The Young Democratic Socialists of America (YDSA) hosted its second meeting last Tuesday and welcomed national DSA representative John Lewis.
The YDSA is a new club at Southeastern, aimed at serving our community through acts of service. It is a branch of the DSA focused on students who want to make a change in their local community. It is holding multiple events throughout this semester, including This week, a food drive until Friday, March 6.
Lewis refounded the DSA chapter in Baton Rouge and became one of the youngest members elected to the DSA national political committee. He gave a presentation and an open discussion on socialism, the DSA’s background, and the organization’s work in the community.
Lewis said, “Socialism is about who controls the resources, who controls the power and who is getting exploited. Socialism is about removing the ability for people to massively exploit you.”
DSA is a big-tent organization, meaning it has people from a variety of different backgrounds and views. The term “democratic” in their name reflects its stated commitment to collaborating with other members in a democratic process to assist its communities and advance policy.
Every member is considered equal. Lewis shared a story about an 11-year-old girl, whose parents are members, who wrote a resolution urging the DSA not to use any AI resources. In Lewis’ words, “everybody from across the organization looked at it and went ‘alright, that makes sense,’ and they agreed to do it.”
The DSA’s stated mission is to get people together to accomplish something. Lewis specified systems of activism, organization and mobilization.
Activism is traditionally seen as a solo operation by the DSA, whereas an organization consists of a group of people coming together to participate in activism. DSA helps mobilize these activist groups by providing funding, information and support.
Lewis talked about Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Watch, where DSA trains regular citizens to relay information and act as legal observers for public safety concerns.
Lewis said when Gregory Bovino, a high-ranking border patrol agent, came to Louisiana and targeted an elementary school, local organizing and public outcry successfully pushed Immigration and Customs Enforcement out of the community, according to Lewis.
The requested items are bread, microwave meals, canned chicken, tuna pouches and fruit cups. Drop-off boxes are located on the first floor of Fayard.
