Editor’s note: This article was initially published in The Daily Gazette, Swarthmore’s online, daily newspaper founded in Fall 1996. As of Fall 2018, the DG has merged with The Phoenix. See the about page to read more about the DG.
Dear Swarthmore College students, faculty, staff, and friends,
On the final day of Barack Obama’s presidency, the Swarthmore College Democrats feel compelled to reaffirm our values and advance the longstanding efforts of Swarthmore students, activists, and campus leaders. As an organization independent of the national party, our group seeks to serve as a resource and home for both registered Democrats on campus and all those who seek to engage in democratic politics as a whole.
Historically, we have been a group dedicated to political activities directly promoting Democratic candidates. Moving forward, we understand that as progressives, we must expand our goals to reflect the diverse needs of Swarthmore students. The Swarthmore College Democrats are devoted to the accessibility of American democracy for all. We are committed to embodying President Barack Obama’s recent call to action:
Yes we can.
The Swarthmore College Democrats believe that our American democracy can only thrive if we work together, if we lift up one another, and if we promote the equality and freedom of our neighbors. We will ensure that the Democratic Party becomes more inclusive to the Swarthmore College community, and we will prioritize the voices of our classmates and neighbors regardless of age, ability, identity, immigration status, faith, or income.
We will invest our time and resources into causes and candidates that support important priorities such as: raising the minimum wage, ensuring affordable access to higher education, welcoming refugees into the United States, protecting indigenous people’s water and land, dismantling mass incarceration, opposing the Israeli Occupation of the Palestinian territories, preserving the environment, and protecting civil liberties. The Swarthmore College Democrats will not tolerate any acts of racism, xenophobia, sexism, homophobia, Islamophobia, or anti-Semitism on our campus or in our country.
We will stand in solidarity with student groups including, but not limited to, the Swarthmore Conservative Society, ENLACE (Hispanic & Latinx student group), Swarthmore Asian Organization (SAO), Students for Peace and Justice in Palestine (SPJP), Mountain Justice (MJ), and Garnet Go Green (G3), in order to prioritize the rights of members of our own community. We look forward to fostering a coalition with new groups, and welcome all campus group leaders and members to our weekly meetings.
Now, more than ever, we must transcend partisan boundaries and embrace our individual differences in order to create a just, inclusive democratic system that works for all.
Forward together,
Swarthmore College Democrats
Taylor Morgan ‘19, President
Benjamin Stern ‘20, Vice President
Maria Ingersoll ‘20, Secretary of Communications
Andrew Powell ‘19, Secretary of Outreach
Alexander Jin ‘19, Treasurer
In collaboration with:
Swarthmore Conservative Society
ENLACE (Hispanic & Latinx student organization)
Swarthmore Asian Organization (SAO)
Students for Peace and Justice in Palestine (SPJP)
Mountain Justice (MJ)
NOTE: Additional group signatures on this document need not subscribe to statements, values, or positions of the Swarthmore College Democrats, but rather acknowledge and anticipate future collaborations
Our next meeting is Tuesday, January 24th at 9pm on Kohlberg 3rd. We hope to see you there!
-Board of Swarthmore College Democrats
NOTE: Additional group signatures on this document need not subscribe to statements, values, or positions of the Swarthmore College Democrats, but rather acknowledge and anticipate future collaborations
Our next meeting is Tuesday, January 24th at 9pm on Kohlberg 3rd. We hope to see you there!
-Board of Swarthmore College Democrats
Perhaps a more accurate title might be: “Swarthmore Democrats Seek Inclusive Coalition [of People with the Same Policy Goals and Identity-Politics Positions as Themselves]”
Regardless of the merits of these positions, what right do you really have to still call yourself Swarthmore College Democrats? You clearly are no longer representing or seeking to support the Democrat Party on campus. Some of these groups, such as SPJP, are far outside the mainstream of the party and presumably there are many Democrats on campus who would seek to support Democratic candidates while on campus without supporting all these things. Of course, you have every right to support what groups you want, but at what point do you stop calling yourself College Democrats? Why not become Swarthmore Progressives or something such as that? Seems to me continuing to call yourself capital-D Democrats is misleading at best and actively lying at worst, simply to garner name recognition on campus and among new freshman coming to campus. Your group has every right to engage in non-partisan progressive activism, but seems to me that you are no longer anything like what your title suggests.
Reflecting the Swarthmore Quaker pacifist tradition I encourage focus on the escalation of violence in recent years, and the direct contribution that the United States government has had (via the CIA) to violence in Libya, Yemen, Syria and the Ukraine. We also just came close to a shooting war in with Russia through the imposition of a no-fly zone in Syria and through sending tanks and combat forces into Eastern Europe. Just say no to WW III, and a yes to peaceful resolution of conflict.