DEMS: Small group, big impact.

For the past 3 months, students may have noticed a group of individuals perched outside the John B. Cade library underneath a small white tent passing out fliers and registering students to vote.
This has been the work of The Democratic Society, a student led organization working towards creating an environment that mobilizes students politically.
For the past 78 days, with the exception of weekends, its members have stood in the heat, rain and wind promoting their initiative, “After The Trend.”
The DEMS website, www.afterthetrend.org, describes their initiative as one that seeks to create a collegiate and academic experience centered around activism, civic engagement and community service.
Their goals are simple: to build consistent constituents.
“More than anything we want people to learn how to be accountable citizens that hold officials accountable,” said Adjunct faculty member and Advisor for The Dems, Angelle Bradford.
Bradford, who is an Ohio State Alumna and Baton Rouge Native, became involved with the DEMS after returning to Southern to work on her Masters.
As an advisor, Bradford helps oversee the day to day operation of the DEMS, which is also run by President Kayla Clancy, Vice-President Destinee Jordan and 50 other members.
“We brought back DEMS and changed the name because we wanted it to be more civic engagement and community service and less political party or democrat endorsement related,” Bradford went on to add, “we wanted something that was consistent and strategic and on campus at all times.”
To help with their initiatives, the DEMS partnered with the Student Government Association to register students to vote and ensure that they take part in voting this election season.
The result was the DEMS successfully registering more than 500 Southern University students in the hopes that they will participate in today’s Presidential elections.
Bradford said she felt it was important to register students to vote because of their unique position in not only their communities, but the world at large.
“We’re the most vulnerable group” said Bradford, “When the economy falls apart we’re the ones who don’t get jobs.”
Senior Biology Major, Alexia Mosby, is a volunteer for the Dem society and spoke about her reasons for voting in this Presidential Election, “I’ll be voting because it is imperative that we voice our opinions, especially when we as black women weren’t allowed to vote for a very long time”.
Bradford said that coming into the Spring semester The DEMS faced an uphill battle being that many students had already become swayed by popular rhetoric and were deciding not to vote.
“Our approach for this semester was look, go to our website take the isidewith quiz, see what issues you care about vote for that candidate and move on” adding “we try to get people to see that there is power in the system even if it doesn’t seem like it.”
It’s this power that Bradford wishes the University had utilized in today’s election.
“One thing that does frustrate me is because we don’t take a positionality on things, things just happen,” said Bradford citing LSU’s support for Amendment number 2 on today’s Ballot.
“LSU for example they’ve invested to make sure their people vote yes for Amendment two, you can play the game without being political and I wish our school was more vocal in that way,” finished Bradford.
For those who aren’t aware, Amendment number two is a measure appearing on Tuesday’s ballot that could directly affect students’ pockets.
Sponsored by Republican Sen. Dan “Blade” Morrish of Jennings, LA, Amendment 2 would give the boards that oversee public colleges and universities the control of tuition costs.
According to an assessment of the Amendment by Times-Picayune staff writer Julia O’Donoghue, should the vote for the amendment be “yes”, said boards could even regulate the costs of different degree programs more expensive than others.
Junior Biology Major, Kristin Vessel, says she would vote against the amendment because she fears that the board could justify raising tuition of high demand fields like Nursing and Engineering.
This comes at a time when the state of Louisiana is operating its Taylor Opportunity Program for Students (T.O.P.S) at 41.8 percent, leaving cash strapped students and families left to foot nearly 60 percent of the bill.
Students interested in joining The Democratic Society or who would like more information on their outreach are encouraged to sign up via its website www.afterthetrend.org.