Democracy Matters at Hawaii

Democracy Matters is an organization that allows progressive minds, at perhaps their greatest effectiveness, to successfully focus their talents and skills for a positive change that will significantly influence the world in which we all live. Working inside this group lets individuals have a strong voice in our society because you gain the ability to educate yourself on the importance of “Clean Elections,” educate others on its importance, and become part of the larger portrait that is demanding voter owned elections in our country.

The number one key to becoming an effective campus coordinator for Democracy Matters is education. The first step is trying to fully understand the importance of taking special interests out of our politician’s pockets. You don’t have to know all the details of our political process, but it helps to do some research on how campaign donations from corporations have swayed our representatives’ votes for far too long. The “special interests” that campaign contributions have led to means an increase in social and economic inequalities and a decline in our society’s safety net for the majority of the population. Almost any way you look at it, publicly financing campaigns would decrease political corruption, allow for more progressive legislation to pass, and increase democratic decision making processes in our country.

With a little education under my belt, I have been able to go out into my community and educate others on the importance of clean elections. This is not an easy task, but like they say, there’s many ways to skin a cat. Some of the tactics that I used this past year were holding weekly meetings on campus and drawing other students into my Democracy Matters group, then holding events with my group like “Call in Days” where we encouraged various people on campus to call our Reps to support the “clean election” cause. Plus, we also did “class-raps” because they’re a great way to educate a big group a people at one time about the importance of this movement.

Lastly, but just as importantly as educating yourself and others, is to form coalitions with various local organizations, and those dedicated to working on this project are especially helpful. I personally worked hand in hand with Voter Owned Hawaii (VOE) and they were wonderful, but one could go to almost any NGO in their community for assistance. Kory from VOE helped me with physical, mental, and emotional support for my events that I desperately needed at times. I can almost guarantee that anyone else working events will feel the same way; the more help, the better. Or to quote an old striker’s song, “The more we get together the happier we’ll be”.

This is the trinity of knowledge that I have gained from working this past semester with Democracy Matters, I hope it helps because the sooner we get this progressive legislation passed the sooner we can get on with saving our world.

Jenny Knippling

Democracy Matters Campus Coordinator, Hilo, Hawaii

Democracy Week - Colgate University, NY

Although DM has been a constant and known presence on the Colgate campus for years, it is easy for many people to ignore us. So at the end of last semester we decided to make it nearly impossible for anyone on campus to ignore our group by hosting an entire week of events. And three months later, in late September, everyone on campus knew it was Democracy Week. With a crowd of almost 300 at our big event, democracy week was a huge success. We received the Campus Life Award for our work registering voters and the events of Democracy Week. The week was the product of a lot of hard work, but it was also a lot of fun and a great way to get the word out about clean elections. Here are some tips for planning a week of Dm events:

1. Start Early
• Because we began planning early for this week, we were able to step back and set the dates in a strategic way. We planned the week for a time early in the semester to catch the eye of incoming freshman, but late enough not to get encompassed by welcome back activities.
• You can also make sure to avoid other big speakers or events by getting your events on the calendar first!
• By giving members important tasks from day one you retain membership much better.
• When you are planning such a large-scale operation there is no way you can pull everything off in a short period of time. Giving yourself a lot of time enables you to make all the appropriate contacts and reach out to many facets of the community.
  

2. Create a Focus to the week or Big Event
• In order to draw attention and crowds, center your week around one main event. We were lucky enough to have Adonal come speak. But looking for a well known speaker or any event that would be sure to illicit a lot of attention in the media and community.
• Because of Adonal’s speech, faculty and administration will be drawn to the week. Will the support of these groups you can receive extra funding
• Also, a big speaker draws the attention of the media. Your school paper and hopefully local media outlets will want to cover you big event providing an outlet for you to talk about Clean Money and the rest of the events in your week.
  

3. Outreach to other groups
• The support and cosponsorship of other groups is key. By reaching out to other groups you will get more diverse and higher attendance at events.
• Outreach is another reason the big event is important. Other groups will be attracted to a big name and then you can talk to them about the smaller events.
• Take advantage of other groups at your school and incorporate them into the week. For example, we asked the debate team to put on a debate about Clean Elections. We also got the Activities Board to show The Tom Delay Movie in a big Auditorium. By engaging other groups in the week, you create a broader appeal and decrease your own workload.
  

4. Outreach to the Community
• The support of the community was an invaluable addition to Democracy Week.
• We contacted local media outlets, gave presentations in the high school, and invited the community to all of our events.
• The local community showed high interest in our issue, and through these events made more contacts with people who want to get involved.
  

5. Seek guidance from experienced faculty and administrators
• When we confirmed that Adonal would speak, we contacted the President of the University. She signed on as a copsonsor, offered to aid in funding, and put us in touch with key administrators.
• Meeting with Deans is a very helpful tool in learning how to put on large scale events. The dean I met with gave me a long list of people to contact within the University that would help in advertising, publicity, catering, and scheduling. He also told me which professors to contact.
• If you have a big event, let professors know early so they can put it on their syllabus.
• We were also able to get cosponsorship from a center on campus that brings speakers. This center was instrumental in the planning and funding for the big event.
• Use people who have planned these type of events before, and look for funding everywhere!
  

6. Use your staff link
• Don’t forget to ask your staff link for help. They have experience in planning these events too and will make sure you are covering all your bases.

7. Delegate tasks
• Planning this type of event takes A LOT of time and energy. Get your members involved early or you will be sorry later!

8. Advertise, Advertise, Advertise
• One of the most important aspects of a week like this is advertising. Because there will be a series of events you can create posters listing all the events.
• Explore other forms of advertising as well: We spray painted sheets, sent out emails, went to groups and clubs, hung up tons of posters, passed out flyers, and tabled.
• We also used events earlier in the semester to advertise as well. For instance when we registered the freshman class during orientation, we were able to speak to all of them about the upcoming week of events.

9. Recruit New Members
• Don’t forget to use this opportunity to recruit new members. Put sign up sheets at every event.
• Mention meeting times at every event and give people a way to take action!
  

Colgate Democracy Week Events:

Voter Registration all week long

Monday – Kicked off the week with a “splash on campus” – We put condoms with clean elections facts in the dining halls.

Tuesday – Debate Team debated the merits of a federal CMCE bill.

Wednesday – Brown Bag lunch panel of Professors and Students “Student Activism: Then and Now”

Thursday – Adonal Foyle talk “Playing the game of democracy: an NBA player speaks out” with reception to follow.

Friday – Adonal Foyle visit to Colgate Bookstore – talk on banned books

- Colgate Activities Board presented “The Big Buy: Tom Delay’s Stolen Congress”