:

Encourage YDSA chapters to advocate for university governance structures that promote equal representation and decision-making by students, faculty, and staff, including:

Increasing student representation on university boards and committees.
Implementing initiatives to enhance transparency, accountability, and participatory decision-making within university governance.

Fight the privatization of universities by supporting the construction and maintenance of student housing, pushing for student management wherever possible, and promoting sustainable food systems that are subsidized and accessible to all students.
Advocate for debt relief programs to address financial burdens that impede equitable access to education for poor and working class students.
Support faculty, graduate and undergraduate labor unions on campus and advocate for unionization efforts in universities.
Standing for the rights of students and faculty by defending academic freedom, especially in the face of growing political repression on university campuses.
Intervening in critical issues such as the Palestine solidarity movement and the struggle for trans and abortion rights against right wing attacks.

RESOLVED, the Electoral Committee shall provide additional support to chapters running student government campaigns by providing unified messaging and resources, including pamphlets, graphic design resources, and social media templates as needed. These materials should be designed to resonate with students and effectively communicate socialist principles and campaign objectives.

RESOLVED, the Electoral Committee, after an initial period of mass outreach and hands-on collaboration with chapters, shall develop and distribute a broader Student Government Campaign Resource Package for chapters to use. This will contain comprehensive guidelines, templates, and resources for organizing successful student government interventions, including:

Detailed guidelines for understanding the variations in student government structures and processes across universities. Include strategies for tailoring campaign approaches accordingly to effectively navigate different political and institutional contexts.
How to choose strategic battles and demands which connect to political issues directly involving the student body, as well as how to use student government as an agitational platform for chapter-wide priority campaigns.
Share strategies for building principled coalitions and alliances with other student organizations, labor unions, and community groups to amplify the impact of student government interventions.
Chapter guidelines on forming disciplined electoral teams such as Socialists in Office Committees which are committed to YDSA's broad-tent platform and membership participation.
Instructions on how chapters can organize a student government platform convention, ensuring a democratic process which builds buy-in from chapter members, creates a coherent program for the chapter’s electoral intervention, and applies the political issues outlined above and the content of YDSA’s national political platform to the chapter’s conditions.

RESOLVED, the Electoral Committee shall collaborate with the YDSA Communications Committee to nationally promote the electoral campaigns of chapters, with the goal of bringing attention to these local efforts as well as building YDSA’s reputation as a strong electoral presence on university campuses.

RESOLVED, the Electoral Committee shall collaborate with the Campaign Organizing Committee whenever possible to promote student government as a strategic platform for other campaigns or key national issues which YDSA is organizing around.

RESOLVED, the Electoral Committee shall run a workshop at the next YDSA Winter Conference on how to run class-struggle student government campaigns. It will also present a report at the next YDSA Summer Convention on how many chapters are running or have run student government campaigns, and on the progress it has made in building YDSA as an effective electoral force.

Amendment R2 - 1

Sponsor: Winnie Marion, New York University

Co-Sponsors: Noah Thompson, University of Oregon

Callynn Johnson, University of Central Florida

Steven Raney, Furman University

Carlos Callejo, Cal Poly Pomona

Erin Lawson, New York University

The amendment proposes the following changes, with deletions represented by strikethroughs and new language represented in red:

Reasoning of Resolution:

THEREFORE LET IT BE RESOLVED, the 2024 YDSA Convention shall charter the Electoral Committee. It shall be responsible for developing and distributing resources, training members, and providing hands-on strategic guidance with the goal of running class struggle student government campaigns across the country, where strategic. Strategic sites for struggle include student governments where they hold strategic leverage over the university in the form of funding, structure, or public awareness with regard to the body’s decision-making. The campaigns we run should be focused on building power through exciting the masses of students into action, rather than pressuring the admin through individuals in student government. That includes materials that openly contest the admin and/or present a positive vision for student action on campus. Campuses where there is little ability to agitate students or create public displays of class struggle should consider focusing their energy on other terrains of struggle. YDSA chapters in college towns with winnable districts for local office might consider running a city council campaign when student government is not a feasible site for class struggle. Alternatively, strong chapters with the ability to build long-term organization could consider building a student union.

RESOLVED, the Electoral Committee shall actively support and empower YDSA chapters to advocate for the following political issues and socialist governance initiatives within their universities:

Encourage YDSA chapters to advocate for university governance structures that promote equal representation and decision-making by students, faculty, and staff, including:

Increasing student representation on university boards and committees. (We can build power around this position, not through proximity to power, but rather inciting action among students by publicizing committee proceedings, agitating students around negative decisions, and opening up committee meetings so that more students can pressure admin, etc.)
Implementing initiatives to enhance transparency, accountability, and participatory decision-making within university governance.

Fight the privatization of universities by supporting the construction and maintenance of student housing, pushing for student management wherever possible, and promoting sustainable food systems that are subsidized and accessible to all students.
Advocate for debt relief programs to address financial burdens that impede equitable access to education for poor and working class students.
Support faculty, graduate and undergraduate labor unions on campus and advocate for unionization efforts in universities.
Standing for the rights of students and faculty by defending academic freedom, especially in the face of growing political repression on university campuses.
Intervening in critical issues such as the Palestine solidarity movement and the struggle for trans and abortion rights against right wing attacks.

RESOLVED, the Electoral Committee, after an initial period of targeted mass outreach and hands-on collaboration with chapters, shall develop and distribute a broader Student Government Campaign Resource Package for chapters to use. This will contain comprehensive guidelines, templates, and resources for organizing successful student government interventions, including:

YDSA will hold a national training and strategy discussion around student government elections to help chapters understand:

Detailed guidelines for understanding the variations in student government structures and processes across universities. Include strategies for tailoring campaign approaches accordingly to effectively navigate different political and institutional contexts.
How to choose strategic battles and demands which connect to political issues directly involving the student body, as well as how to use student government as an agitational platform for chapter-wide priority campaigns.
Share strategies for building principled coalitions and alliances with other student organizations, labor unions, and community groups to amplify the impact of student government interventions.
Chapter guidelines on forming disciplined electoral teams such as Socialists in Office Committees which are committed to YDSA's broad-tent platform and membership participation.
Instructions on how chapters can organize a student government platform convention, ensuring a democratic process which builds buy-in from chapter members, creates a coherent program for the chapter’s electoral intervention, and applies the political issues outlined above and the content of YDSA’s national political platform to the chapter’s conditions.
Where it is strategic to build towards other forms of democratic student power outside of student government

Amendment R2 - 2

Sponsor: Winnie Marion, New York University

Co-Sponsors: Noah Thompson, University of Oregon

Callynn Johnson, University of Central Florida

Steven Raney, Furman University

Carlos Callejo, Cal Poly Pomona

Erin Lawson, New York University

The amendment proposes the following changes, with deletions represented by strikethroughs and new language represented in red:

Reasoning of Resolution:

WHEREAS, the 2023 YDSA Convention established an electoral program to build independence through public external communications and class struggle campaigns. In doing so, the YDSA Convention set the intention to establish an Electoral Committee (EC) to carry out some of these tasks. The EC was never established, given the NCC prioritized other convention-approved projects.

WHEREAS, YDSA has the opportunity to engage both on and off-campuses with independent electoral politics through local class-struggle campaigns and messaging for the 2024 Presidential elections. As students, we should be presenting an alternative vision to the two capitalist parties. Any electoral committee should support YDSA chapters across the spectrum of electoral work, including in the student government terrain.

RESOLVED, the Electoral Committee shall actively support and empower YDSA chapters to advocate for the following political issues and socialist governance initiatives within their universities:

Encourage YDSA chapters to advocate for university governance structures that promote equal representation and decision-making by students, faculty, and staff, including:

Increasing student representation on university boards and committees.
Implementing initiatives to enhance transparency, accountability, and participatory decision-making within university governance.

Fight the privatization of universities by supporting the construction and maintenance of student housing, pushing for student management wherever possible, and promoting sustainable food systems that are subsidized and accessible to all students.
Advocate for debt relief programs to address financial burdens that impede equitable access to education for poor and working class students.
Support faculty, graduate and undergraduate labor unions on campus and advocate for unionization efforts in universities.
Standing for the rights of students and faculty by defending academic freedom, especially in the face of growing political repression on university campuses.
Intervening in critical issues such as the Palestine solidarity movement and the struggle for trans and abortion rights against right wing attacks.

Detailed guidelines for understanding the variations in student government structures and processes across universities. Include strategies for tailoring campaign approaches accordingly to effectively navigate different political and institutional contexts.
How to choose strategic battles and demands which connect to political issues directly involving the student body, as well as how to use student government as an agitational platform for chapter-wide priority campaigns.
Share strategies for building principled coalitions and alliances with other student organizations, labor unions, and community groups to amplify the impact of student government interventions.
Chapter guidelines on forming disciplined electoral teams such as Socialists in Office Committees which are committed to YDSA's broad-tent platform and membership participation.
Instructions on how chapters can organize a student government platform convention, ensuring a democratic process which builds buy-in from chapter members, creates a coherent program for the chapter’s electoral intervention, and applies the political issues outlined above and the content of YDSA’s national political platform to the chapter’s conditions.

RESOLVED: YDSA’s Electoral Committee will also work on strategic projects connecting student organizing to the 2024 elections. The YDSA EC, Comms, and/or YGDC shall curate Fall Drive materials geared specifically around the 2024 election, criticizing the Democrat and Republican parties’ capitalist leaderships and candidates, the inability of Democratic Party centrism in defeating the far-right, and Joe Biden’s genocide in Gaza. The materials will present YDSA as an alternative, as the youth wing of a future independent socialist party dedicated to Palestinian liberation and rooted in a mass working-class movement. This includes, but is not limited to:

Canvassing and tabling materials, such as flyers, leaflets, stickers, and voter registration materials
A social media kit
Marketing dues as a means to both display discontent with the status quo and build a future worker-led independent socialist party, so students would no longer be in the position to have to vote between “lesser-of-two-evils.”

RESOLVED: The NCC will appoint a committee of experienced DSA and YDSA electoral activists tasked with developing a handbook for all YDSA chapters interested in engaging in electoral work either by choosing to run one of their own members or endorsing an existing campaign. The members of this committee must provide their contact information should the chapters have any questions or require additional support.

RESOLVED: This handbook will include but not be limited to the following: developing a candidate endorsement process, the types of candidates YDSA chapters should endorse, the basics of canvassing, data collection and analysis, fundraising, GOTV strategies, digital campaigning, and leadership development. The handbook will also discuss the importance of running class-struggle elections and how electoral campaigns can be used to build an alternative to the Democratic Party.

YDSA chapters should engage with electoral campaigns in the following capacity should they see fit:

In the run-up to the 2024 Presidential Election, registering students to vote while emphasizing that the “Undecided” movement in the wake of Joe Biden’s genocide in Gaza is a valid strategic way to cast their ballot. YDSA organizers will articulate that YDSA is the anti-war alternative in this year’s election.
Create chapter involvement in local DSA campaigns to develop their current members. In their involvement with these campaigns, YDSA organizers will use their capacity in the electoral campaigns to push the campaign towards using a class-struggle narrative that advances our movement toward party building.
When there are specifically strategic conditions, YDSA chapters should consider building their own electoral campaigns. However, chapters should prioritize other campus and labor struggles where those are more effective for recruiting and developing their base.

RESOLVED: throughout all forms of electoral organizing, YDSA will advance our political goals outlined by 2022 and 2023 Summer Conventions. YDSA will include class-struggle narratives throughout the campaign and prioritize an outsider approach to organizing against existing capitalist forces and parties.

The YDSA NPEC is tasked with creating political education modules for YDSA chapters on the topics of electoral work and party building with the general political orientation of class-struggle elections, building an independent working-class party, and orienting toward a dirty break.

RESOLVED, YDSA will request to have or maintain a representative to the DSA For Our Rights Committee (FORC) and the DNCC committee.

R3. For Rechartering the Youth Labor Committee, Student Worker Unions, and the Rank-and-File Strategy

Sponsor: Uma Clemenceau, University of California Santa Barbara

Co-Sponsors: Noah Thompson, University of Oregon

Allan Frasheri, University of Florida

Daniil Sapunkov, Hunter College

Carlos Callejo III, Cal Poly Pomona

David Lefevre, University of Oregon

Carolyn Roderique, University of Oregon

Carlo McCallick, University of California Merced

Lex Schultz, Yale University

Bryce Springfield, Princeton University

Reasoning of Resolution:

Whereas, the working-class is the only force in society with both the interest and power to rupture with capitalism and build socialism. To realize this historical mission, the working-class must be organized and guided by a socialist vision for the transformation of society. However, the working-class today is largely disorganized, and decades of McCarthyite repression have separated the left from the worker’s movement. As socialists, our tasks are to help build a militant and independent worker’s movement, and to merge this worker’s movement with the socialist movement.

Whereas, the modern labor movement is still, as a whole, fragmented and weak. Union density and strike actions have steadily decreased for the past several decades. Instead of resisting this decline, the labor bureaucracy is overseeing it—pursuing class collaboration over struggle, negotiating concessions, and restraining working-class self-activity. Additionally, instead of resisting the neo-liberal politics of both parties, the labor bureaucracy has tailed the capitalist establishment of the Democratic party.

Whereas, in the last decade, particularly in the past few years, we have seen glimpses of a resurgent labor movement. Grassroots unionization efforts at Starbucks, Amazon, and beyond have spurred new and new forms of organizing. Reform caucuses like Teamsters for a Democratic Union and Unite All Workers for Democracy have pushed their unions left, executed or threatened large-scale strikes, and won significant contracts and material gains. On campuses, a number of undergraduate student worker unions and organizing drives have been— and continue to be— organized, many of which have been founded, led, and/or supported by YDSA chapters and members.

In the current moment, the United Auto Workers, under the leadership of newly-elected president and labor-militant Shawn Fain, is simultaneously running new organizing drives in the South, striking the University of California system in support of Palestine and free speech, and laying the foundation for a general strike in May 2028.

Whereas, a militant fighting labor movement must be rebuilt from the bottom-up. Owing to their structural position, occupying a space between the working and capitalist classes, the labor bureaucracy plays a role as mediators of class-struggle, restraining militancy and protecting the “labor peace.” Additionally, progressive unions staffers are constrained in their ability to reform their unions. Change must come from below– from the rank-and-file. Only through the self-activity of rank-and-file workers on the shop-floor can the labor movement be re-oriented towards class struggle.

Whereas, YDSA adopted the “Rank-and-File Strategy” (or ‘RFS’) as our guiding orientation towards labor organizing at our 2022 and 2023 conventions. RFS is a long-term strategy to rebuild a militant labor movement from the bottom-up and re-link that movement with the socialist movement through socialists organizing on the shop-floor as rank-and-file leaders. Rank-and-file socialist workers can build shop-floor power, reform their unions, spread socialist consciousness amongst their co-workers, and strengthen ties between their unions and mass movements as well as with DSA.

Whereas, YDSA can serve a vital role in furthering the rank-and-file strategy by encouraging young socialists to enter the labor movement as rank-and-file organizers, and by giving them crucial organizing experience and training during their undergraduate education. YDSA members are uniquely positioned to consider re-orienting their career paths and committing to being lifelong socialist organizers by ‘industrializing’— by taking shop-floor level jobs in strategic industries (such as healthcare, k-12 education, and logistics). This past year, YDSA’s Youth Labor Committee (YLC) has started laying the foundations for a “rank-and-file pipeline” between YDSA and the labor movement by developing pro-RFS materials and trainings for chapters and collaborating with DSA’s Workers Organizing Workers (WOW) committee and the Rank-and-File Project (RFP).

And

Whereas, organizing a student worker union is not only a feasible task for many YDSA chapters, but is among the most significant and important tasks a chapter can take on. Student worker unions create otherwise non-existent sites of working class power and activity for working students, spurring students (worker and non-worker alike) to become more class-conscious and pro-labor. Unionization campaigns themselves lead to accelerated political development and organizing experience for participants, which can build YDSA chapters and the campus left. Additionally, student worker unions form power bases that, through the threat of withholding labor, can enhance and empower other left-student demands, fight privatization and austerity, and transform higher education for the better.

Beyond the campus, student worker unions can influence and strengthen the broader labor movement; Experience in a union before graduating encourages young workers to stay involved in the labor movement post-graduation— promoting industrializing, participating in union reform movements, and/or organizing new unions. In tandem, student worker unions can affiliate with larger unions and actively participate in them, pushing them left and providing them with young and experienced organizers.

Action of Resolution:

Be it therefore resolved, that YDSA affirms labor work as a core task of our organization, and will continue the work of our National Labor Committee (the YDSA NLC, “Youth Labor Committee”, or YLC) in 2024-2025. The YLC shall be staffed with no fewer than three co-chairs, appointed by YDSA’s National Coordinating Committee, and shall receive consistent support from no fewer than two members of the NCC.

Be it further resolved, the NCC and YLC will encourage well-positioned YDSA chapters to run labor campaigns, especially student worker unionization campaigns, and to build relationships with the local labor movement and lend strategic support to local union campaigns as need arises. Large and public universities shall be given additional attention and encouragement.

The YLC will provide structured and ongoing training, mentorship, and support for these campaigns, and will be tasked with developing and cohering a base of YDSA members with labor experience to serve as labor organizing mentors. Building and maintaining a structured, one-on-0ne mentorship program shall be considered a core function of the committee. Furthermore, the YLC should continue to map labor work in YDSA and in the broader undergraduate student labor movement.

Be it further resolved, YDSA reaffirms our commitment to the Rank-and-File Strategy, and will continue to build out a rank-and-file pipeline between YDSA and the labor movement. The YLC will develop and distribute political education materials promoting RFS, will conduct outreach to identify members interested in industrializing or salting, and will map the state of the Rank-and-File pipeline. Furthermore, the YLC will work towards identifying and building support networks— particularly industry cohorts— for industrializing members, with the aim of providing long-term support, mentorship, and space for strategic discussion.

In this work, the YLC shall collaborate with DSA’s National Labor Committee (NLC), including its Workers Organizing Workers (WOW) program, and the Rank-and-File Project (RFP).

Be it further resolved, that YDSA and the YLC should engage positively and proactively with non-socialist organizations rooted in the undergraduate labor movement, namely the Student Worker Alliance Network (SWAN) and the United Auto Workers’ Youth Labor Organizing Corps (YLOC).

And be it resolved, that YDSA and the YLC shall, in mentorship, trainings, and wherever possible, aim to push against business and liberal unionist orientations, and encourage members to build democratic, militant, rank-and-file, class-struggle oriented unions. YDSA is encouraged to develop political-education materials to this aim, and to deepen understanding of labor politics and strategy in YDSA and its membership.

R4. Towards a Workers Party

Sponsor: Ryan Jones, New York University

Co-Sponsors: Brady Amelechkin, New York University

Kavi Singh, New York University

Sebastian Cardena, New York University

Qingyu Zhang, University of Florida

Ro Alcazar, James Madison University

Parker Ruan, Boston University

Jessica Fisher, University of Oregon

William Tang, Columbia University

Leo Ambrogelly, New York University

Reasoning of Resolution:

Whereas, socialist and labor parties around the world have built deep connections to the labor movement and created strong institutional ties to labor unions. In many such parties, unions are directly affiliated with parties and are thus entitled to send representatives to the decision making bodies of the parties. These powerful institutional ties keep socialist and labor parties accountable directly to the working class while uniting unions behind class struggle and a coherent policy program. In many such countries, socialist and labor parties and unions organized together, being connected from their inception. In the US, this did not occur. Without ties to a working class party, unions in the country have been vulnerable to attacks by employers, leaving the US with one of the lowest rates of unionization among industrialized countries. Rebuilding the labor movement in the US means moving beyond narrow trade unionism and towards industrial, class-class struggle unionism linked to socialist political organizations.

Whereas, many chapters’ connections to labor on campus are based on personal connections which depend on individuals who will eventually leave the academic institution, as well as campus-specific coalitions. Chapters could benefit greatly from lasting institutional connections, recognized and fostered by national YDSA.

Whereas, the previous national convention affirmed its support for the Rank and File Strategy, prioritizing the goals of

“Rebuilding the labor movement through shop-floor organization, advancing democracy and a class-struggle orientation in our unions, and challenging conservative union bureaucracies, and”

“Merging socialism with this rank-and-file movement.”

Through this strategy, YDSA has led efforts to organize student workers around the country, building student worker power and influence on campuses, reducing job insecurity and increasing pay at a time when college is notoriously unaffordable.

Whereas, democratic socialism is built upon working class power, and the multiracial working class is the only agent that has the ability to create democratic socialism, direct accountability to and representation for unions will make YDSA’s connection to the working class stronger.

Action of Resolution:

Therefore, be it resolved, YDSA intends to create a structure for direct, chapter-to-local institutional ties between YDSA and unions representing student workers.

Therefore, be it resolved, the National Coordinating Committee will be tasked with holding at least one public forum on creating institutional ties between YDSA and student worker unions per year, in addition to facilitating discussion on this question at the YDSA Winter Conference.

Therefore, be it resolved, if constitutional amendment __ (the sister amendment proposed by myself) passes, the National Coordinating Committee will create guidelines and provide direct support to chapters with student worker unions on their campus to encourage chapter-to-local affiliation.

Therefore, be it resolved, if constitutional amendment __ (the sister amendment proposed by myself) passes, the National Coordinating Committee will, for one year, study the implementation of the chapter-to-local affiliation process. The National Coordinating Committee will draft a report detailing the successes and failures of the chapter-to-local affiliation process. Based on its findings, the National Coordinating Committee will draft a plan of action for making the process of chapter-to-local affiliation more effective. The National Coordinating Committee will also draft a plan for making national-to-national ties/affiliation possible between entire unions and YDSA, not only locals.

Therefore, be it resolved, if constitutional amendment, A2. Towards a Workers Party, does not pass, the National Coordinating Committee will draft a plan of action for creating a process of chapter-to-local affiliation between student worker unions and YDSA chapters. The National Coordinating Committee will meet with student workers and chapter leaders on campuses with student worker unions, studying how unions and chapters cooperate and seeking consensus on how to best create a chapter-to-local union affiliation process.

Amendment R4 - 1

Sponsor: Gant Roberson, The New School

Co-Sponsors: Steven Raney, Furman University

Felipe Barroso Ramos, Florida International University

Hailey Sowa, Wayne State University

Michael Ross, Furman University

Bryce Springfield, Princeton University

The amendment proposes the following changes, with deletions represented by strikethroughs and new language represented in red:

Reasoning of Resolution:

Whereas, socialist and labor parties around the world and throughout history have built deep connections to strong footholds in the labor movement and created strong institutional ties to a distinct socialist presence in labor unions. In many such parties, unions are directly affiliated with parties and are thus entitled to send representatives to the decision making bodies of the parties. These powerful institutional ties interventions give keep socialist and labor parties the ability accountable directly to unite the working class in their struggles against the capitalist class while uniting unions behind a socialist class struggle and a coherent policy program. In many such countries, socialist and labor parties and unions organized together, being connected from their inception. In the US, this did not occur. Without ties to a working class party, unions in the country have been vulnerable to attacks by employers, leaving the US with one of the lowest rates of unionization among industrialized countries. Instead, at the historical peak of the US socialist movement, the Socialist Party had to develop strategies to organize within a labor movement that was roughly half as large as it is today, but still much larger than the socialist movement. The “boring-from-within” strategy, which entailed intervening in labor unions on an openly socialist basis to build a working-class majority for the Socialist Party’s programmatic demands, was highly successful, enabling socialists to credibly challenge the labor bureaucracy for control of the American Federation of Labor, and even win socialist majorities in unions like the United Mine Workers. However, with the collapse of the Socialist Party and later the purge of Communists from the Congress of Industrial Organizations, for decades the US labor movement has lacked a distinctly socialist presence, and as a result has largely aligned itself with capitalist political parties and US imperialism. Rebuilding the militant labor movement in the US means moving beyond narrow trade unionism and towards industrial, class-class struggle unionism linked to socialist political organizations.

Whereas, the previous national convention affirmed its support for the Rank and File Strategy, prioritizing the goals of “Rebuilding the labor movement through shop-floor organization, advancing democracy and a class-struggle orientation in our unions, and challenging conservative union bureaucracies, and ”Merging socialism with this rank-and-file movement.”

Whereas, democratic socialism is built upon working class power, and the multiracial working class is the only agent that has the ability to create democratic socialism, a direct accountability to and representation for unions will make YDSA’s connection to the working class stronger. intervention in the labor movement to build a multiracial working-class majority for a democratic socialist program is essential to the struggle for a new society beyond capitalism.

Action of Resolution:

Therefore, be it resolved, YDSA intends to create a structure for direct, chapter-to-local institutional ties between YDSA and socialist interventions in unions representing student workers YDSA members.

Therefore, be it resolved, the National Coordinating Committee will be tasked with holding at least one public forum on creating institutional ties between YDSA and student worker socialist rank-and-file caucuses in labor unions per year, in addition to facilitating discussion on this question at the YDSA Winter Conference.

Therefore, be it resolved, if constitutional amendment __ (the sister amendment proposed by myself) R3. For Rechartering the Youth Labor Committee, Student Worker Unions, and the Rank-and-File Strategy passes, the National Coordinating Youth Labor Committee will create guidelines and provide direct support to chapters with student worker established cohorts of YDSA members involved in unions on their campus to encourage chapter-to-local affiliation the formation of openly socialist rank-and-file caucuses.

Therefore, be it resolved, if constitutional amendment __ (the sister amendment proposed by myself) R8. Recommitting to Socialist Political Education passes, the National Coordinating Youth Political Education Committee will, for one year semester, study the historical implementation of the chapter-to-local affiliation process “boring-from-within” strategy. The National Coordinating Youth Political Education Committee will collaborate with the Youth Labor Committee to draft a report detailing the successes and failures of the chapter-to-local affiliation process. Based on its findings, the National Coordinating Committee will draft a plan of action for making the process of chapter-to-local affiliation more effective. The National Coordinating Committee will also draft a plan for making national-to-national ties/affiliation possible between entire unions and YDSA, not only locals. educational resources on the process of forming an explicitly socialist caucus within a labor union, including:

A module for the Socialism 101 curriculum;
A national training call;
A module for the 2025 Red Hot Labor Summer curriculum.

Therefore, be it resolved, all efforts by the NCC, YLC, and YPEC regarding the formation of socialist caucuses in labor unions will prioritize chapters where an established cohort of YDSA members already exists within a local labor union, and where there is a clear degree of difference between the organizing practices, objectives, and political alignments of the local’s leadership and the principles espoused in YDSA’s political platform and convention mandates, for example, union locals which prioritize collaboration with employers over militant class solidarity, union locals which protect their sectional interests at the expense of other sections of the working class, union locals which represent police or correctional officers, and union locals which are deeply embedded in the machinery of capitalist political parties.

Therefore be it resolved, The Activist’s editorial board will be tasked with soliciting and facilitating interviews and debates on labor union affiliation to socialist and labor parties, as well as on the strategy for building these affiliations within YDSA. YDSA’s strategy for building a distinctly socialist presence within labor unions and building a socialist majority within the labor movement generally.

R5. Towards a National Student Strike for Palestine

Sponsor: Uma Clemenceau, University of California Santa Barbara

Co-Sponsors: Daniil Sapunkov, Hunter College

Carlos Callejo III, Cal Poly Pomona

Margot Grotland, Columbia University

Allan Frasheri, University of Florida

Johanna Von Maack, Hunter College

David LeFevre, University of Oregon

Tyler Brechner, Binghamton University

Charlie Muller, Brooklyn College

Brandon Wu, New York University

Reasoning of Resolution:

Whereas…Palestine and the current political moment around it is the most important movement in our lifetimes. As tens of thousands of Palestinians are getting murdered by the IOF, students across the country are organizing for their schools to divest from Israel in the largest anti-war movement since 2003.

While the energy around this moment is exciting, we must look forward and harness it strategically. We cannot let this moment be self-contained or fade away. In the aftermath of the Gaza Solidarity Encampments in Spring 2024, campuses were left without much political direction, often being called out to rallies, pickets, or other actions with no long term strategy for escalation and no clear political analysis.

The Gaza Solidarity Encampments of Spring 2024 were an unprecedented moment of a surge in student organizing. However, many were not successful in achieving their demands. In the places where a strong democratic culture did not exist, it was easier for campus administrations to sweep encampments and win negotiations.

However, in the cases where a democratic organization was leading the encampment—such as San Francisco State University—students were able to win their demands and build a democratic organization that has lasted even after the students won.

Chapters across the country have noted the importance of the support of organized labor—such as UAW 4811—and campus unions in supporting students and maintaining the encampment.

Previous national campaigns proposed at YDSA convention have not supported local chapters adequately, due to a variety of factors such as missing the political pulse on campus, not providing the relevant trainings for local organizing conditions, or not doing adequate outreach to make chapters aware of the materials available to them.

Action of Resolution:

Therefore be it resolved…YDSA chapters are encouraged to organize democratically-run campaigns demanding their school’s divestment from Israel, a ceasefire in Gaza, and free speech on campus. Chapters’ campaigns should be designed towards a National Student Strike.

A Palestine Committee (PC) will be created to help local chapters organize their campaigns and coordinate the student strike. The responsibilities of the PC will be to run Organizing Trainings to imbue students with the organizing skills they need, create political-education materials for chapters running Palestine campaigns, and maintain a space in YDSA for open political discussion and debate around Palestine and YDSA’s orientation towards the issue.

The Organizing Trainings will define the nature of a student strike, explain why a student strike is strategic in terms of YDSA winning our demands, and help plan an escalatory campaign timeline for chapters. The Organizing Trainings will also emphasize the need for building mass democratic organizations on their campuses to fight for these demands. In addition, these trainings will teach the importance of coalition-building and building relations with campus labor unions, which is an imperative relationship to have in order to carry out a successful student strike. As YDSA, we should be fighting for militant structuralism: we fight for democratic decision-making in our coalitions, and YDSA chapters should be ready to propose democratic structures for the coalitions we enter into. This is to preserve the longevity of the movement, which will only help us in winning our demands and creating mass democratic organizations on our campuses that will last even after the campaign ends.

National YDSA will create spaces for coordinated organizing for YDSA chapters in public university systems. To further these cross-campus, system-wide relationships, National YDSA will host system/state-wide calls to foster relationships, coordinate actions, information-share, and campaign-build.

National YDSA will create and print materials to send to chapters that explain YDSA’s perspective on Palestine and YDSA’s theory of change.

The Communications Committee will be creating and posting materials that explain YDSA’s perspective and theory of change to the thousands of new student organizers that followed YDSA’s social media accounts during the Gaza Solidarity Encampments in Spring 2024.

YDSA acknowledges that organizing for Palestinian liberation is often done in coalition with other organizations. Thus, we as YDSA can and should work in conjunction with other organizations as we simultaneously organize around the resolved clauses. We must work in the movement while pushing our political vision for Palestine, against student repression, and towards liberation for all.

R6. Recommitting to the Activist

Sponsor: Rafi Ash, Brown University

Co-Sponsors: Amina Mednicoff-Misra, Wesleyan University

Allen Dominguez, Texas State University

Nelson Calles, University of Florida

Georgina Iljazoski, Hunter College

Vivian Dai, Boston University

Winnie Marion, New York University

Daniil Sapunkov, Hunter College

Halsey Hazzard, University of Wisconsin Madison

Carlos Callejo, Cal Poly Pomona

Reasoning of Resolution:

Whereas, The Activist is YDSA’s national publication and a crucial element in the development of YDSA and its members, and

Whereas, in the last several years YDSA’s publication has highlighted chapter campaigns and actions from across the country, and

Whereas, over the last term, The Activist has grown to include a larger editorial board, and

Whereas, The Activist allows members to exchange their views in a comradely fashion, contributing to a democratic culture of political debate, and

Whereas, The Activist is a product of dedicated editors and writers who meet weekly and regularly publish articles, and The Activist should publish the writing of and be read by many more YDSA members.

Action of Resolution:

Resolved, The Activist will be published by the Activist Editorial Board; it will consist of one Executive Editor, one managing editor, 4-6 other editors, and 3-5 dedicated writers; members interested in being editors or writers will be chosen by the YDSA NCC and will be asked to submit an application detailing their writing, editing, publishing experience, along with a writing sample.

Therefore be it further resolved, The Activist will continue to publish a variety of articles, including but not limited to: chapter reports, arguments for and against convention resolutions, campaign spotlights, and strategic analysis. Articles will feature political arguments. The goal of The Activist remains elevating well-reasoned debate and comradely discussion among YDSA members.

Therefore be it further resolved, The Activist will publish at least four articles a month throughout the school year. Staff writers will write at least one article each month.

Therefore be it further resolved, the Activist Editorial Board will publish a winter issue and a summer issue in the next year, both at least 20 pages, to be sent to as many YDSA members as possible. The issues will be distributed digitally and/or in-print depending on the logistics of distribution. The Editorial Board will work with the YDSA NCC and staff to ensure that issues are ready for national events in a timely fashion.

Therefore be it further resolved, The Activist editorial board will work to send chapters print copies of The Activist in biannual editions. These two issues will be sent out in conjunction with national events, such as the Winter Conference and annual Convention. Chapter leadership will be asked to request an amount of copies to distribute to members, and will be asked to provide an address or, preferably, an official chapter P.O. Box. Chapters will be asked to provide reports on the state of their issues for future evaluation and to encourage distribution. New chapters will receive — with their chapter applications' acceptance — a requested amount of editions issued most recently.

Therefore be it resolved, The Activist will host a workshop focused on developing the political writing skills of YDSA members at least once a year. The workshop will be open and advertised to all YDSA members and will feature current and former editors of The Activist and potentially other major socialist publications. The goal of the workshop will be to cultivate new authors and readers for The Activist.

Therefore be it further resolved, The Activist Editorial Board will continue to explore new formats for content, including but not limited to ‘Activist Chats’ video projects, a newsletter, and other audio-video content.

Therefore be it further resolved, The Activist will request to receive a budget for various expenses, such as commissioning art, printing, mailing, video editing, and may include a stipend for the Executive Editor, due to the fact that the position has entailed the work of an internship with a rare skill set. The outgoing editorial board will create a rough budget with variables (print costs, shipping costs) to be further elaborated on by the NCC, to then request from the NPC. In the event of incomplete allocation, costs of producing The Activist shall be prioritized. Before the next year's Convention, a report on the budget's expenditures shall be submitted as part of the delegates' information booklets, to the NCC, and thereby to the NPC for review.

Therefore be it further resolved, all national YDSA committees and working groups will be required to submit at least two articles each year on the work their specific committee has done or a specific local campaign their committee has substantially supported, as well as an explanation of how that work fulfills a resolution passed at the last YDSA convention;

Therefore be it further resolved, that any article submitted to the Activist by a national YDSA committee or working group will be distributed to all YDSA members via social media.

R7. Prioritizing Red/Rural Area Recruitment and Trainings

Sponsor: Bobby Woodruff, Louisiana Tech University

Co-Sponsors: Callynn Johnson, University of Central Florida

Casey Purser, Georgia State University

Amani Millon, Centenary College of Louisiana

James Jeane, Louisiana Tech University

Sami Binning, University of Missouri Columbia

William Pesnell, Louisiana State University Shreveport

Aron Ali-McClory, University of Florida

Isa Gault, Grambling State University

Alice Guo, Middle Tennessee State University

Reasoning of Resolution:

Whereas, the recent labor victories of the UAW in places like Tennessee show that there is a possibility for material change for the working class in places long abandoned by the liberal establishment.

Whereas, if a socialist movement wants to build a strong working-class movement it must achieve material wins for the working class. And as the urban working-class continues to build itself up with mass action and unionizations we as socialists must now also take a direct role in uplifting the struggle of rural/southern communities. As these communities have been historically overlooked by the liberal ruling class, they are in need of material change that only the socialist movement can deliver.

Whereas, these communities, while being home to some of the worst white supremacist enclaves are also made up of a diverse community of marginalized folks. As DSA/YDSA is meant to represent the real diverse working class of the United States, we must strive to recruit from all communities from around the country. If we seek to have diverse leadership we must recruit and uplift members from marginalized communities.

Whereas, rural communities often lack a general political/organizing infrastructure at all it is important for chapters that are close in geographic proximity to rural/southern areas to support chapters within these regions and aid in recruitment efforts if possible.

Action of Resolution:

Therefore be it resolved, that the NCC create a plan to recruit and retain new YDSA chapters within

Republican controlled and rural areas with low DSA/YDSA chapter density. The plan should prioritize the following goals:

Creating chapters within areas of low chapter density like Mississippi or Arkansas
Increasing chapter density within Republican-controlled areas by encouraging chapters within said areas to table and flyer at nearby colleges and assist any OCs that come out of said recruitment through the chapter building and application process
Prioritizing HBCU recruitment with NCC members specifically developing a recruitment plan for HBCUs

Be it resolved, that the NCC during their one on one’s with rural and southern chapters make an active effort to work with chapters to better understand the material conditions of said chapters. The NCC should find ways to create tailored organizing approaches and discussions for these regions on issues that are already a priority to YDSA (labor, reproductive justice, BDS, etc.). The NCC should also find ways of implementing issues important to these regions into the work YDSA does with a particular focus on issues that are the priorities of marginalized communities within these regions.

Be it resolved, that YDSA national committees should be encouraged to build strong connections to southern/rural chapters and create more working relationships with southern organizations whose work aligns with the goals of DSA/YDSA.

R8. Recommitting to Socialist Political Education

Sponsor: Madhulika Singh, University of Cincinnati

Co-Sponsors: Steven Raney, Furman University

Adam Ascione D'Elia, The City College of New York

Lauren Muñoz, New York University

James Jeane, Louisiana Tech University

Alice Guo, Middle Tennessee State University

Callynn Johnson, University of Central Florida

Hailey Sowa, Wayne State University

Sean Bridge, University of Cincinnati

Bobby Woodruff, Louisiana Tech University

Reasoning of Resolution:

Whereas, YDSA aims to challenge the power of the capitalist class, yet the news media, the K-12 and higher education systems, and all other institutional sources of information exist under capitalist hegemony, and without the conscious intervention of socialists, these institutions reproduce capitalist ideas and ways of thinking at all levels of society, and,

Whereas, political education independent of these institutions is essential to our ability as socialists to undermine capitalist hegemony and build revolutionary socialist consciousness in society at large, as well as our ability to strengthen ourselves by collectively internalizing the lessons of our history, and,

Whereas, these tasks are especially important in the present moment of societal upheaval, as the socialist and anti-imperialist left in general and DSA in particular are subjected to red scare propaganda by a ruling class increasingly threatened by our growing strength and militancy, and,

Whereas, the unique demands of political education work and the need for a unified national identity for YDSA across chapters and committees necessitate a dedicated political education body at the national level,

Action of Resolution:

Therefore be it resolved, the Youth Political Education Committee (YPEC) is hereby rechartered until the next annual convention, with a mandate consisting of the following responsibilities:

To plan and host national political education events on subjects mandated by convention or of its own choosing with the assent of the NCC,
To develop resources for chapters’ political development, including but not limited to template political education events, semester-long curricula, and practical organizing guides,
To curate the contents of the YDSA Bookshelf and Socialism 101 syllabus,
To provide training and assistance to chapter leaders involved in political education as requested,
To coordinate with other national YDSA bodies as necessary for the above tasks.

Be it further resolved, the membership of YPEC will include two co-chairs appointed by the NCC, along with a secretary, NCC liaison, and DSA National Political Education Committee (NPEC) liaison elected by the sitting membership of the committee, as well as all members appointed to YPEC.

Be it further resolved, that the committee will, at the start of its term, make a work plan and a timeline of its work for the year that will be updated periodically as needed. This timeline will be formulated with reference to its responsibilities, mandates from convention, any work assigned by the NCC as well as discussions within the committee. As far as possible, the committee's work will aim to cohere with national priorities and the work being done by other committees. The committee will also choose certain pre-existing materials to update that year whenever they are not working on other things.

Be it further resolved, that political education events will be undertaken by the yPEC both individually and in cooperation with other national committees to develop participants’ knowledge of crucial topics and how to present them to their own chapters, so each event is a model for an equivalent political education event at the chapter level, and to develop the participants’ familiarity and comfort with DSA and yDSA national bodies and how to to effectively interface with those structures

Be it further resolved, that yPEC will ensure that there is an updated repository where political education materials are stored so that chapter leaders are able to easily access information, particularly items such as pre-made presentations and templates.

Be it further resolved, that the committee will create a form or other mechanism that would allow

chapters to directly contact it and request materials and/or trainings.

Be it finally resolved, that the yPEC will recruit members to the committee via the national application launched post convention and 1-on-1 follow-up with attendees of events, recommended members, and chapter leaders facilitating yPEC events

R9. Cohering a National YDSA

Sponsor: Aron Ali-McClory, University of Florida

Co-Sponsors: Amilia Valentine, Northern Kentucky University

Gabriel McAdams, University of California Berkeley

Madhulika Singh, University of Cincinnati

Sean Bridge, University of Cincinnati

Bobby Woodruff, Louisiana Tech University

Atakan Deviren, Cornell University

Callynn Johnson, University of Central Florida

Bryce Askew, Arizona State University

Hailey Sowa, Wayne State University

Reasoning of Resolution:

WHEREAS, what is considered national YDSA is currently structured as a collection of disparate bodies which are connected by the National Coordinating Committee and its members,

AND WHEREAS, the results of each successive YDSA convention have overtasked the NCC, especially relating to the establishment and coordination of too many committees and separate projects,

AND WHEREAS, in the past NCC term, this overtasking has led to critical administrative mandates falling through the cracks, such as the establishment of the newly reformed Grievance Advisory Committee,

AND WHEREAS, there are many crucial administrative tasks which fall within the workload of the NCC, including committee coordination, cohering communications strategy, building digital data infrastructure, and other such tasks,

AND WHEREAS, there is a need for a national organization which not only has the political mandate to respond with agility to the current moment, but also the administrative capacity to cohere our various chapters around that response,

AND WHEREAS, such a national organization does not exist cohered in a present state, given deficits in the communication between the NCC, committee co-chairs, committee members, and chapters,

Action of Resolution:

THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED, the NCC will create a three-tiered model of organizing in the national organization, with NCC members organizing committee co-chairs, and committee co-chairs organizing committee members,

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, this ‘organizing’ will consist of consistent one-on-ones with hard asks, follow ups, and debriefs, notes on which the NCC shall keep in good format, accessible to other members of the NCC, and which committee co-chairs shall keep in good format, accessible to members of the NCC,

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, committee co-chairs will attend NCC meetings on a frequent basis, with the NCC reserving the ability to make attendance mandatory as either feasible or necessary,

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, the NCC shall use the presence of committee co-chairs at NCC meetings to efficiently distribute tasks which will help uphold political decisions made by the NCC or the YDSA convention,

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, the NCC shall provide for monthly meetings between all of its members and all committee co-chairs, with the express purpose to provide direction on the character of national projects, as well as for committee co-chairs to engage in substantive political discussion with the NCC on the administrative direction of the national organization,

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, to ensure the regularity of these meetings, the NCC shall establish a regular monthly meeting time within two (2) weeks of appointing committee leadership, and will not deviate from this schedule unless there is cause for lack of facilitation, a holiday, or other important circumstance,

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, the NCC shall create a tiered priority system for which it will coordinate committees, placing an emphasis on ‘function-based’ committees, such as the 2023-24 term’s Youth Growth and Development Committee, while aiming to deprioritize the creation of national bodies on issues, with the express goal of housing different buckets of work in function-based committees, encouraging greater connectivity between national bodies,

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that where the NCC does choose to create issue based committees and national bodies based on either the mandate of convention, due to continuity, or where need arises, such as the 2023-24 term’s Youth Labor Committee, it will seek to develop forms of integration with a DSA counterpart, to reduce the capacity burden on the NCC, while allowing for skills and experience sharing between the DSA and YDSA,

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, the NCC shall explore the facilitation of socialist culture in national and chapter level organizing spaces, including but not limited to:

Hosting national socials and casual non-organizing gatherings
Creating, either directly or through delegation to a subsidiary body, resources on building socialist culture to be distributed to chapters, as well as an associated training to be held at the next immediate YDSA Conference

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, the creation of socialist culture will entail the development of a national culture which centers member-led democratic structures, engaging in social activities outside of chapter and/or national work, casual engagement in political education, and the elimination and discouragement of antisocial behavior in chapters and national spaces.

BE IT FINALLY RESOLVED, this resolution shall be an expression of sentiment by the convention to see a more coherent and organized national YDSA which reflects a well-oiled administrative body capable of executing the work required to meet the political moment we live in, as opposed to the present alternative of a largely decentralized and immobile collection of disparate bodies.

R10. Fighting for Victory in the Heart of Empire

Sponsor: Gabriel McAdams, University of California Berkeley

Co-Sponsors: Aron Ali-McClory, University of Florida

Hailey Sowa, Wayne State University

Amilia Valentine, Northern Kentucky University

Arjun Janakan, Purdue University

Valentina Kleckner, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign

Qingyu Zhang, University of Florida

Vivian Dai, Boston University

Abhiram Prathipati, Virginia Commonwealth University

Callynn Johnson, University of Central Florida

This resolution has been updated to incorporate a friendly secondary submission from:

Sponsor: Steven Raney, Furman University

Co-Sponsors: Felipe Barroso Ramos, Florida International University

Hailey Sowa, Wayne State University

Abhiram Prathipati, Virginia Commonwealth University

Michael Ross, Furman University

Bryce Springfield, Princeton University

Reasoning of Resolution:

WHEREAS, the United States of America is the world’s most powerful empire, maintaining hundreds of imperial military installations across the world to enforce its hegemony,

AND WHEREAS, the U.S. Empire is fundamentally a settler colonial state which committed unspeakable acts of genocide and ethnic cleansing against indigenous tribes and cultures, continuing the violent legacies of the British, French, Spanish, and Russian empires whose colonies the U.S. inherited, fought for, or bought,

AND WHEREAS, U.S. imperial foreign policy has directly sought to attack communists, socialists, and other agitators against its hegemony, especially through covert operations like Operation Condor in Latin America, and overt legislation like sanctions on Venezuela and the inhumane embargo on Cuba,

AND WHEREAS, the U.S. Empire has waged and continues to wage direct or proxy wars-for-profit across the world, including in Korea, Vietnam, Cambodia, Iraq, Afghanistan, Ukraine, and most recently, Palestine,

AND WHEREAS, a core component of the Empire’s attempted new Red Scare is fear-mongering around foreign nationals at U.S. universities from ‘adversary countries’ like Iran, Cuba, Syria, North Korea, and China,

AND WHEREAS, YDSA has the unique position as the largest youth socialist organization in the heart of this empire to dismantle imperial apparatuses and win victory not just at home, but for those struggling against empire everywhere,

AND WHEREAS, YDSA has a responsibility to not only engage in anti-imperialist work at home, but to connect with parties, unions, and movements abroad,

AND WHEREAS, the special relationship between YDSA and the DSA International Committee to conduct youth internationalist work was affirmed with strong majorities at the 2021, 2022 and 2023 national conventions,

AND WHEREAS, YDSA has a responsibility to include as many chapters and members in anti-imperialist work as possible,

Action of Resolution:

THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED, YDSA recharters the International Committee Youth Leadership Committee (IC-YLC) and proposes the following restructuring for the DSA International Committee Steering Committee to execute:

Rename the IC-YLC to the Youth International Committee (YIC)
the membership of the YIC shall be open to all eligible members of YDSA, subject to approval of by the Youth International Committee Co-chairs, the IC Steering Committee liaison(s), and the NCC Liaison(s),
The YIC shall be led by two co-chairs, recommended for appointment by the YDSA National Coordinating Committee, approved by the IC Steering Committee and the NPC,

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, the mission of the YIC shall be to (1) develop long lasting relationships between YDSA and youth sections of foreign unions, socialist and communist parties, as well as other youth-led left-wing formations as deemed appropriate and necessary (2) lead work in YDSA relating to anti-imperialist, internationalist, and decolonial struggle (3) coordinate with function-based committees to build strong and consistent anti-imperialist messaging and campaigns

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, the YIC will hold internal elections within the subcommittee to choose members to act as liaisons to the other IC subcommittees, Americas, Climate and Economy, Middle East and Africa, Palestine, Asia and Oceania, Europe and Anti-War to ensure that YDSA is aware and integrated into projects across the entirety of the IC.

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, the YDSA Platform be amended to add a section detailing the critical role that young socialists play in the fight for anti-imperialism, reading:

Fighting for Victory in the Heart of Empire

We understand that the struggles against imperialism, colonialism, militarism, and capitalism are deeply intertwined, perpetrated by the military-industrial complex and the broader U.S. Empire–and as young people and students, we understand that this is especially true on our campuses and in our communities. In order to build a socialist future, it is critical that we fight at home to dismantle structures of U.S. imperialism while developing relationships with parties and movements doing the same abroad.

As anti-imperialist youth, we seek to build a popular consciousness against the U.S. empire long, continuing history of violence against the global working class. Our task on campuses and in our communities relating to anti-imperialism is material in nature, seeking to win divestment from the U.S. war machine, impede the recruitment of our peers into the military and associated industries, disrupt the manufacturing of consent for imperialism by building public opposition to our country’s foreign policy objectives, end McCarthyist doctrines regulating foreign academics and researchers, and contribute to organizing a mass movement to dismantle the antidemocratic military-police state our ruling class uses as a vehicle for the exploitation and oppression of the entire world.

We fight for victory over U.S. Empire, including but not limited to: the abolition of the professional military and the full withdrawal of all U.S. forces stationed abroad, the liberation of Palestine, the end to the embargo on Cuba, the end to sanctions regimes on countries like Venezuela, an end to colonial partitions from Ireland to Korea, and self-determination and sovereignty for Hawai’i; Puerto Rico; Amerika Sāmoa (American Samoa); Guåhån (Guam); Northern Mariana Islands; Virgin Islands; and for all indigenous nations and internal colonies whose lands are within current US borders; as well as for the independence of all other overseas territories and dependencies controlled, occupied, or otherwise exploited by the U.S. Empire.

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, the adoption of this resolution will signify a recommitment by YDSA to anti-imperialist, decolonial, and socialist internationalist principles, fighting to end the U.S empire both at home and across the world.

R11. Strong Foundations for a Growing YDSA

Sponsor: Callynn Johnson, University of Central Florida

Co-Sponsors: Aron Ali-McClory, University of Florida

Sam Curry, University of Florida

Nicolas Solis, University of Texas San Antonio

Michael Collin, University of California Santa Barbara

Bradley S., University of Central Florida

Valentina Kleckner, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign

Bobby Woodruff, Louisiana Tech University

Atakan Deviren, Cornell University

Bryce Askew, Arizona State University

Reasoning of Resolution:

WHEREAS, at the 2023 YDSA Convention, the Youth Growth and Development Committee (YGDC) was established,

AND WHEREAS, YDSA has consistently grown over the past several years due to the consistency of the annual Fall Drive and Dues Drive,

AND WHEREAS, in an organizing environment that continues to change in the post-Bernie era, which has seen the decline of many socialist and progressive organizations, including but not limited to DSA,

AND WHEREAS, the successful passage of reform legislation, like Medicare for All, the eventual

enactment of a socialist revolution, and the formation of a mass party to build towards that future depends on a healthy, resilient, and growing youth socialist section,

AND WHEREAS, our socialism should be creative, adaptable, and versatile, not ever stagnant in the preconceptions and assumptions of the past,

AND WHEREAS, the YGDC has played an integral role in helping YDSA to grow and develop in service of these broader ideals and aspirations,

Action of Resolution:

THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED, the Youth Growth and Development Committee shall be re-chartered for another term, its mission and structure in accordance with the previously passed Resolution 4 (2023) - Building YDSA for the Future: Establishing the Youth Growth and Development Committee,

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, the YGDC shall center in its work the Fall Drive, for the recruitment of new chapter OCs, and the Dues Drive in the spring, for the chartering of chapters and increase in dues paying members ahead of the summer YDSA Convention,

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, throughout all aspects of its work, the YGDC will prioritize leadership development and the recruitment of dues paying members to DSA by normalizing the cultural expectation of dues as a method of sustaining the socialist movement while also recognizing the extenuating need for dues waivers, conducting this cultural transformation through organizing asks,

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, the YGDC will, throughout the year, organize trainings for chapters on various issues, centering these criteria: (i) a focus on diverse issues, including those affecting Black and Brown people, gender diverse people and women, queer people, and other marginalized communities; (ii) a focus on current issues for which no convention mandate explicitly exists, but which there is an extremely strong need to organize around, such as Palestine in the 2023-4 term; (iii) trainings which already exist and/or have able and willing facilitators already in the YGDC, in order to reduce capacity burden deriving from finding facilitators; (iv) regionally-applicable trainings which have buy-in from chapters in a given state or region,

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, the NCC will expand its chapter mentorship program to the YGDC, and will be responsible for deciding how to organize around this delegation of labor, with an example being that starting in the 2024-5 term, the YGDC will be responsible for coaching pre-chapter organizing committees (OCs),

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, the NCC and YGDC will prioritize fundraising where appropriate,

working with entities such as the DSA Growth and Development Committee, DSA Development Director, and DSA Fund to strategically engage in avenues to fund organizing activities like YDSA Conference, regional meet-ups, and the general fund of DSA,

BE IT FINALLY RESOLVED, the adoption of this resolution will signify YDSA’s ongoing commitment to building socialism by growing our membership and developing leaders, strengthening chapters, and offering training opportunities as a unique national resource.

R12. Responsibilities for National Coordinating Committee Members

Sponsor: Winnie Marion, New York University

Co-Sponsors: Carlos Callejo III, Cal Poly Pomona

Noah Thompson, University of Oregon

Erin Lawson, New York University

Margot Grotland, Columbia University

Rafi Ash, Brown University

Meeks Samuel, Baruch College

Tyler Brechner, Binghamton University

Lex Shultz, Yale University

Charlie Muller, Brooklyn College

Reasoning of Resolution:

Whereas, it's crucial to build lasting connections between YDSA local chapters and their national leaders. This includes making sure local chapter members know who their elected leaders are.

Whereas, being a political Leader on our YDSA NCC entails taking action to organize their comrades into action. This includes presenting a distinctly political vision for the tasks of YDSA leadership.

Whereas, the act of leadership development is an inherently political one.

Whereas, NCC members have set a precedent over this past year of using stipended time to have regular 1:1 meetings with chapters to discuss political questions and provide support.

Action of Resolution:

Therefore be it resolved, NCC members will continue to present a political vision and provide support for chapter development through regular 1:1 meetings with all active YDSA chapters. During these meetings, NCC members will discuss and advocate for strategies related to campaigns, coalition building, chapter structure, leadership development, political education, dues drive, and so on. They will also inform the representative leaders of upcoming national events and priorities. Each NCC member should send regular reminders to chapters to sign up for meetings. In order to facilitate this process, NCC members should create open appointment calendars on their preferred platforms.

Therefore be it further resolved, YDSA affirms that leadership development is intertwined with political development, and thus, NCC members should act in their capacity to demonstrate what effective political leadership development looks like through their 1:1s. This includes providing political education resources, opening discussions around organizing strategy, and giving chapter leaders the opportunity to articulate their political perspectives.

Therefore be it further resolved, it is up to individual chapter leaders to schedule appointments as they see fit, however, an appropriate schedule so as to keep up-to-date with national YDSA resources and support would be bi-weekly 30-minute meetings.

Therefore be it further resolved, YDSA NCC members should also adopt 1-3 priority OCs from HBCUs, public universities, and community colleges to support their growth during and after the Fall Drive.

Therefore be it further resolved, YDSA NCC members should conduct chapter visits throughout the year to facilitate trainings, discussions, political education presentations, and give dues pitches to members. NCC members would do roughly 3+ visits to chapters outside their own over the course of the year and be refunded for minor travel expenses (under $50) such as gas or public transportation tickets from the YDSA committee budget. Any larger travel refund may be voted on in advance by the NCC.

R13. Towards Intersectional and Diverse Organizing in YDSA

Sponsor: Aron Ali-McClory, University of Florida

Co-Sponsors: Madhulika Singh, University of Cincinnati

Kate Walker, University of Central Florida

Vivian Dai, Boston University

Valeria Fajardo, University of Central Florida

Styzo Browder, University of Cincinnati

John Cervantes, Northeastern University

Abhiram Prathipati, Virginia Commonwealth University

Christian Martinez, Rollins College

Mya Moore, University of North Texas

This resolution has been updated to incorporate a friendly secondary submission from:

Sponsor: Jeffrey Childs, Oakland University

Co-Sponsors: Carlos Callejo, Cal Poly Pomona

Erin Lawson, New York University

Uma Clemenceau, University of California Santa Barbara

Winnie Marion, New York University

Lex Schultz, Yale University

Reasoning of Resolution:

WHEREAS, for most of YDSA and DSA’s history, communities of color have been historically underrepresented,

WHEREAS, YDSA has only recently, since 2019, seen growth among public universities and community colleges, but has seen a decline in chapters at HBCUs and high schools since 2022,

WHEREAS, for the past several years, including the 2022 and 2023 YDSA Convention, the amount of comrades of color running for the National Coordinating Committee (NCC) has met, but not exceeded, the four candidate constitutional quota,

WHEREAS, many comrades of color lack intentional development mechanisms in their chapters and from national bodies,

WHEREAS, issues that disproportionately affect people of color in the United States, such as police brutality, gentrification/housing work, mutual aid, and internationalism are in many cases deprioritized by YDSA,

WHEREAS, even in issues that are prioritized nationally, a strong effort is often not made to educate chapters on how they can engage in this work in a way that uplifts Black and Brown voices, or centers their experiences,

WHEREAS, other marginalized groups experience other such issues in YDSA, including disabled comrades, women, gender diverse comrades, and other diverse backgrounds,

WHEREAS, in order to build a representative and diverse multiracial YDSA, with the ability to build socialism on multiple terrains, YDSA ought to prioritize diversity,

Action of Resolution:

THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED, the NCC will prioritize the recruitment, development, and retainment of comrades of color and comrades of other diverse backgrounds in all threads of work,

THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED, the NCC will agendize a monthly discussion about the organizing of diverse identities, including but not limited to people of color, with the emphasis on creating and expanding an organizing program that seeks to expand the representation of diverse identities in YDSA. This should include practical steps towards organizing goals, including additional 1:1 support for chapters and responding to meet the moment when people of color face attacks on their rights.

THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED, all bodies of national YDSA who conduct trainings will strive to include diverse perspectives in their work, including consideration of topics like issue cutting , and how to prioritize issues widely and deeply felt in communities of color, general accessibility, and understanding of different community backgrounds. Our trainings should acknowledge that political development is integral to leadership development and inspiring comrades of color and empowering socialists through political education should be an utmost priority.

THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED, all bodies of national YDSA will conduct internal list work, with the intentional goal of developing comrades of color and people with other diverse identities as leaders through political development, 1:1s and mentorship as leaders.

THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED, NCC members will encourage chapter leaders to run campaigns that target material changes for students of color to inspire more diverse students to join our organization. We must also put forward responsive communications that reflect the material needs of students of color across the US and put forward an alternative to capitalism—through social media and print media.

THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED, The NCC will reaffirm and reestablish the Grievance Advisory Committee (GAC) under a new name, the Chapter Health and Intersectionality Committee (CHIC), with the explicit interest in creating resources and materials to direct chapters on maintaining intentional spaces for diverse organizers to collaborate and share experiences,

THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED, The CHIC will create and conduct intentional and active training(s) for chapters promoting themes of diversity and inclusion, allowing chapters to explore their challenges surrounding diversity, the importance of diversity, and an actionable path forward to create a diverse organizing community at the local level,

THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED, the NCC shall task CHIC with organizing mandates related to improving diversity and practice of intersectionality as a theory within YDSA, including but not limited to: strategies for engaging diverse populations on campuses, creating resources and training modules to be, while acknowledging that trainings alone cannot absolve a lack of diversity within our organization. Only direct political/leadership development, material change, responsive actions, and meaningful campaigns can empower people to act against the oppressive systems within our country.

THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED, YDSA will explore avenues to build power at HBCUs and other campus/communities of color, employing strategies like nearby tabling, direct outreach, and social media. The NCC shall prioritize contacts at HBCUs and nurture these relationships through frequent 1:1s and bring forward strategic questions to the NCC at-large.

THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED, YDSA reaffirms that public universities and commuter schools that are often comprised by majority POC student bodies are a priority for growth and development in YDSA. NCC members will prioritize building chapters across diverse school systems and bringing chapter leaders together to share resources based on their similar conditions. YDSA will host a public university, commuter school, HBCU, and community college strategy discussion over the next year to bring chapter leaders together to build our institutional knowledge and shared goals of organizing under these particular conditions.

BE IT FINALLY RESOLVED, YDSA will enact intersectional diversity, intentional anti-racism, intentional socialist feminism, anti-sexism, anti-homophobia, anti-transphobia, and other stances against social oppression as a core part of our collective goals and programs for the 2024-5 term. YDSA’s NCC and Comms Committee will create external-facing communications to reflect these stances.

R14. Building YDSA Communications for the Future

Sponsor: Sean Bridge, University of Cincinnati

Co-Sponsors: Aron Ali-McClory, University of Florida

Larkin Cibula, University of Central Florida

Winnie Marion, New York University

Callynn Johnson, University of Central Florida

Sofia Baker, Rollins College

Casey Purser, Georgia State University

Treu Cook, University of Vermont

Sebastian Cardena, Georgetown University

Madhulika Singh, University of Cincinnati

Reasoning of Resolution:

WHEREAS, YDSA is the youth section of DSA, and as such primarily occupied by a younger generation who frequently interfaces with social media such as Twitter and Instagram,

AND WHEREAS, social media and online components of YDSA, such as our website, shape the digital identity of our organization,

AND WHEREAS, YDSA currently possesses large social media accounts that have low engagement and relatively large follower accounts,

AND WHEREAS, relatively few posts are made on national accounts, especially when it comes to highlighting chapter work, political education, and response to current events,

AND WHEREAS, social media and other digital tools can be effective tools for on the ground

recruitment, agitation, and political education,

Action of Resolution:

THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED, the Youth Communications Committee will be established for the 2024-2025 term to address various communications needs in YDSA, including interfacing with the press, social media, and other duties as assigned by the NCC.

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, the Youth Communications Committee shall be led by two chairs, one co-chair appointed by the NCC, and the other being a member of the NCC. The credentials of the national YDSA social media accounts, principally Twitter and Instagram,

shall be entrusted to at least the Co-Chairs with appropriate cybersecurity precautions taken. The NCC shall write up and approve a policy on what posts may be made on YDSA’s social media accounts without NCC approval.

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, the Youth Communications Committee shall solicit a liaison from each national committee, who will be expected to regularly attend both of their committees’ meetings, relaying communications needs to the YCC in a timely manner,

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, the Youth Communications Committee shall work with the NCC to connect directly with chapter leaders to provide guidance on effective public communications, collect images & videos from their local actions, coordinate reposting & co-posting with the YDSA national social media accounts, and generally increase the reach of chaper’s local actions to the national level.

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, a portion of the capacity of the Youth Communications Committee will be devoted to:

Press relations, seeking to maintain and establish national press relationships for use by YDSA, as well as facilitating support for chapters engaging with press,
Social media, seeking to create engaging posts which uplift chapter victories, engage broad youth audiences with YDSA-branded content, and inform the general public about democratic socialism and the strategic importance of engaging with YDSA,
YDSA’s national communications platforms, seeking to support the national Discord, update and improve the YDSA website, and facilitate YDSA engagement in the DSA Discussion Board
Rapid-response communications that put out a socialist perspective on the current moment and highlight the work of YDSA members in real-time.
Provide trainings and mentorship to chapters on how to effectively use social media, send out press releases, and interact with the media

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, the appointed NCC co-chair will be responsible for overseeing YDSA National email newsletters to YDSA members and chapter leaders. The committee co-chairs will have access to the YDSA National Action Network and will give regular reports on email statistics (such as the open rate and click through rate) to the NCC and other committee co-chairs,

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, YDSA bi-weekly emails should go out twice a week, with inclusion of submissions from national committees, chapter leaders, and report-backs from the NCC on important political discussions. Committees are required to submit report-backs to biweekly emails at least once a month.

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, the Youth Communications Committee, aside from the NCC, shall be the sole authority on social media posting and reposting for YDSA’s official social media accounts, and the NCC should seek to run posts by the Youth Communications Committee before posting them,

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, when possible, YDSA design done at a national level should follow the YDSA and DSA Design Guidelines, especially regarding the specific hex codes used for the color palette, and the use of Manifold DSA as the primary font. Deviation from the design guidelines does not need approval and is acceptable so long as there is good cause for doing so, such as using a separate branding kit for the Dues Drive, or using national flag colors for an international call. The goal is to have a cohesive brand, and this should be explored in various ways.

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, all YDSA designs at a national level should follow accessibility best practice. This shall include but not be limited to alternative text for images, captions for videos, appropriate color contrast, and appropriate text size.

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, a YDSA Victories Form which allows for the collection of information about chapter campaign wins, milestones, or other YDSA successes shall be distributed to chapter leaders, included in national communications throughout the year, and posted on the YDSA chapter leaders resources page on the YDSA website,

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, the YDSA Victories Form shall be managed solely by the Youth Communications Committee, and the committee shall establish an appropriate process by which victories are posted to social media and directly to members via email or the DSA Discussion Board,

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, adoption of this resolution will signify a recommitment by national YDSA committees and structures to the active use, improvement, and engagement of our communications infrastructure

R15. No Votes For Genocide

Sponsor: Steven Raney, Furman University

Co-Sponsors: Hailey Sowa, Wayne State University

Felipe Barroso Ramos, Florida International University

Gant Roberson, The New School

Michael Ross, Furman University

Will Sanchez, Florida International University

Nico R, Florida International University

James Hernandez, Florida International University

Abhiram Prathipati, Virginia Commonwealth University

Edward Varda, Ohio University

Reasoning of Resolution:

WHEREAS, on February 24th, DSA’s National Political Committee (NPC) voted to open an organization-wide period of deliberation to determine the best approach to DSA’s intervention in the 2024 election,

WHEREAS, as socialists in the United States, we have a duty to oppose the imperialist agenda of our ruling class, which has prioritized the genocide of the Palestinian people by providing effectively unlimited support to the apartheid regime of Israel in its war on Gaza, and,

WHEREAS, the Democratic Party has been an indispensable asset to the forces promoting the genocide in Palestine, supporting Israel’s unjust and criminal war by the following means:

The Democratic Biden administration’s transfer of billions of dollars worth of weapons to Israel, including by the use of emergency executive authority to ship munitions to Israel without Congressional review,
The Democratic Biden administration’s support for the defunding of the UNRWA, a political maneuver intended to induce famine in Palestine as a form of collective punishment,
The repeated U.S. veto of United Nations resolutions calling for a ceasefire, under orders from the Democratic Biden administration,
The passage of $26 billion in funding for the Israeli regime with the support of an overwhelming majority of Democratic Senators and Representatives and the Democratic Biden administration, and,

WHEREAS, the Israeli-American genocide of Palestine has provoked historic acts of resistance within the United States, including mass demonstrations, port and highway occupations, and the recent wave of campus rebellions known as the “Student Intifada,” creating a movement of millions of workers, youth, and the oppressed which correctly identifies Biden and the Democrats as its enemies and sees the connections between imperialist war and genocide abroad and racist police terror, border policy, and other forms of oppression domestically, and,

WHEREAS, the Democratic Party has played a key role in the repression of this movement by the following means:

Condemnation of criticism of Israel by Democratic politicians at all levels of government in the wake of October 7th, including condemnations of DSA members in public office and DSA itself,
Overwhelming support by Democrats in Congress for the federal adoption of the IHRA definition of antisemitism, which defines opposition to the existence of the state of Israel and comparison of Israeli policy to the policy of Nazi Germany as antisemitic hate speech,
The Democratic Biden administration’s attempts to use the President’s national platform to slander the students involved in the Student Intifada as violent antisemites,
The brutal police violence against students protesting the genocide in cities governed by Democratic city councils, mayors, state legislatures, and governors, and represented by Democrats in both houses of Congress, including but not limited to New York City, Los Angeles, Chicago, and Boston, all with the implicit endorsement of a Democratic President, and,

WHEREAS, the aforementioned conditions have effectively accomplished a “dirty break” between DSA and the Democratic Party in practice, yet DSA has not officially recognized this reality or reflected it in our electoral policy, and,

WHEREAS, DSA’s most advanced electoral intervention against Biden thus far has taken the form of various “Uncommitted” campaigns in the Democratic primaries, and the logical continuation of this strategy which most adequately addresses the reality of the de facto “dirty break” already underway is to continue the threat of withholding support from Biden and the pro-genocide Democrats from the primaries into the general election,

Action of Resolution:

THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED, YDSA’s political communications strategy for the 2024 elections will

be to signal that DSA is the political home for organized and unorganized workers looking for a political alternative to the Democratic Party as a result of their support for the occupation’s genocide in Palestine.

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, YDSA’s political communications strategy for the 2024 federal elections will tactically prioritize and center the slogan No Votes for Genocide.

RESOLVED, YDSA will encourage all chapters to adopt the following anti-genocide minimum demands as conditions for the endorsement of candidates for student government:

Support the disclosure and termination of all school investments in Israel,
Support the termination of all school contracts with corporations on the BDS list,
Support a complete commercial and academic boycott of Israel and its universities.

Freedom of expression

Support student-worker resistance to the genocide, including but not limited to spoken or written criticism, rallies, encampments, occupations, and strikes,
Oppose repression of student-worker resistance, including but not limited to student conduct charges, academic sanctions, suspensions, use of the police or national guard, and arrests,
Support unconditional amnesty for all students and workers facing repression for resistance to the genocide.

RESOLVED, YDSA will encourage members and supporters to exclusively vote for federal candidates who meet the following anti-genocide minimum demands, withholding support of any kind from candidates who do not:

On US intervention:

Support a permanent ceasefire,
Oppose all military aid to Israel, and oppose cutting aid to Palestine.
Oppose expanding US intervention into a wider war with Yemen, Iran, or any other actor in the region.

On immigration:

Oppose immigration restrictions including, but not limited to, the militarization of the US-Mexico border.

On state repression:

Oppose restricting the self-activity of the working class and oppressed, like the punishment of the Palestinian solidarity movement, including, but not limited to, the rights to strike, freely assemble, protest, or criticize.

RESOLVED, YDSA will endorse and promote planned demonstrations at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago in August, and will encourage chapters with the means to participate in those demonstrations to do so using the slogan No Votes for Genocide and the minimum demands listed above.

RESOLVED, during the 2024-2025 school year YDSA will encourage chapters to run members for student government, or where practical, local office, stressing the minimum demands listed above and drawing attention to the Israeli-American genocide in Palestine and the role of both capitalist parties in orchestrating it, and will further encourage chapters to disrupt local campaign events for candidates of either major party who do not meet the anti-genocide minimum demands.

RESOLVED, YDSA urges the NPC to adopt the No Votes For Genocide proposal motivated by NPC members Rashad X and Amy W, applying the spirit of this resolution to DSA as a whole.

BE IT FINALLY RESOLVED, by convention mandate, YDSA binds the incoming YDSA national co-chairs to use their shared vote on the NPC to vote in favor of the aforementioned No Votes For Genocide proposal.

Amendment R15 - 1

Sponsor: Bryce Springfield, Princeton University

Co-Sponsors: Dalila Ives, Towson University

Anthony Arredondo, Hunter College

Hammaad Alam, Hunter College

Viv Srinath, Swarthmore College

Abel Amene, University of Maryland College Park

The amendment proposes the following changes, with deletions represented by strikethroughs and new language represented in red:

Reasoning of Resolution:

WHEREAS, the Democratic Party has been an indispensable asset to the forces promoting the genocide in Palestine, supporting Israel’s unjust and criminal war by the following means:

The Democratic Biden administration’s transfer of billions of dollars worth of weapons to Israel, including by the use of emergency executive authority to ship munitions to Israel without Congressional review,
The Democratic Biden administration’s support for the defunding of the UNRWA, a political maneuver intended to induce famine in Palestine as a form of collective punishment,
The repeated U.S. veto of United Nations resolutions calling for a ceasefire, under orders from the Democratic Biden administration,
The passage of $26 billion in funding for the Israeli regime with the support of an overwhelming majority of Democratic Senators and Representatives and the Democratic Biden administration, and,

WHEREAS, the Democratic Party has played a key role in the repression of this movement by the following means:

Condemnation of criticism of Israel by Democratic politicians at all levels of government in the wake of October 7th, including condemnations of DSA members in public office and DSA itself,
Overwhelming support by Democrats in Congress for the federal adoption of the IHRA definition of antisemitism, which defines opposition to the existence of the state of Israel and comparison of Israeli policy to the policy of Nazi Germany as antisemitic hate speech,
The Democratic Biden administration’s attempts to use the President’s national platform to slander the students involved in the Student Intifada as violent antisemites,
The brutal police violence against students protesting the genocide in cities governed by Democratic city councils, mayors, state legislatures, and governors, and represented by Democrats in both houses of Congress, including but not limited to New York City, Los Angeles, Chicago, and Boston, all with the implicit endorsement of a Democratic President, and,

WHEREAS, DSA-LA Socialist in Office (SiO) and City Council Member Nithya Raman has repeatedly demonstrated antagonism toward the movement for Palestinian liberation, including through the following:

During the current genocide, Raman sought and received the endorsement of Democrats for Israel, a liberal Zionist lobby group which condemns anti-Zionist organizing, including student encampments which YDSA chapters have played a significant role in, as antisemitic, and cheers on the continued slaughter of the Palestinian people.
Raman co-authored a resolution to prioritize an anti-Palestinian LA United School District resolution, which was used to shut down the United Teachers Union of Los Angeles’s historic BDS resolution vote.
Raman voted to adopt the IHRA definition of antisemitism, which defines anti-Zionism as antisemitism.
Raman condemned Palestinian resistance while failing to condemn Israeli apartheid and genocide, and likewise condemned DSA’s post-October 7th statement expressing solidarity with the Palestinian people.
Raman has continued to platform Zionist lobbyists who have condemned DSA statements and student actions in solidarity with the Palestinian people.

WHEREAS, these actions have harmed anti-Zionist organizing and recruitment in DSA and YDSA by demonstrating weak elected discipline and putting our organization at odds with pro-Palestine allies and YDSA’s own organizing,

WHEREAS, 29 YDSA and DSA chapters and 495 members as of the date of this resolution being written signed on to an open letter to the DSA National Political Committee and DSA-LA urging for Raman’s expulsion and disendorsement, respectively; instead of DSA-LA removing their endorsement, they censured her but she has not meaningfully improved on this issue,

WHEREAS, DSA must enforce certain red lines for affiliated SiOs at all levels of government that reflect the organization’s values and support the growth of YDSA’s mass movement organizing in support of Palestinian liberation.

Action of Resolution:

THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED, YDSA’s political communications strategy for the 2024 elections will

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, YDSA’s political communications strategy for the 2024 federal elections will tactically prioritize and center the slogan No Votes for Genocide.

RESOLVED, YDSA will encourage all chapters to adopt the following anti-genocide minimum demands as conditions for the endorsement of candidates for student government:

Support the disclosure and termination of all school investments in Israel,
Support the termination of all school contracts with corporations on the BDS list,
Support a complete commercial and academic boycott of Israel and its universities.

Freedom of expression

Support student-worker resistance to the genocide, including but not limited to spoken or written criticism, rallies, encampments, occupations, and strikes,
Oppose repression of student-worker resistance, including but not limited to student conduct charges, academic sanctions, suspensions, use of the police or national guard, and arrests,
Support unconditional amnesty for all students and workers facing repression for resistance to the genocide.

On US intervention:

Support a permanent ceasefire,
Oppose all military aid to Israel, and oppose cutting aid to Palestine.
Oppose expanding US intervention into a wider war with Yemen, Iran, or any other actor in the region.

On immigration:

Oppose immigration restrictions including, but not limited to, the militarization of the US-Mexico border.

On state repression:

Oppose restricting the self-activity of the working class and oppressed, like the punishment of the Palestinian solidarity movement, including, but not limited to, the rights to strike, freely assemble, protest, or criticize.

RESOLVED, YDSA formally censures Los Angeles City Councilmember Nithya Raman and the NCC shall author and release a letter of censure no later than one month from passage of this resolution.

RESOLVED, YDSA encourages the NPC to seriously review the membership of Nithya Raman and reopen dialogue with DSA-LA, as it is the view of YDSA that she is currently in substantial disagreement with the principles and policies of the organization and her expulsion is warranted, as per Article I Section 3 of the DSA National Bylaws.

RESOLVED, YDSA urges the NPC to adopt the No Votes For Genocide proposal motivated by NPC members Rashad X and Amy W, applying the spirit of this resolution to DSA as a whole.

Amendment R15 - 2

Sponsor: Anthony Arredondo, Hunter College

Co-Sponsors: Bryce Springfield, Princeton University

Steven Raney, Furman University

Johanna von Maack, Hunter College

Hailey Sowa, Wayne State University

Hammaad Alam, Hunter College

The amendment proposes the following changes, with deletions represented by strikethroughs and new language represented in red:

Reasoning of Resolution:

WHEREAS, the Democratic Party has been an indispensable asset to the forces promoting the genocide in Palestine, supporting Israel’s unjust and criminal war by the following means:

The Democratic Biden administration’s transfer of billions of dollars worth of weapons to Israel, including by the use of emergency executive authority to ship munitions to Israel without Congressional review,
The Democratic Biden administration’s support for the defunding of the UNRWA, a political maneuver intended to induce famine in Palestine as a form of collective punishment,
The repeated U.S. veto of United Nations resolutions calling for a ceasefire, under orders from the Democratic Biden administration,
The passage of $26 billion in funding for the Israeli regime with the support of an overwhelming majority of Democratic Senators and Representatives and the Democratic Biden administration, and,

WHEREAS, DSA Socialist in Office (SiO) Congresswomen Alexandria Ocasio Cortez (AOC) has not only ineffectively voiced opposition to the Democratic Party’s support of Israel’s unjust and criminal war, but actively promotes said war by the following means:

In a March 2024 interview with CNN, AOC failed to support Palestinian resistance against settler-colonial occupation, and instead stated her support of the United States and Israel to crush Palestinian resistance,
In an April 20th congressional letter, AOC affirmed Israel’s right to “self-defense” and supported further funding of the Iron Dome,
Donated $260,000 to the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, in a time when DSA faces financial hardship,
Crossed the boycott picket line, when she attended and gave remarks at the Stand Together national convention a week after the Palestinian Campaign for the Academic and Cultural Boycott of Israel called for the boycott of this organization,
Endorsing Democratic Presidential candidate, Joe Biden, despite his unconditional support of Israel financially and ideologically, and,

WHEREAS, these above actions by AOC have given the impression that DSA is not a desirable electoral alternative to the Democratic Party for the Student Intifada, as apparent in recent statements and actions in protest against AOC by Columbia Students for Justice in Palestine, Within Our Lifetime, and Palestinian Youth Movement, and,

WHEREAS, the Democratic Party has played a key role in the repression of this movement by the following means:

Condemnation of criticism of Israel by Democratic politicians at all levels of government in the wake of October 7th, including condemnations of DSA members in public office and DSA itself,
Overwhelming support by Democrats in Congress for the federal adoption of the IHRA definition of antisemitism, which defines opposition to the existence of the state of Israel and comparison of Israeli policy to the policy of Nazi Germany as antisemitic hate speech,
The Democratic Biden administration’s attempts to use the President’s national platform to slander the students involved in the Student Intifada as violent antisemites,
The brutal police violence against students protesting the genocide in cities governed by Democratic city councils, mayors, state legislatures, and governors, and represented by Democrats in both houses of Congress, including but not limited to New York City, Los Angeles, Chicago, and Boston, all with the implicit endorsement of a Democratic President, and,

WHEREAS, DSA SiO AOC has let charges of anti-semitism towards the Student Intifada remain undisputed, and contributed to manufacturing consent about the Student Intifada as she voted for House Resolution 888, which not only states that Israel has a right to exist, but that to deny this is anti-semitic, which discredits YDSA’s national image and consequently our ability to work with Palestinian liberation groups on campus and hinders our efforts to draw them into the socialist movement, and,

WHEREAS, with the onset of this de facto “dirty break,” DSA must compose a coherent red line for its federal SiOs that reflect the sentiment of the Student Intifada mass movement, and thus, a desirable electoral alternative to the Democratic Party,

Action of Resolution:

THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED, YDSA’s political communications strategy for the 2024 elections will

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, YDSA’s political communications strategy for the 2024 federal elections will tactically prioritize and center the slogan No Votes for Genocide.

RESOLVED, YDSA will encourage all chapters to adopt the following anti-genocide minimum demands as conditions for the endorsement of candidates for student government:

Support the disclosure and termination of all school investments in Israel,
Support the termination of all school contracts with corporations on the BDS list,
Support a complete commercial and academic boycott of Israel and its universities.

Freedom of expression

Support student-worker resistance to the genocide, including but not limited to spoken or written criticism, rallies, encampments, occupations, and strikes,
Oppose repression of student-worker resistance, including but not limited to student conduct charges, academic sanctions, suspensions, use of the police or national guard, and arrests,
Support unconditional amnesty for all students and workers facing repression for resistance to the genocide.

On US intervention:

Support a permanent ceasefire,
Oppose all military aid to Israel, and oppose cutting aid to Palestine.
Oppose expanding US intervention into a wider war with Yemen, Iran, or any other actor in the region.

On immigration:

Oppose immigration restrictions including, but not limited to, the militarization of the US-Mexico border.

On state repression:

Oppose restricting the self-activity of the working class and oppressed, like the punishment of the Palestinian solidarity movement, including, but not limited to, the rights to strike, freely assemble, protest, or criticize.

RESOLVED, YDSA urges the NPC to communicate with the offices of DSA’s currently endorsed federal SiOs these above minimum demands on behalf of YDSA, on top of the following additional expectations of our SiOs during and after the 2024 elections:

Oppose any and all US government spending on Israel,
Not to affirm the state of Israel the right to exist,
To withhold, or rescind, any public or official endorsement of Joe Biden for President,
To withhold, rescind, and condemn any public statements made by themselves or others holding political office that conflate the Student Intifada or the Palestinian resistance against settler-colonial occupation with anti-semitism.

RESOLVED, YDSA urges the NPC that the aforementioned minimum demands and additional expectations of our SiOs form the basis of a federal SiO plan, and that any future federal SiO endorsement candidate whose platform fails to meet these demands and expectations shall constitute a vote “No” from the NPC upon their request for endorsement.

RESOLVED, YDSA urges the NPC to communicate with the office of AOC, on behalf of YDSA, our particular dissatisfaction with her national representation of DSA and YDSA, on the basis of not presenting her politics as a desirable alternative to the Democratic Party establishment for those involved in the Student Intifada.

RESOLVED, this communication to the office of AOC shall include, but not be limited to, the aforementioned “whereases,” on top of other widely felt discontent with AOC by YDSA that will be submitted by YDSA members to a NCC-organized response form.

RESOLVED, YDSA urges the NPC to adopt the No Votes For Genocide proposal motivated by NPC members Rashad X and Amy W, applying the spirit of this resolution to DSA as a whole.

R16. Ecosocialism Beyond the Green New Deal

Sponsor: Steven Raney, Furman University

Co-Sponsors: Hailey Sowa, Wayne State University

Felipe Barroso Ramos, Florida International University

Gant Roberson, The New School

Michael Ross, Furman University

Will Sanchez, Florida International University

Nico R, Florida International University

James Hernandez, Florida International University

Abhiram Prathipati, Virginia Commonwealth University

Edward Varda, Ohio University

Reasoning of Resolution:

WHEREAS, capitalism has brought humanity to the point of annihilation by creating the conditions for a sixth mass extinction and catastrophic climate change, and,

WHEREAS, the primary way DSA and YDSA have thus far engaged with this existential threat has been through the framework of the Green New Deal, which has served as a locus of popular mobilization against the neoliberal status quo, yet,

WHEREAS, the Green New Deal has been stalled indefinitely by the undemocratic structures of the United States government, including the Senate and Presidency, proving the underlying strategic assumptions faulty, and,

WHEREAS, even if fully realized, the program of the Green New Deal would fail to adequately address the scope of the ecological crisis, because the ecological crisis is rooted in the fundamental tendency of capitalism towards infinite growth on a finite planet, and the Green New Deal does not aim to lay the foundations for a society beyond the fundamental laws of capitalism, and,

WHEREAS, the Green New Deal, furthermore, is unequipped to address ecocidal capitalism as a world-system, because its vision of supplanting fossil fuel energy with renewable energy in a growing economy would necessarily lead to unprecedented levels of imperial extraction from the global periphery, and,

WHEREAS, overcoming the ecological crisis will require reducing material and energy throughput in the imperial core countries whose economies are the engine of climate catastrophe and mass extinction at the expense of the entire world, which will in turn require the restructuring of society to meet human needs without endless economic growth, a process known as degrowth, and,

WHEREAS, revolutionizing society at the scale and scope necessary to begin rationally governing the relationship between humanity and nature, i.e., to guarantee the survival of the human species, is an immense, long-term project which necessitates a fundamentally different political strategy than what DSA has thus far pursued through the Green New Deal, and,

WHEREAS, given the gravity of the crisis we face, and our belief that DSA is and should strive to continue to be the vanguard of the socialist movement, it is our responsibility as an organization to intervene decisively in the ongoing debate around both long-term and short-term ecosocialist strategy,

Action of Resolution:

THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED, YDSA’s platform shall be amended as follows:

(additions in bold italics)

Socialism means the democratization of all of society in order to end oppression, exploitation, and domination of people and the planet. We fight for a world without classes, with an economy democratically planned to meet human needs within ecological limits. The working class is the only social force capable of carrying out this fight, saving humanity from extinction, and ultimately creating a more free, equal, and democratic society. The working class means everyone who is forced to sell their labor, people who work for a wage or a salary and the people who depend on them — children, the elderly, the poor, the sick, the jobless, the homeless, the incarcerated — regardless of borders or citizenship.

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, YDSA calls on the Youth Political Education Committee to take the following steps to help develop socialist consciousness about the strict necessity of revolutionary degrowth in the path towards ecosocialism:

To draft and collect educational materials on this subject to be included in YDSA’s Socialism 101 syllabus, replacing the existing content of the Ecosocialism module.
To draft a sample political education curriculum on this subject to be distributed to all YDSA chapters, which are to be encouraged to hold topical political education meetings.
To consult with representatives of YDSA chapters and organizing committees upon request, assisting them in the formulation of political education curricula and campaign action items relating to the struggle for ecosocialism.

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, a committee tasked with providing trainings to chapters on campaign issue selection, such as the Youth Growth and Development Committee of the 2024-2025 term, will include potential ecosocialist campaign issues in those trainings which will emphasize political mobilization and which will include messaging and rhetoric connecting campus-level action to long-term strategy in the struggle for political power and a revolutionary overthrow of the current order. These issues may include:

Divestment from environmentally and socially destructive industries that fuel the growth-oriented, imperialist regime of global capitalism, including but not limited to fossil fuels and arms manufacturing;
Organizing workplaces for reduced working-hours in order to fight the domination of both labor and the natural world by reducing exploitation in the workplace and curtailing destructive and unnecessary economic output;
Protection of natural spaces on and off campus from the expansion of both capital and the police state, understanding that their expansion reproduces the political and economic structures which prevent both self-government of the working class and rational planning of the economy made possible only through self governance;
Democratizing campus administrative structures, especially those related to the management of investments and campus environmental policy, to win lasting student-worker power and model the kinds of transformations necessary in society at large to win the battle for working-class sovereignty and a livable environment.

BE IT FINALLY RESOLVED, YDSA urges DSA writ large to adopt analogous measures, and to meet the demands of the moment by taking practical steps to move beyond the Green New Deal paradigm of ecosocialism in favor of one grounded in the necessity of revolutionary degrowth.

Amendment R16 - 1

Sponsor: Judith Chavarria, Florida International University

Co-Sponsors: Joselyn Peña, Florida International University

Daniel Salup-Cid, Florida International University

Sofia Baker, Rollins College

Elijah Knier, University of Wisconsin Milwaukee

Eli Castellano, Florida International University

The amendment proposes the following changes, with deletions represented by strikethroughs and new language represented in red:

Reasoning of Resolution:

WHEREAS, capitalism has brought humanity to the point of annihilation by creating the conditions for a sixth mass extinction and catastrophic climate change, and,

WHEREAS, the Green New Deal has been stalled indefinitely by the undemocratic structures of the United States government, including the Senate and Presidency, proving the necessity of agitating for working class control of climate policy and a revolutionary transformation of society, the underlying strategic assumptions faulty, and,

WHEREAS, the movement for a Green New Deal represents a significant step in fighting the ecological crisis, even if fully realized, the program of the Green New Deal would fail to adequately address the scope of the ecological crisis, yet because the ecological crisis is rooted in the fundamental tendency of capitalism towards infinite growth on a finite planet, an ecosocialist program must also fight for a society beyond the logic of capitalism, and the Green New Deal does not aim to lay the foundations for a society beyond the fundamental laws of capitalism, and,

WHEREAS, the Green New Deal, furthermore, is an opportunity to fight for a broader, transformative ecosocialist program which connects us to radicalizing young and working people throughout the course of struggle, is unequipped to address ecocidal capitalism as a world-system, because its vision of supplanting fossil fuel energy with renewable energy in a growing economy would necessarily lead to unprecedented levels of imperial extraction from the global periphery, and,

WHEREAS, revolutionizing society at the scale and scope necessary to begin rationally governing the relationship between humanity and nature, i.e., to guarantee the survival of the human species, is an immense, long-term project which necessitates a fundamentally different political strategy that fights for and goes beyond than what DSA has thus far pursued through the Green New Deal, and,

Action of Resolution:

THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED, YDSA’s platform shall be amended as follows:

(additions in bold italics)

Socialism means the democratization of all of society in order to end oppression, exploitation, and domination of people and the planet. We fight for a world without classes, with an economy democratically planned to improve the condition of humanity meet human needs within ecological limits. The working class is the only social force capable of carrying out this fight, saving humanity from extinction, and ultimately creating a more free, equal, and democratic society. The working class means everyone who is forced to sell their labor, people who work for a wage or a salary and the people who depend on them — children, the elderly, the poor, the sick, the jobless, the homeless, the incarcerated — regardless of borders or citizenship.

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, YDSA will aim to include public-facing ecosocialist messaging in its organizing and campaigns wherever feasible, such as by highlighting the environmental impacts of war and imperialism in Palestine work, understanding that the ecological crisis is an urgent global crisis which cannot be equitably solved under capitalism.

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, YDSA calls on the IC-YLC or its successor to facilitate discussion with international youth groups on topics such as the ecological crisis, imperialist extraction in the global periphery, and building an international ecosocialist movement.

To draft and collect educational materials on this subject to be included in YDSA’s Socialism 101 syllabus, building off of replacing the existing content and topics of the Ecosocialism module.

To draft a sample political education curriculum on ecosocialist organizing and degrowth this subject to be distributed to all YDSA chapters, which are to be encouraged to hold topical political education meetings.

To consult with representatives of YDSA chapters and organizing committees upon request, assisting them in the formulation of political education curricula and campaign action items relating to the struggle for ecosocialism.

To help develop a socialist analysis and an independent message which builds off of DSA’s organizing for a Green New Deal and uses struggles like it to articulate the necessity of a socialist transformation of society, which includes degrowth.

Divestment from environmentally and socially destructive industries that fuel the growth-oriented, imperialist regime of global capitalism, including but not limited to fossil fuels and arms manufacturing;
Organizing workplaces for reduced working-hours in order to fight the domination of both labor and the natural world by reducing exploitation in the workplace and curtailing destructive and unnecessary economic output;
Protection of natural spaces on and off campus from the expansion of both capital and the police state, understanding that their expansion reproduces the political and economic structures which prevent both self-government of the working class and rational planning of the economy made possible only through self governance;
Democratizing campus administrative structures, especially those related to the management of investments and campus environmental policy, to win lasting student-worker power and model the kinds of transformations necessary in society at large to win the battle for working-class sovereignty and a livable environment.
Developing convenient, sustainable, and free public transportation in and around campus, to reduce the waste and difficulty of individual transportation such as cars, and to reduce the reliance on parking lots while using space more efficiently.
Expanding care jobs on campus, such as childcare and mental health services, which significantly improve quality of life for students and faculty while producing very few carbon emissions.

BE IT FINALLY RESOLVED, YDSA urges DSA writ large to adopt analogous measures, and to meet the demands of the moment by taking practical steps to include degrowth as part of its ecosocialist organizing, such as through political education and degrowth oriented demands like the ones listed above. move beyond the Green New Deal paradigm of ecosocialism in favor of one grounded in the necessity of revolutionary degrowth.

R17. There Is Only One Solution! Intifada! Revolution!

Sponsor: Aron Ali-McClory, University of Florida

Co-Sponsors: Steven Raney, Furman University

Sean Bridge, University of Cincinnati

Hailey Sowa, Wayne State University

Callynn Johnson, University of Central Florida

Arjun Janakan, Purdue University

Vivian Dai, Boston University

Felipe Barroso Ramos, Florida International University

Gabriel McAdams, University of California Berkeley

Michael Ross, Furman University

This resolution has been updated to incorporate a friendly secondary submission from:

Sponsor: Gabriel McAdams, University of California Berkeley

Co-Sponsors: Vivian Dai, Boston University

Callynn Johnson, University of Central Florida

Sean Bridge, University of Cincinnati

Madhulika Singh, University of Cincinnati

Hailey Sowa, Wayne State University

Reasoning of Resolution:

WHEREAS, since October 7th, 2023, over 35,000 Palestinians have been martyred as of the primary deadline for resolutions (May 26th, 2024), constituting an act of genocide and ethnic cleansing which above all is a continuation of the 1948 Nakba, committed the imperial, settler-colonial project of Israel, hereafter referred to as the Zionist Entity,

WHEREAS, since the 1948 Nakba, the U.S. Empire has fully funded the military activities, including genocide, of the settler colonial Zionist Entity, up to 2024 sending $158,000,000,000 ($158 billion), including an additional $17,000,000,000 ($17 billion) passed through Congress in April 2024,

WHEREAS, the U.S. Empire treats the Zionist Entity as an imperial project, historically partnering with it to resist self-determination in the Middle East and North Africa,

WHEREAS, the Zionist genocide has been supported by the establishment of both major parties, the Democrats and the Republicans, since 1948, and is currently actively defended by Democrats from both houses of Congress and President ‘Genocide Joe’ Biden,

WHEREAS, the U.S. military-industrial complex is sustained by the recruitment of academics, specialists, and other degree-holding individuals from colleges and universities in the heart of empire to sustain research, development, and manufacturing of weapons, including those which have and continue to be sent to the Zionist Entity for use in their genocide of Palestinians,

WHEREAS, many colleges and universities directly or indirectly invest part of their sometimes multi-billion dollar endowments in companies such as weapons manufacturers which are directly complicit in the Zionist genocide,

WHEREAS, following months of post-10/7 escalation and pressure, in April 2024, hundreds of campuses across the country rose up with encampments, rallies, sit-ins, and other direct actions to demand disclosure of financial investments and divestment from genocide, among other demands, mirroring the anti-apartheid movement directed at South Africa in the 1980s,

WHEREAS, the Young Democratic Socialists of America was a leader in the anti-apartheid movement of the 1980s and is a leader of the anti-apartheid movement in the 2020s,

Action of Resolution:

BE IT RESOLVED, the Young Democratic Socialists of America fully support the people of Palestine in their historic struggle for liberation against the Zionist Entity, a puppet of the U.S. Empire, mourning the martyrs who have lost their lives as a result of the genocide in Gaza,

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, the Young Democratic Socialists of America will continue to be a firmly anti-Zionist organization, committed to decolonial and anti-imperialist principles not just in the case of Palestinian struggle, but struggle wherever it may occur,

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, the Young Democratic Socialists of America supports the establishment of one free, sovereign, and democratic Palestinian state, and the dismantling of the Zionist Entity in totality,

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, YDSA makes the continuation of the “Student Intifada” the main priority of the organization through the establishment of a national campaign,

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, the main demands of this campaign will be that our universities:

DISCLOSE all university investments both direct and indirect,
DIVEST from all companies and which actively participate in the colonization and ethnic cleansing of the Palestinian people, and
BOYCOTT any and all partnerships with the Israeli educational military-industrial complex.

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that to achieve these demands, as many YDSA chapters as possible should run long term divestment campaigns on their campuses. These campaigns may include tactics such as:

Petitions
Email Blasts
Teach-ins
Banner Drops
Career Fair Disruptions
Birddogging University Administrators
Sit-ins and Die-ins
Protests
Encampments
Building Occupations
Student Strikes

BE FURTHER RESOLVED, that YDSA encourages chapters to participate in coalition with other organizations on their campuses which are committed to fighting for divestment and Palestinian Liberation; especially chapters of Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP), Palestinian Youth Movement (PYM), and other grassroots Palestinian organizations. When entering these coalitions YDSA chapters should strive to be leading coalition partners, avoid liquidating into the coalition, and still maintain a distinct and identifiable presence within the coalition and the movement for Palestinian Liberation without co-opting the movement.

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that YDSA members are encouraged to organize members of the faculty, graduate, and undergraduate unions to support the demands of their campaign. This organizing should not be done by “shouting from outside the house” but by identifying amenable leaders within the unions, having one on one conversations with them, developing strong organic connections between the rank & file members of the union and the campaign, and where there are Y/DSA members present within the union, participating directly in the union’s politics as a contingent of rank-and-file membership.

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that during times of mass escalation, such as encampments, YDSA commits itself to pushing for mass protest democracy. This mass democracy should at a minimum include:

Electing leaders of negotiating and/or bargaining committees, a commitment to open bargaining, and otherwise practicing complete transparency in the bargaining process
Holding mass assemblies to vote on escalations, agreements with university administration, or other tactical decisions about the movement
Establishing open and democratic committees for the operations of encampments

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that the main national tasks for this campaign will be providing training and direct mentorship to chapters running divestment campaigns on their campuses as well as coordinating the national communications strategy for divestment campaigns around the country:

These trainings will revolve around building a sustainable and long term mass movement for divestment and Palestinian Liberation. Topics for these trainings should include but are not limited to:

The Organizing Cycle
The “Labor Notes Bullseye”
Listwork
Campaign Escalation
Effective Comms Strategies
Press Relations
Info Security
Protest Safety
Relationships with Organized Labor
What a Student Strike Looks Like

These trainings should be put on both in the form of national calls as well as via one on one mentorship with the leaders of chapters running divestment campaigns.

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, YDSA calls upon chapters to orient all Palestine and BDS organizing towards successful mass student campus-based strikes and, for public school systems, state-based strikes.

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, YDSA recognizes the wide gap between current structures and student organization at most campuses and the structures and organization required for a student strike to accomplish demands of disclosure, divestment, and boycott.

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, YDSA trainings, resources, and coaching will support YDSA chapters in building the necessary structures and organization to make a mass student strike successful in accomplishing the campaign’s demands.

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, the NCC and the International Committee’s Youth Leadership Committee (IC-YLC) or its successor shall be the main committee tasked with the execution of this national campaign. They shall coordinate the activities of this national campaign with DSA’s Palestine work occurring within the IC’s Palestine sub-committee such as this committee's work on the national Chevron BDS campaign. In coordination with this work, campuses with academic or financial ties to Chevron shall be identified and the YDSA chapters there -- if one exists already -- shall be encouraged to focus their campaign on getting their university to sever ties with Chevron.

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that the IC-YLC or its successor shall be additionally tasked with establishing relationships with grassroots Palestinian political organizations in the diaspora, Gaza, and the West Bank.

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, in coordination with YDSA’s national Communications Committee this national campaign shall attempt to coordinate the announcement and escalation of actions on campuses across the country. To better facilitate this work, the co-chairs of the national communications committee will attend the planning meetings for this campaign.

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that the Youth Labor Committee (YLC) will assist the campaign in providing trainings to chapters on how to best establish relationships with organized labor on their campuses and to members on how to organize their own unions to support Palestinian Liberation.

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that the NCC will continue to reestablish and repair YDSA’s relationship with grassroots Palestinian organizations such as Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) and the Palestinian Youth Movement (PYM). Additionally, the NCC will also work to repair DSA’s relationship with these organizations and if applicable YDSA’s Co-Chairs, as members of the NPC, will, within reason, submit and vote for NPC proposals which would work towards this goal.

BE IT FINALLY RESOLVED, that the NCC will investigate how best to get DSA to support this national campaign and the YDSA Co-chairs will then submit a proposal to the National Political Committee (NPC).

R18. For a YDSA Program Committee

Sponsor: Judith Chavarria, Florida International University

Co-Sponsors: Daniel Salup-Cid, Florida International University

Ruy Martinez, Harvard College

Elijah Knier, University of Wisconsin Milwaukee

Joselyn Peña, Florida International University

Eli Castellano, Florida International University

Luis Cendan, Florida International University

Sofia Baker, Rollins College

Nelson Calles, University of Florida

Vee Edwards, Whitman College

Reasoning of Resolution:

WHEREAS, the 2023 Young Democratic Socialists of America (YDSA) National Convention adopted the DSA and YDSA platforms as the basis for its organizational aims.

WHEREAS, the 2023 YDSA National Convention resolved to become “an organization which seeks to build power on and beyond campus, and in the workplace, building the struggles of young people where they're located, recruiting them to socialism, and building up their political and organizing skills and leadership.”

WHEREAS, becoming such an organization requires a clear articulation of the political and organizational goals of YDSA.

WHEREAS, historically successful revolutionary movements have operated from the basis of a clear political program.

WHEREAS, a clear program is the basis of principled recruitment and the effective articulation of the organization’s politics.

WHEREAS, drafting a program and arriving at unity on one will require extensive debate which will cohere the politics and develop the analysis of YDSA.

Action of Resolution:

THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED, YDSA recommits to the project of building a socialist party.

RESOLVED, the Program Committee will be tasked with drafting a short program for YDSA to be voted on at the 2025 YDSA Convention, with a program being defined as the clear articulation of the organization’s immediate demands, the goal of a socialist society, and how these two are connected. This program will be used to unify the organization’s politics, express its ideas through chapters across the country, give coherence to campaigns, and provide the basis for literature, graphics, and messaging.

RESOLVED, the Program Committee will be tasked with holding at least one YDSA membership forum on its draft program proposal before the 2025 YDSA Convention, leaving enough time to facilitate discussion, receive feedback, and incorporate edits on the proposal from YDSA members prior to the 2025 YDSA Convention.

RESOLVED, the Program Committee will hold an initial research period of at least three months to

read and discuss historical programs, and these meetings will be open to all YDSA members to observe.

RESOLVED, this program will be based on the platforms which have been adopted as the basis of the organization’s unity, the demands which have been adopted in campaigns, and the committee’s analysis of historical socialist programs.

RESOLVED, this program will be designed to briefly convey the organization’s politics, in the vein of the Demands of The Communist Party of Germany, the program of the Black Panther Party, and other historical programs.

RESOLVED, this program and its demands will be targeted specifically towards an audience of students and young people, and will not attempt to replace or supplant the messaging of DSA.

Amendment R18 - 1

Sponsor: Steven Raney, Furman University

Co-Sponsors: Hailey Sowa, Wayne State University

Felipe Barroso Ramos, Florida International University

Michael Ross, Furman University

Gant Roberson, The New School

Bryce Springfield, Princeton University

The amendment proposes the following changes, with deletions represented by strikethroughs and new language represented in red:

WHEREAS, the 2023 Young Democratic Socialists of America (YDSA) National Convention adopted the DSA and YDSA platforms as the basis for its organizational aims.

WHEREAS, the 2023 YDSA National Convention passed “Amendment 5: Programmatic Unity For YDSA,” making acceptance of “the aims of the platform of the organization” a requirement for membership in YDSA.

WHEREAS, becoming such an organization requires a clear articulation of the political and organizational goals of YDSA.

WHEREAS, historically successful revolutionary movements have operated from the basis of a clear political program.

WHEREAS, a clear program is the basis of principled recruitment and the effective articulation of the organization’s politics.

WHEREAS, drafting a program and arriving at unity on one will require extensive debate which will cohere the politics and develop the analysis of YDSA.

THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED, YDSA recommits to the project of building a socialist party.

RESOLVED, an ad hoc Program Committee will be created, which is composed of 10 current or former YDSA members appointed by the National Coordinating Committee (NCC) in general proportion to the results of the 2024 YDSA Convention. a national Program Committee is hereby chartered for the purpose of drafting a revised national political platform for YDSA.

RESOLVED, the Program Committee will consist of at least two members of the NCC, no more than two members from any one caucus, and at least two non-caucused members, but will otherwise be open to all members of YDSA and will not be restricted in its total membership.

RESOLVED, the Program Committee will be tasked with drafting a short program for YDSA to be voted on at the 2025 YDSA Convention with a program being defined as the clear articulation of the organization’s immediate demands, the goal of a socialist society, and how these two are connected. This program will be used to unify the organization’s politics, express its ideas through chapters across the country, give coherence to campaigns, and provide the basis for literature, graphics, and messaging. to replace the current YDSA national political platform.

RESOLVED, the draft platform will be presented to the 2025 YDSA National Convention in the form of a resolution, amendable according to normal convention rules, and will be adopted with the approval of the majority of delegates voting. The Program Committee will be tasked with holding at least one YDSA membership forum on its draft program proposal before the 2025 YDSA Convention, leaving enough time to facilitate discussion, receive feedback, and incorporate edits on the proposal from YDSA members prior to the 2025 YDSA Convention.

RESOLVED, the Program Committee will hold an initial research period of at least three months to read and discuss historical programs, and these meetings will be open to all YDSA members to observe. will compile and study a list of historical and contemporary socialist political platforms and auxiliary resources, and submit regular reports on their findings during a period of research prior to the drafting of a revised YDSA platform.

RESOLVED, the regular reports of the Program Committee will be made publicly available to all members of YDSA through national membership emails, which will also encourage members to write articles for The Activist and hold discussions in their chapters about the development of the new platform.

RESOLVED, this draft program will be based on the platforms which have been adopted as the basis of the organization’s unity, the demands which have been adopted in campaigns, and the committee’s analysis of historical socialist programs. must meet the following criteria, although these will not be binding towards the content of amendments submitted after the document is presented as a resolution for the 2025 National Convention:

It must contain a section clearly explaining YDSA’s strategy for the conquest of power by the working class and the abolition of capitalism;
It must contain a section or sections clearly and concisely listing a set of demands for YDSA as a national organization and its constituent chapters to organize towards as an extension of the stated political strategy

RESOLVED, in keeping with the democratic mandates of YDSA’s national convention, the highest governing body of the organization, the draft platform must contain the following:

Demand(s) regarding freedom of speech, assembly, and inquiry in schools, in the spirit of 2023’s “R6: Platform Amendment: The Struggle for Free Expression and Inquiry”
Demand(s) related to queer liberation, reproductive freedoms, and other forms of bodily autonomy, in the spirit of 2023’s “R19: For a Mass Socialist Campaign for Trans Rights and Bodily Autonomy”
Demand(s) related to political democracy and the need for a new Constitution, in the spirit of 2023’s “R21: Winning the Battle for Democracy”
Demand(s) related to anti-imperialism and the demilitarization of campuses, in the spirit of 2023’s “R22: Anti-Militarism on Campus”
Language codifying the political content of any other platform amendments or major national campaigns passed at the 2024 National Convention

RESOLVED, this program and its demands will be targeted specifically towards an audience of students and young people, and will not attempt to replace or supplant the messaging of DSA.

R19. For Protest Democracy

Sponsor: Judith Chavarria, Florida International University

Co-Sponsors: Daniel Salup-Cid, Florida International University

Elijah Knier, University of Wisconsin Milwaukee

Noah Thompson, University of Oregon

Uma Clemenceau, University of California Santa Barbara

Winnie Marion, New York University

Nelson Calles, University of Florida

Steven Raney, Furman University

Megan Christle, Virginia Tech

Joselyn Peña, Florida International University

Reasoning of Resolution:

WHEREAS, Young Democratic Socialists of America (YDSA) chapters across the country have confronted the problems caused by disorganized, informal leadership structures in coalitional protests. This dynamic has become particularly apparent in Palestine solidarity organizing.

WHEREAS, this lack of accountability weakens protest messaging and democratic decision-making, inhibits a movement’s ability to advance clear, class-based, socialist demands, and makes it more difficult to implement effective mass organizing tactics.

WHEREAS, as socialists we are wholeheartedly committed to the success of protest movements that fight for the international working class, and seek to build these movements with a strong and democratically approved political program.

WHEREAS, fighting for an independent democratic socialist party will require sustained, careful and coordinated messaging around politics and the structures necessary to facilitate mass political deliberation.

Action of Resolution:

THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED, YDSA commits to promoting democracy in protest movements, especially in ongoing Palestine solidarity encampments and long-term campaigns. To that end, YDSA supports, as applicable:

Regular mass meetings of participants with votes.
Elected leadership bodies which are accountable to recall.
Coalition structures composed of voting representatives from participating organizations.

RESOLVED, to the extent possible, YDSA believes protests should have accountable representatives tasked with acting as spokespeople. Public messaging and media coverage should be used as an opportunity to build the movement with a clear political program.

RESOLVED, that YDSA believes protests are most effective when they have clear demands, democratically decided upon by participating members. These demands should be the basis for extended campaigns which can advance working-class and anti-oppression struggles. Furthermore, as socialists, we believe these demands should target capitalism and imperialism with the aim of connecting to the consciousness of as many people as possible.

RESOLVED, the National Coordinating Committee (NCC) and Campaign Organizing Committee (COC) are tasked with creating pamphlets and trainings on how to fight for protest democracy. The NCC and Communications Committee are tasked with producing content to advocate for the positions outlined above, and hosting a workshop on protest democracy at the next YDSA Winter Conference.

R20. Building the Socialist Movement Through YDSA

Sponsor: Judith Chavarria, Florida International University

Co-Sponsors: Daniel Salup-Cid, Florida International University

Joselyn Peña, Florida International University

Steven Raney, Furman University

Winnie Marion, New York University

Daniil Sapunkov, Hunter College

Carlos Callejo III, Cal Poly Pomona

Uma Clemenceau, University of California Santa Barbara

Noah Thompson, University of Oregon

Eli Castellano, Florida International University

Reasoning of Resolution:

WHEREAS, the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) is organizing in difficult terrain. Slowing social movements and the election of Joe Biden led to sustained membership loss, while the Young Democratic Socialists of America (YDSA) has grown its membership exponentially. YDSA is one of the most successful and fruitful parts of the organization as a whole.

WHEREAS, YDSA has been at the forefront of DSA’s organizing, playing a leading role in the student movement for Palestine solidarity, organizing student unions across the country, and producing a generation of lifelong socialists who also organize in the DSA chapters. YDSA trains future leaders of DSA, and develops the socialist cadre it needs to build the movement.

WHEREAS, the member-driven structure of YDSA has made its organizing more dynamic, effective, and responsive to the needs of mass movements. This is best exemplified by the strong messaging and social media presence the YDSA Communications Committee has been able to provide amidst the Palestine solidarity encampments being organized on university campuses across the country.

WHEREAS, the DSA National Political Committee (NPC) voted to reduce financial support to YDSA committee chairs, end in-person YDSA National Conventions, and prevent YDSA from hiring a full-time staffer to support its national initiatives. This harms the organization as a whole and diminishes the work of its most vibrant and engaged section.

WHEREAS, the YDSA National Coordinating Committee (NCC) organized an emergency membership meeting to discuss the multiple cuts to YDSA’s budget. At this meeting, YDSA members strongly and unequivocally opposed these cuts and affirmed the importance of funding the student movement.

WHEREAS, these budget cuts go against the YDSA consensus resolution passed at the 2023 DSA National Convention, which sought to increase support and resources for YDSA to continue building the organization. This undermines the democratic spirit of the national convention.

Action of Resolution:

THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED, the 2024 YDSA National Convention considers the decision of the NPC to cut the YDSA budget to have been a serious error.

RESOLVED, the Convention holds that a member-driven, campaigning approach is the most effective way to grow DSA, and will continue to advocate for and implement this approach wherever possible.

RESOLVED, the Convention considers advancing socialist politics to be the primary factor in any budget decisions, and for that reason holds that funding for campaigns, member-run projects, democratically elected leadership, and YDSA should be priorities for the organization.

RESOLVED, the Convention affirms that, as current and future leaders of the socialist movement, YDSA members should be taken into democratic consideration regarding the political direction of the organization as a whole.

RESOLVED, the NCC shall continue holding participatory membership meetings when significant decisions regarding YDSA are made by the NPC, ensuring that YDSA members have a strong voice in the organization.

RESOLVED, YDSA shall advocate for an in-person 2025 YDSA National Convention, while committing to reduce potential costs by selecting a less expensive venue (e.g. at a university) and fundraising to support member attendance.

R21. Building Militant and Democratic Student Unions on College Campuses

Sponsor: Carlos Callejo III, Cal Poly Pomona

Co-Sponsors: Ali Noorzad, San Francisco State University

Rafi Ash, Brown University

Mae Bracelin, University of Oregon

Noah Thompson, University of Oregon

Winnie Marion, New York University

Uma Clemenceau, University of California Santa Barbara

Daniil Sapunkov, Hunter College

Marwah Alasady, Cal Poly Pomona

Carlo McCallick, University of California Merced

Reasoning of Resolution:

Whereas, College and university campuses are a terrain of struggle alongside labor and electoral organizing with the potential to politicize masses of young people around the country;

Whereas, Students have a degree of power on their campuses as tuition payers which has not been built through lasting organizations in the United States;

Whereas, the inability of student government bodies to wield the collective power of students

makes them ineffective in challenging university administrations;

Whereas, student org coalitions are able to effectively pool resources and offer political direction, but unable to build bottom-up mass organizations representative of their student bodies;

Whereas, Engaging in collective action and shared struggle facilitates rapid political development and consciousness-raising;

Whereas, Millions of students across the country are being rapidly politicized and mobilizing against the genocide in Gaza;

Whereas, YDSA, as a socialist organization, cannot become a majoritarian student organization on campus given the current state of mass political consciousness in the United States;

Whereas, Student Unions, organizations of students across programs, departments, and schools exist around the world to channel the power of students on their campuses into long-term organization;

Whereas, Militant and democratic student unions have secured significant victories internationally;

Whereas, YDSA members at San Francisco State University (SFSU) won divestment, disclosure, and other demands by building a militant and openly democratic encampment across departments and schools;

Action of Resolution:

Be it therefore resolved, YDSA commits to building militant and democratic student unions on campuses across the United States;

Be it further resolved, YDSA recognizes that these Student Unions shall not be built as coalitions of student organization leaders; but as independent, democratic mass organizations that focus on building the power of rank-and-file students;

Be it further resolved, YDSA recognizes that the path to viable student unions in the US starts with

campaigns around widely and deeply felt issues that build power for students on campus;

Be it further resolved, The YDSA NCC will identify five campuses with the potential to establish a new student union in the next 3 years, taking into account factors to consider such as:

Size and development of YDSA Chapter;
Success of recent YDSA/Student pressure campaigns;
Political consciousness of students on campus;
Existing activist organizations;
Power and credibility of current student government;

Be it further resolved, The NCC will work to support these chapters through:

1:1 mentorship;
Political education resources;
Communications support;
In-person visits from NCC member(s);
Meetings with chapter leadership to generate buy-in and work with chapter leaders to bring a proposal to rank-and-file YDSA chapter members;

Be it further resolved, the NCC will cohere mentorship committees for each of the campuses identified consisting of:

Current/former chapter leaders;
NCC members;
Experienced student organizers;

Be it further resolved, YDSA will create political education resources about student unions, including a national political education event about student unions;

Be it further resolved, YDSA will work to build relationships with established student unions in other countries to learn from their structures and share organizing strategies.

R22. Class Struggle Internationalism

Sponsor: Daniil Sapunkov, Hunter College

Co-Sponsors: Allan Frasheri, University of Florida

Daniel Salup-Cid, Florida International University

Judith Chavarria, Florida International University

Rafi Ash, Brown University

Jo von Maack, Hunter College

Jess Fisher, University of Oregon

Diego Duarte, University of Oregon

Uma Clemenceau, University of California Santa Barbara

Carlos Callejo III, Cal Poly Pomona

This resolution has been updated to incorporate a friendly secondary submission from:

Sponsor: Daniel Salup-Cid, Florida International University

Co-Sponsors: Judith Chavarria, Florida International University

Maria Franzblau, Florida International University

Ian Mohr, University of Oregon

Elijah Knier, University of Wisconsin Milwaukee

Joselyn Peña, Florida International University

Reasoning of Resolution:

Whereas, Capitalism is a global force that exploits and oppresses billions of working-class people across the globe while continuing to enrich the capitalist class.

Whereas, only the organized international working class can facilitate a revolutionary break from capitalism and replace it with socialism.

Whereas, the main enemy is at home. Workers in the United States—the Belly of the Beast—have a distinct responsibility to build an international mass working-class anti-war anti-imperialist movement that can not only pause the destructive American war machine but destroy it entirely.

Whereas, Capitalism is a system of class exploitation. An important part of this global economic system is the exploitation of workers and the subjugation of governments in the global periphery to capitalists in the imperial core. However, the central division in capitalism is between a global capitalist class and an international working class, not between competing nation-states. Workers in imperialist and imperialized countries and competing imperial powers must be united in their struggles against their ruling classes.

Action of Resolution:

Be it resolved, YDSA seeks to learn from and stand in solidarity with movements around the world fighting for democratic socialism. We stand against all states that engage in the oppression of working peoples and side with capital over workers, regardless of the political character of the government. Our main target is our own state and U.S. imperialism, but as consistent anti-imperialists and internationalists, our starting point for establishing solidarity is the rights of workers and all oppressed peoples, not geopolitical bargains and rivalries.

Resolved, YDSA shall oppose the US-led imperial order and fight to overturn colonial and neo-colonial rule. While recognizing the progress social democratic parties represent, we affirm that there is a fundamental difference between our goals and theirs. This is inseparable from building a revolutionary movement for democratic socialism. Ending imperialism and undoing its effects can only be achieved by the independent victory of the international working class.

Resolved, YDSA will continue campaigns to divest and end all ties between our universities, military contractors and all other corporations complicit in human rights violations around the world, including the US-sponsored genocide in Gaza and the US imperialist agenda in the war in Ukraine.

Resolved, YDSA establishes that our primary task is not to offer uncritical diplomatic support, but rather to critically evaluate and exchange lessons with parties around the world. Our essential task is to advance socialist internationalism and to collaborate on strengthening our movements ideologically, organizationally and materially.

Resolved, YDSA will continue maintaining and putting out anti-imperialist materials, both in digital and written form, that highlight the horrors of the U.S. Empire and the complicity of both Republican and Democratic administrations, as well as the role of student and worker movements in the domestic anti-imperialist struggles.

Resolved, YDSA recognizes that many of DSA’s elected representatives have not adhered to the standards set here. We stand against votes to expand NATO by DSA representatives in Congress, and reaffirm our opposition to militarism across the globe.

Resolved, YDSA commits to supporting democracy and rank-and-file control within working-class organizations—trade unions and political parties—and the struggle of the working class against self-serving bureaucratic layers within these organizations.

R23. For an Independent Youth International Committee

Sponsor: Allan Frasheri, University of Florida

Co-Sponsors: Daniil Sapunkov, Hunter College

Winnie Marion, New York University

Carlos Callejo III, Cal Poly Pomona

Uma Clemenceau, University of California Santa Barbara

Noah Thompson, University of Oregon

Daniel Salup-Cid, Florida International University

Judith Chavarria, Florida International University

Jess Fisher, University of Oregon

Jo von Maack, Hunter College

Reasoning of Resolution:

Whereas, Capitalism is an international force and we, as socialists, are required to participate and engage in international issues in order to defeat it.

Whereas, YDSA is an autonomous organization, functioning as a youth wing of DSA and the future youth wing of an independent Workers Party.

Whereas, The annual YDSA convention is our highest decision-making body that sets our political

and organizational direction. This includes questions of political orientation toward different international movements.

Whereas, We, as YDSA, decide our own political priorities through convention, political leadership, and independent committees. Currently, YDSA’s international work is carried out through a subcommittee of the DSA International Committee, limiting the ability of YDSA to make direct connections with student movements and party youth wings around the world, removing YDSA’s international work from direct oversight by YDSA members and elected leaders.

Whereas, engaging in anti-imperialist struggles and building a robust militant anti-war mass movement of workers and students is the prime task of US Socialists today.

Whereas, in fall of last year, the IC Steering Committee voted down an IC-YLC statement in solidarity with striking students at the University of São Paolo. In September, thousands of students from across various departments at the University of São Paolo went on strike to protest faculty shortages and underfunding of public education. Student organizers from the University of São Paolo sent a request for YDSA to express solidarity with their struggle by releasing a public statement in support and encouraging members and chapters to send videos of solidarity. The IC-YLC unanimously approved a statement in solidarity with the striking students but the IC Steering Committee voted down the statement. They cited concerns that the faculty wasn’t in support of the strike, despite the faculty union publicly releasing a statement that they support and will participate in the strike.

Whereas, in mid-April, YDSA made a popular post on multiple social media platforms calling for the US to not sanction or further fund war with Iran, in response to Iran’s retaliatory strike on Israeli military targets. In the aftermath, YDSA Comms Committee was told to not post on such international affairs without first receiving approval from DSA IC Steering.

Whereas, the recent Campus Encampments for Palestine sparked a mass movement across the world for Palestinian liberation and activated thousands of students, teachers, and community members into action and radicalized them against the Status Quo capitalist ruling class. Limiting structures, particularly the capped membership, and the prolonged, multi-body appointment process, impaired the IC-YLC’s ability to turn into an organizing body.

Action of Resolution:

Resolved, the YIC will be open to all YDSA members in good standing via an application process as with any other YDSA committee, overseen by YDSA convention resolutions and the YDSA NCC.

Resolved, YDSA requests that the DSA International Committee dissolve its IC Youth Committee, transfer its responsibilities to the YIC, and accept a representative from the YIC to the IC Steering Committee modeled after the relationship between the YDSA Labor Committee and DSA NLC.

Resolved, the Committee will consist of 2 co-chairs, an NCC liaison, and an open membership body that will be set and seated by the NCC.

Resolved, YIC will function independently of the current DSA IC and will be accountable to our national leadership and the will of the convention.

Resolved, members are encouraged to remain involved in DSA IC and its subcommittees. YIC chairs will be encouraged to facilitate elections of subcommittee liaisons to help maintain lines of communication.

Resolved, newly established YIC will be encouraged to take on the following tasks:

To track, oversee, and support projects related to international solidarity and political education on high school and college campuses and in our youth section broadly,
To assist YDSA chapters as pertain to international solidarity and political education projects in coordination with the YDSA NCC,
To bring statements regarding YDSA internationalist work to the YDSA NCC and prepare work summaries and quarterly reports for YDSA and DSA’s membership,
To encourage and facilitate meetings between the YIC and YDSA NCC and the youth sections of left parties and other organizations
To advise the IC on all matters related to international student and youth-wing organizing,
To build the institutional memory of YDSA’s international work and regularly inform YDSA membership of ongoing internationalist efforts.
To establish methods of working on anti-war projects that connect international socialist movements.
Work closely with YPEC and the Communications Committee to help create Political Education materials about the anti-imperialist mass movement struggles in the U.S. and the World. And continue to expose the complicity of Biden and the Democrats in the ongoing genocide and help put forward outward-facing communications of our socialist analysis.

R24. Budget Autonomy for YDSA

Sponsor: Winnie Marion, New York University

Co-Sponsors: Carlos Callejo, Cal Poly Pomona

Noah Thompson, University of Oregon

Erin Lawson, New York University

Rafael Ash, Brown University

Margot Grotland, Columbia University

Mae Bracelin, University of Oregon

Marwah Alasady, Cal Poly Pomona

Uma Clemenceau, University of California Santa Barbara

Daniil Sapunkov, Hunter College

Reasoning of Resolution:

Whereas, YDSA has chartered dozens of new chapters and grown by thousands of members in the past several years. YDSA chapters are building mass struggles on their campuses, developing lifelong socialist organizers, and educating classmates and the broader community.

Whereas, YDSA is increasingly playing a leading role nationally and locally in the fight for Palestinian liberation and the youth and student labor movement;

Whereas, student organizations throughout US history and around the world typically have control over their own budget, such as the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) during the US Civil Rights Movement and Juntos in Brazil. Many of these organizations use their budgets to hire staff and create paid political leadership and cadre positions;

Whereas, since 2021, YDSA Conventions have repeatedly called for an expanded YDSA budget and the 2023 DSA Convention passed the YDSA consensus resolution which granted YDSA an expanded budget;

Whereas, stipends for elected and appointed leadership have greatly expanded the capacity of YDSA at the national level and allowed members of the NCC to hold regular 1:1s with chapter leaders;

Whereas, in their efforts to balance DSA’s budget, the NPC has cut YDSA Committee Chair stipends and considered proposals to eliminate NCC stipends multiple times;

Whereas, the NPC has also voted to move all future YDSA national gatherings online. Being unable to meet in-person in the midst of the most significant student mobilizations in decades will have a disorganizing effect on YDSA and limit our ability to intervene nationally and locally in the Palestinian liberation movement;

Whereas, YDSA has only one staffer and the NPC has freezed hiring of YDSA interns, down from 2 staffers and 2 interns in 2022. These staff positions were created after years of pressure from YDSA Conventions and YDSA Co-Chairs on the NPC. Decisions about when and who YDSA hires are ultimately made by the NPC, with limited input from YDSA.

Whereas, in spite of these cuts, YDSA continues to carry out important work that could benefit from the increased scale and sophistication that an expanded staff and budget would provide;

Whereas, cuts to the YDSA budget are not the fault of any individual or group, but instead represent a structural issue of YDSA not being able to control its own budget, raise its own money and collect dues, hire its own staff, and determine stipends for paid political leadership positions as it sees fit;

Whereas, separate incorporation is a legal process that allows subsidiaries of an organization to manage their own finances and operations

Whereas, models for separate incorporation in DSA already exist and many DSA chapters have their own bank accounts, hire their own staff, collect local dues, and launch dynamic fundraising initiatives all while receiving support from DSA through staffers, OrgTools, and other resources;

Whereas, as socialists struggling in the heart of empire, we cannot limit our imagination and should experiment with organizational structures and approaches that best grow and cohere the socialist movement;

Action of Resolution:

Be it therefore resolved, the NCC will explore separate incorporation for YDSA based on input from the DSA's NPC and Budget and Finance Committee. The NCC will publish any findings from this exploration, including findings about the feasibility of separately incorporating YDSA, to YDSA membership in the first quarter of 2025.

Be it further resolved, YDSA will explore establishing optional national dues, similar to DSA chapters’ local dues, a fundraising plan, and a budget. However, YDSA will continue to request its budget from DSA in addition to any optional dues and additional fundraising that may result from the incorporation exploration;

Be it further resolved, YDSA’s Treasurer will deliver a financial report to each YDSA Convention, and financial information will be included in Convention materials;

Be it further resolved, if the process of incorporation is developed and agreed upon, once sufficient funds are raised, the YDSA NCC will explore re-establishing stipends to previous levels and positions, and would be empowered to use the funds to support national and local organizing through hiring staff and interns, purchasing organizing materials, contracting artists, and other tasks mandated by the YDSA convention;

Be it further resolved, the NCC will request to work with the NPC and DSA’s Budget and Finance committee to explore a plan to slowly transfer the funding of YDSA expenses from DSA to YDSA, depending on the results of the exploration;

Be it further resolved, the NCC will investigate the possibility of increasing and improving paid political leadership in YDSA and will present a proposal to improve YDSA paid political leadership and a YDSA staffing plan at the 2025 YDSA Convention;

Be it further resolved, YDSA requests that the NPC respects the democratic decisions made by this Convention and requests that the NPC works in good faith with YDSA leaders to implement this plan.

FL1. Rise Up For Rashida

Sponsor: Trey Cook, University of Vermont

Whereas, Joe Biden has withdrawn from the 2024 presidential race and endorsed Kamala Harris, representing a continuation of the status quo in Democratic Party leadership,

Whereas, the YDSA Convention has passed the resolution "No Votes For Genocide," which commits our organization to oppose candidates who support imperialist and genocidal policies,

Whereas, Rashida Tlaib has consistently demonstrated a commitment to justice, equality, and anti-imperialist principles as a champion for Palestine, anti-zionism and our independent working class political program, making her a suitable candidate who aligns with the values and goals of YDSA,

Whereas, Rashida Tlaib’s policy positions include support for Medicare for All, the Green New Deal, labor rights, and a foreign policy based on peace and justice, which resonate with working class and our socialist organization,

Whereas, supporting a socialist, anti-imperialist candidate like Rashida Tlaib presents an opportunity to advance a platform that prioritizes the needs and rights of the working class, marginalized communities, and the planet, and agitate for independent, working class politics for socialism,

Whereas, the movement for Palestinian liberation needs a political expression, especially in the context of a 2024 Presidential election where both major parties support the ongoing genocide.

Whereas, raising this demand for Rashida Tlaib is transitional, and part of a process of assembling leftwing forces in the labor movement for the 2028 UAW general strike call and to advance a political program of the left by running Tlaib for president in 2028

Be it resolved, that YDSA calls on our comrade Rashida Tlaib to run for President to be a pro-Palestinian Liberation alternative in the 2024 elections. YDSA will deliver communications to Rashida Tlaib’s office expressing our support for her candidacy and encouraging her to run,

Be it further resolved that YDSA will only endorse Rashida Tlaib for President in the 2024 election

Be it further resolved that YDSA will call on the NPC to endorse Rashida Tlaib for president in line with “No Votes For Genocide”

Be it further resolved that YDSA comms committee will publish materials to promote Rashida Tlaib’s commitment to policies that align with our values and the broader goals of the socialist movement,

Be it further resolved that YDSA may collaborate with other progressive and socialist organizations to build a broad coalition in support of Rashida Tlaib’s candidacy,

Be it finally resolved that YDSA will continue to advocate for policies and candidates that challenge the existing two-party duopoly and undemocratic capitalist system and work towards a socialist future, regardless of the outcome of the 2024 presidential election.

Constitutional Amendments

A1. Priority Campaigns for YDSA National

Sponsor: Sean Bridge, University of Cincinnati

Co-Sponsors:

Callynn Johnson, University of Central Florida

Atakan Devieren, Cornell University

Aron Ali-McClory, University of Florida

Madhulika Singh, University of Cincinnati

Gabriel McAdams, University of California Berkeley

Vivian Dai, Boston University

Niko Johnson-Fuller, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign

Bradley S., University of Central Florida

Valentina Kleckner, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign

Brief statement outlining the motivation for the amendment:

An important part of a democratic organization is choosing what priorities we should dedicate our limited resources towards. For as long as I have been a member and before that, our national campaigns have either been unachievable federal pressure campaigns -- such as College For All, Medicare for All, or Cancel Student Debt -- or have been a priority initiative for a broad category of work -- such as the two trans rights & bodily autonomy campaigns. While these are important topics in which we should organize around, these styles of priority campaigns are not an effective method through which we are able to collectively struggle towards a shared vision for the work the organization should be doing on a year to year basis.

Additionally, procedurally and structurally, these proposals have been debated, discussed, and passed the same way as any other normal convention proposal. This makes it so that there is no need to create a proposal that has broad buy-in and which is applicable to the conditions for the majority of chapters. Additionally, it in no way guarantees or directs the NCC to prioritize the proposal when it comes to time, resources, or members.

This proposal seeks to create a framework through which we can better collectively determine what work the organization should prioritize and how that work should be carried out.

Constitution Section and Article that would be changed:

Adding a new article after "Article VIII. Committees & Working Groups", with all subsequent articles having their numbers incremented by 1.

Old Language:

N/A

New Language:

ARTICLE IX. National Priorities

Sec. 1 - National Priorities are large-scale structural and/or campaign-based initiatives that require major sustained effort and resources which all chapters are able to participate in and shall be carried out between their adoption and the next Annual Convention. All formations within the organization should attempt to participate in the national priorities where possible. The NCC will give these initiatives priority including but not limited to time during national events, space in internal and external communications, money from the budget, and the mobilization of new and existing chapters.

Sec. 2 - Up to two (2) National Priorities may be established via the passage of a Priority Resolution at the Annual Convention.

Sec. 2a - Each eligible Priority Resolution will first go before the convention individually, requiring a two-thirds (2/3) majority vote to pass.

Sec. 2b - If more than two (2) Priority Resolutions reach the two-thirds (2/3) threshold, there will a selection process consisting of a ranked-choice election to select up to two (2) National Priorities, with votes tallied by the Scottish Single Transferable Vote (STV) method. If two (2) or fewer Priority Resolutions reach the two-thirds (2/3) threshold, all of those advanced will automatically be adopted.

Sec. 2c - Priority Resolutions which reach the two-thirds (2/3) threshold but are not selected as priorities shall be treated the same as other non-priority initiatives or projects passed by convention. Such non-priority initiatives or projects are not precluded from obtaining resources such as time, internal and external communications, space on the website, money from the budget, or mobilization of new and existing chapters but will not be given priority.

Sec. 2d - If less than two (2) National Priorities are established by the Annual Convention the NCC may establish additional National Priorities via a two-thirds (2/3) majority vote, to be carried out between their establishment and the next Annual Convention. The NCC may also choose to, due to unforeseen political conditions, replace or amend a National Priority established by the Annual Convention via a two-thirds (2/3) majority vote.

Sec. 3 - Priority Resolutions must contain a description of the goals of the priority, a description of the strategy and tactics planned for achieving those goals, a clear explanation in how all chapters would be able to participate in the priority in a coordinated manner, a timeline for implementation and execution with milestones for at least every semester until the next Annual Convention, an existing or new committee or working groups which shall be in charge of carrying out the priority, and methods by which the success of the priority will be determined.

Sec. 3a - The Convention Planning Team shall be responsible for determining if a submitted priority proposal meets the requirements as described previously.

A2. Towards a Workers Party

Sponsor: Ryan Jones, New York University

Co-Sponsors:

Brady Amelechkin, New York University

Kavi Singh, New York University

Sebastian Cardena, New York University

Qingyu Zhang, University of Florida

Ro Alcazar, James Madison University

Parker Ruan, Boston University

Leo Ambrogelly, New York University

William Tang, Columbia University

Jess Fisher, University of Oregon

Brief statement outlining the motivation for the amendment:

In many such countries, socialist and labor parties and unions organized together, being connected from their inception. In the US, this did not occur. Without ties to a working class party, unions in the country have been vulnerable to attacks by employers, leaving the US with one of the lowest rates of unionization among industrialized countries.

Rebuilding the labor movement in the US means moving beyond narrow trade unionism and towards industrial, class-class struggle unionism linked to socialist political organizations.

Whereas, the previous national convention affirmed its support for the Rank and File Strategy, prioritizing the goals of

“Rebuilding the labor movement through shop-floor organization, advancing democracy and a class-struggle orientation in our unions, and challenging conservative union bureaucracies, and”
“Merging socialism with this rank-and-file movement.”

Constitution Section and Article that would be changed:

N/A - The amendment creates a new article

Old Language:

N/A - The amendment creates a new article

New Language:

Article 1. Affiliated Unions

Sec. 1. Student worker union locals shall be entitled to become official YDSA chapter affiliates, which shall be recognized by YDSA.

Sec. 1a. Student worker unions are defined as union locals whose bargaining units are composed of at least 50% students.

Sec. 2. As an affiliate, the local agrees to support the chapter’s campaigns and actions, and the chapter agrees to support the local’s campaigns and actions. Representatives from the leadership of both the chapter and the local shall meet monthly during the semester or session of the academic institution. If the local opposes a campaign or action of the chapter, it shall be granted a hearing to discuss its concerns upon request. Affiliated locals shall seek to abide by decisions of the Annual Convention insofar as it is possible and reasonable to do so. Locals may not be asked to abide by decisions that would violate their union’s constitution, as long as this does not place them into substantial disagreement with the principles or policies of YDSA. Affiliated locals shall be encouraged to either contribute monetarily to YDSA’s national body, based on recommendations produced annually by the NCC, taking into account local and chapter membership and the representation granted to the local at the national convention.

Sec. 3. To affiliate with YDSA, the local may submit an application to the campus’ chapter leadership or directly to the NCC. The NCC shall decide the status of the affiliation in consultation with the chapter. YDSA shall consider all applications within one month as long as the educational institution is currently in session, otherwise the one month begins at the beginning of the next session or semester of the institution.

Sec. 3a. To be eligible for affiliation, the union must be located on a campus with an officially chartered chapter.

Sec. 4. Affiliated locals are entitled to representation at YDSA’s Annual Convention.

Sec. 4a. The number of delegates assigned to the affiliated local shall be apportioned immediately following the apportionment for YDSA chapters. The apportionment shall be based on the following: A ratio of membership count in the local to delegates, adjusted in proportion to the affiliated chapter’s convention delegate apportionment. Thus, unions affiliated with larger chapters will receive larger delegations. Delegates for affiliated unions are apportioned independently, not taking away representation from the affiliated chapter. The delegates apportioned to all affiliated locals at an academic institution are not to exceed the number of delegates apportioned to the affiliated chapter.

Sec. 4b. Non-YDSA members of the local shall be permitted to participate in the selection/election of their delegation. The delegates themselves must be YDSA members.

Sec. 5. Annually, the NCC shall produce guides about affiliation to be distributed to chapters, identify campuses where affiliation would be most fruitful, and work to encourage

Sec. 6. Affiliation may be terminated in the case that locals are found to be in substantial disagreement with the principles or policies of the organization, or if they consistently engage in undemocratic, disruptive actions or if they are affiliated with any external organization that publicly endeavors to undermine the efforts of DSA or YDSA made according to the decisions of its internal democracy.

Sec. 6a. Affiliated locals facing a termination of their affiliation must receive written notice of charges against them and must be given the opportunity to be heard before an unbiased, impartial body designated by the NCC for the purpose of considering the termination of affiliation.

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