In order to usher in 2012, we wanted to reflect on all the great work that our chapters have done in 2011, including hosting events, getting out the vote, and more. At CCD, we have been so impressed by the work our chapters have done this year, and we can’t wait to see what they do in 2012!

College Democrats at UCSC

The College Dems at UCSC had a busy year down in Santa Cruz, participating in a wide range of activities. The chapter participated in a beach cleanup, hosted a question and answer session with Santa Cruz Mayor Ryan Coonerty, and held social events within their chapter, including a political movie night and a potluck. But their work isn’t over; the chapter has high hopes for 2012. Among their many goals is to host a town hall on higher education and to start a new Young Dems chapter in Santa Cruz. We look forward to seeing what the College Dems at UCSC do in 2012!

College of San Mateo Democrats

As a new chapter in 2011, the College of San Mateo Democrats hit the ground running. The chapter hosted political movie nights, participated in the Occupy Movement in San Francisco, volunteered locally, and held discussions on social issues. The CSM Democrats hope to get involved in the 2012 elections and be more involved in the Occupy movement.

College Democrats at San Francisco State University

The College Dems at SF State had a great year in 2011, getting involved in the San Francisco elections and focusing on voter registration, for which they received the small school Rush to Reg award from CCD. They also hosted a GOTV rally on campus for the 2011 San Francisco elections. Their goals for 2012 are to expand their membership and grow the base of their organization.

College Democrats at Sacramento State

The College Democrats at Sacramento State were extremely successful in 2011, participating in many events and registering hundreds of voters. Specifically, the chapter participated in the No on Measure A Campaign, hosted Assemblymember Roger Dickinson, and partnered with the Sacramento County Young Democrats to register over 300 voters. Moreover, they started an awareness month called the CSUS Students for LGBTQ Acceptance and co-sponsored a Higher Education event with Dr. Richard Pan and Sacramento Mayor Kevin Johnson. They were recognized for their outstanding accomplishments by receiving the President’s Award at the CYD Lake Tahoe Retreat. As for 2012, the College Dems at Sac State hope to host a successful fundraiser, grow their chapter, and continue to register voters.

Davis College Democrats

The Davis College Democrats were busy in 2011, expanding their membership, registering voters, and hosting a successful kickoff event with Assemblymember Mariko Yamada. In addition, they focused on membership development, sending five club members to a Democracy for America training and sending 15 members to the CYD Lake Tahoe Retreat. For this outstanding work, they were recognized as an Honorable Mention in the Rush to Register competition and also helped an independent senate candidate get elected to the Associated Students of the University of California Davis Senate. The chapter has many goals for 2012, including hosting Dr. Ami Bera, participating in a voter registration projects in Winters and Woodland, and hosting their annual fundraiser.

Cal Berkeley Democrats

The Cal Dems were very active in 2011, hosting a welcome barbecue, participating in a lobby visit with Senator Loni Hancock, hosting Dr. Ami Bera, debating the Berkeley College Republicans, and sending over 40 members to the CYD Lake Tahoe Retreat. Moreover, they successfully responded to the racist bakesale of the Berkeley College Republicans and the violence at Occupy Cal through club statements. In 2012, the chapter hopes to raise thousands of dollars, recruit more active members, travel to Nevada to campaign for Obama, and complete an alumni network.

Chico State Student Democratic Club

The Chico State Student Democratic Club had a busy semester, sending 15 members to the CYD Lake Tahoe Retreat and hosting a fundraiser. For these outstanding efforts as well as their work in defeating Measure A in Chico, the chapter was awarded the CYD North State Chapter of the Year award. The Chico State Student Democratic Club has big plans for next semester, planning to register voters on campus, raise money to send members to the CDP Convention, and work with candidates to elect more Democrats.

In 2012, California College Democrats Chapters have made it their number one priority to do whatever they can to re-elect President Barack Obama and take back the House of Representatives.

In light of the New Year, CCD would like to highlight the activities and events our chapters have put on and the achievements and honors they’ve received as a result. We hope this will serve as a guide to not only help new chapters learn from model chapters, but also serve as a tool for chapters to track their progress from season to season.

Chapman University Young Democrats:

This fall semester, Chapman has focused on re-building its chapter as whole. While doing so, they have put on many inner-club activities, such as movie nights, and set in place events for next semester, such as a fundraiser and club retreat. As a result, Chapman Dems’ membership has more than quadrupled, which will easily set the foundation for a strong chapter going into 2012.

Democrats of the Claremont Colleges:

Claremont Colleges worked on increasing participation in chapter programming. Claremont Dems held many social events, such as debate watch and voter registration parties, to phone-banking events for Obama and local and national races. By increasing their presence on campus, Claremont Dems were able to successful hold more events, leading to awards such as CYD LA Region All-Stars of 2011 and second place in the Rush2Reg competition.

CSU Northridge Young Democrats:

CSUN YD’s focused on expanding their chapter’s involvement in community affairs this semester. CSUN co-hosted a huge toy-drive event with its Young Democrat counterparts, San Fernando Valley Young Democrats and the Young Latino Democrats of the San Fernando Valley. As an event, the drive collected over 100 toys for charity. CSUN’s philanthropic focus also extended to the chapter’s participation in the Los Angeles AIDS walk, for which they raised $800.

Bruin Democrats at UCLA:

This quarter, Bruin Democrats fostered partnerships with many affiliated organizations, while both increasing their involvement in CYD events and issue-based causes. The club also focused on membership training and expansion by holding a policy writing workshop, a lobby certification workshop, and a grassroots organizing training workshop, providing their members the resources and tools to gain experience in community organizing and enhance their skill set in various political arenas.

Campus Democrats at UCSB:

UCSB Dems continued to build their strong chapter by making a difference in local elections. The chapter focused on a campus-wide registration drive and electing and re-electing Democrats to the Santa Barbara City Council. As a result of active participation, Campus Dems helped to successfully elect Cathy Murrillo to SB City Council, providing a strong group of committed volunteers, and successfully registering over 3,500 voters, crowning them the victors of CCD’s annual Rush2Reg competition.

College Democrats at UC San Diego:

UCSD increased its involvement in CCD programming this fall, participating in Rush-2-Reg competition and CCD’s Day of Action. In addition, UCSD continued to expand its influence in campus activities, participating in campus debates, holding weekly “News and Views” meetings to discuss current events, and working closely with the Obama for America campaign to get more student engaged in the political process. As a result of their hard work, UCSD won second place in Rush2Reg, held a successful event with Congressman Bob Filner, and increased college Democrats political engagement throughout the San Diego region.

USC College Democrats:

This fall, the USC College Democrats focused on building membership and increasing political mobilization through several campus events. USC Dems continued to partner with the Jesse M Unruh Institute of Politics in “Students Talk Back” lunches, creating a forum for students to participate in discussion. In addition, USC Dems launched USC Students for Barack Obama, and is currently focused on USC SFBO’s expansion. Through their continued involvement and partnership in campus activities and events, USC Dems will continue to engage students in its chapter’s activities.

USD Young Democrats:

USD put on and participated in several events this past semester, including beach clean up days, various phone banks, environmental rallies, and voter registration drives. As a result of their continued presence and prominent activities, USD was awarded CYD’s South State Region All-Stars of 2011. USD aims to build on these successfully events in 2012 by expanding its influence throughout campus, partnering with similar student organizations and getting involved in local city elections.

This March, CCD launched its first Online Advocacy Month. Each week we asked College Democrats to advocate for the causes that effect them, such as the federal budget and Governor Brown’s proposed special election.

You answered the call, sending dozens of emails, making dozens of phone calls, and writing multiple letters to your local newspapers. While we didn’t win on every issue, we proved that College Democrats remain active and mobilized.

As move forward, we will continue speaking out on these and other issues in Washington and Sacramento. Thank you for your continuing activism, and for all that you do.

P.S. If you haven’t yet taken action, it’s not too late — please visit our action page and let your legislators know you support a special election!

At last November’s Executive Committee meeting, CCD announced the winners of its annual Rush to Reg voter registration competition. In total, CCD chapters registered over 6,000 Democrats alone.

Among large schools, the winners were the Campus Democrats at UCSB and the Cal Berkeley Democrats. At small schools, they were the College Democrats at UCSC and the Chico State Young Democrats. Winners received a total of $700 in cash prizes, plus bobblehead participation prizes.

To read more information about our Rush to Reg 2010 results, please click here!

Did you know that Speaker Pelosi, Gavin Newsom, and Tom Torlakson all spoke to Young Democrats? That the top Democratic candidates for Lieutenant Governor and Superintendent of Public Instruction all signed our Higher Education Pledge? That CCD chapters won cash prizes and bobbleheads by registering thousands of Democratic voters?

See pictures and videos capturing the highlights of the past year on our new media page!

CCD is a collation of chapters and students across California and we’d like to make this blog your blog. From time to time we’ll post things that we think are relevant or useful to our chapters, but we’d also like to use this as a place to highlight the great work that our chapters do day in and day out.

We invite College Democrats to cross-post articles or information that you find interesting to this blog. Feel free to brag about projects and upcoming events. This is the place to do it.

If you are interested in having us post your content (or someone else’s) to this blog, please email CCD’s Communications Director, Kelsey McQuid: kelsey@cacollegedems.org