About Us
Putting the Blue in Brown and Blue
A Tufts Democrats ‘07-08 Roundup
Big Events
In September we hosted our annual Parents’ Weekend fundraiser with Professor and communications strategist Michael Goldman. October starred New York Times Magazine’s national political correspondent and Tufts alum Matt Bai. He came to talk about his new book, The Argument: Billionaires, Bloggers and the Battle to Remake the Democratic Party and had a special reception and discussion with us. In addition, we had another successful Internship Fair, featuring elected officials and non-profits from the Boston area. In November friend Simon Rosenberg of NDN (fka the New Democrat Network), a Democratic think tank and advocacy group, spoke to Dems in an intimate setting. In December we proudly held our third Issues of the Future Symposium on Challenges and Dilemmas of US Civil-Military Relations in the 21st Century. Co-Sponsored by ALLIES of the Institute of Global Leadership, we addressed private military contractors, veterans' affairs, and civil/campus-military relations. In preparation for the symposium we hosted Director and New England Cable News Executive Editor Iris Adler for a showing and Q&A session of her fantastic documentary, Hidden Wounds, about the lives of Iraq veterans in New England. The symposium featured experts and professionals from the Boston area and greater Northeast and raised important questions about American power 21st century. In April we held our second Tufts Democrats Alumni Reception featuring guest of honor Maine State Senator Phil Bartlett and an awards ceremony honoring former AMERICORPS director Deb Jospin, MA Secretary of Elder Affairs Mike Festa, and Peace and Justice Studies Department Chair Paul Joseph.
Political Activities
The Primary. Tufts Dems were spiritedly involved in the Democratic Presidential primary. Each candidate has/had its own sub-group which organized trips to NH and campaigned in MA, staffing fundraisers, phone banks, and internships. Tufts Dems members spent their winter breaks trekking through the snows of Iowa and NH. Super Duper Tuesday was Super Duper Dems Day at Tufts: We painted the campus blue with flyers, balloons, and Tufts Dems t-shirts. We tabled for voting information in the dining halls and threw a Democrats Unity Party. In addition, we’ve had comfy viewing parties for primary results throughout the spring semester, two mock candidate debates, and lessons from members about platforms, policies, and the Superdelegates system. We also co-sponsored successful lunch with the Institute of Political Citizenship of the Tisch College with Super Delegate Professor Alan Solomont to discuss the issue of change in the 2008 primary.
Local. Tufts Dems welcomed elected officials and candidates alike. In October, we had a visit from Somerville Alderwoman Rebekah Gewirtz and many of our members were active participants in her successful re-election campaign. In January loyal friend State Representative Carl Sciortino dropped by. Both addressed issues of our host communities, town-gown relations, and how to get involved in politics. In addition, we received our first Senatorial candidate in April when Ed O’Reilly made a pitch for why he should beat John Kerry in the Democratic primary. Dems also met Senator John Kerry when staffing an exclusive fundraiser in Boston.
Social Activities
To celebrate the start of a new year, we kicked it off with a BBQ and pancake breakfast in September. We hosted movie nights, West Wing Wednesdays, candlepin bowling, and a few official and unofficial “social gatherings.” We also made our second trip to the Loj, the Mountain Club’s New Hampshire cabin, where we began a popular new tradition of Tufts Dems Risk and brainstormed programming.
Communications
Tufts Dems have had a proud voice on campus. We continued publishing our magazine, The Forum. The fall issue, in preparation for the Issues of the Future Symposium, featured a special civil-military section including a fascinating interview with Tufts student and Iraq vet Dan Wesche. The spring issue hads ’08 fever. In addition, plentiful candidate endorsements appeared as op-eds in the Tufts Daily, The Observer and the new Tisch-sponsored magazine, The Roundtable. In addition, we broke into alternative media. Each week a Tufts Dem appeared on WMFO Radio’s The Rundown to debate with a Tufts Republican member. We continued to work on our website, TuftsDemocrats.com, including our blog. Updates appear on the blogroll on TuftsLife. We advertise with pride, now a stylin’ bunch with Tufts Dems apparel.
Moving Forward
We’re having an exciting year this year with the general election. We will be working for Obama-Biden in NH and on a special trip to swing states including GA and NC, as well as our weekly canvasses in NH for Senator Obama, Governor Shaheen, and Representative Shea-Porter. Some amazing guests have stopped by – from Simon Rosenberg, Howard Dean webmaster Nicco Mele, to Senator John Kerry next week. We will continue the great events and projects from this year, including our fourth Issues of the Future to focus on Healthcare Reform and continuing The Forum. In preparation for a new administration and during the post-election time of transition, we plan to start a weekly informal dinner discussion session, monthly co-sponsored policy lunches with guest speakers, student-led ducational meetings, and to continue our tradition of debating the Tufts Republicans. We have already achieved greater cooperation with other Tufts organizations and local College Democrats of MA chapters. We also plan to reach out more to Tufts alumni working in public policy, forging relationships with the Washington Tufts Alliance, and with Career Services to introduce our members to life after college.
