Addressing the Homeless Politically - University of San Francisco

On Wed. April 30, 2008 the University of San Francisco
chapter of Democracy Matters hosted and moderated an
event titled: "Addressing the Homeless Politically". 
We had a panel of two speakers present the connection
between homelessness and the current political system.
 The first speaker is a Professor at University of San
Francisco, Roberta Johnson.  Professor Johnson has
worked closely with a variety of outreach
organizations in San Francisco that serve the
homeless.  She was able to provide great insight into
the political system from the perspective of a
homeless person. The second speaker, Robert Arnow,
helped pass legislation to make public funding
available for the SF mayoral race.  Together, they
were able to outline the possible benefits of clean
elections for the homeless.  When elected officials
are not distracted by big money constituents, the
homeless and homeless advocates will have more of an
opportunity to voice their needs.  

After the panelists were done speaking, they opened it
up for questions which spurred a round-table
discussion of clean elections in general.  There were
a few students attending that were unfamiliar with
Clean Elections and it was great to review the process
with them.    The event was incredibly informative
especially in terms of learning more about what clean
election elements were already in place in the city of
San Francisco.  The Democracy Matters members were
really excited to hear about the network of people in
San Francisco that already support Clean Elections.  
Mr. Arnow was also invited by the students attending
the event to speak more about the strategy of his
campaign to pass clean election funding for the
Mayoral Office.  The chocolate chip cookies were
everyone's favorite. 

Lacy Clark
University of San Francisco Campus Coordinator

Actifest at the U of Minnesota- Twin Cities

Democracy Matters was once again involved in the third annual spring week of action for groups on campus that focus on social justice issues. This year the week was called Actifest, and it was organized by a coalition of 13 different student groups called the Justice League. This collaboration included MPIRG, Amnesty International, University Pro Choice Coalition, the All Campus Election Commission, Substance, and the Black Student Union among others. During the week we share publicity for individual events focusing on each group’s major campaign, and we also collaborate on a carnival where there is free food and interactive games explaining our issues, and a concert to wrap up the week on Saturday (The Justice Jam) which features major local artists of many genres including hip hop, spoken word, rock, folk, etc. The carnival and the concert were both highly attended.

Democracy Matters’ event this year was called The Election Report, and was a comedy talk show along the lines of The Daily show and the Colbert Report. It was done in front of a live audience of about 75 people on Thursday, May 1^st, but it was also a full film production set up. We hope to have the video editing completed and ready to post on you tube shortly.

For the show, our host did a monologue focusing on national and community issues, and interviewed political figures. Two of the interviews were with Senate candidates, Steve Williams (IP) and Jack Nelson-Pallmeyer (DFL)—they were asked about issues relating to the student and graduate community and also some direct question about campaign finance and Fair Elections. Both are supporters of publicly financed elections. The other interview was with Mark Ritchie, the MN Secretary of State, who explained his role in the upcoming elections and how his office is trying to reach more voters than ever.

Between interviews we had report segments, either video or live, that gave humorous updates on issues like rising tuition, the job market, corporate influence on college campuses, and why in the world Al Franken’s campaign people kicked us off their property when we pitched a tent in his parking lot.

The comedy was very well received—both the viewers and the participants seemed to be having a good time, but also learning about and explaining the issues they care about.

After the show there was a reception that was supposed to feature a cake with a picture of our host in front of an American flag, but it didn’t show so we had cookies. Guests could mingle with the politicians who were interviewed and ask them questions about their positions, as well as talk to a Democracy Matters rep about what we do.

Feedback from a viewer: “I think that the Election Report was even better than the Daily Show… No, I mean it! The Daily Show talks to their audience like they are intelligent, but you guys just took it to a whole new level.”

Sarah Emmel

University of Minnesota, Twin Cities

Can Mr. Smith Get to Washington Anymore?

Across the country for the Fair Elections Now Act week of action, DM chapters have been showing Can Mr. Smith Get to Washington Anymore?, a documentary about Jeff Smith, a political science professor at George Washington University in St. Louis, who ran for Richard Gephart's vacated House of Representatives seat in 2004. Facing strong opposition from a well-funded Democrat rival, Can Mr. Smith Get to Washington Anymore? shows how a political unknown used affective grassroots organizing to go up against a political dynasty. Below is an account of a Jeff Smith event from Southern Methodist University in Dallas, TX.
-Jordan Burghardt

“Can Mr. Smith Get to Washington Anymore?” with Senator Jeff Smith

Thursday, April 10, 2007 at Southern Methodist University, Dallas, Texas

On Thursday, April 10, 2008 Senator Jeff Smith filibustered a bill in the Missouri state senate for five hours and left the legislature just in time to make his plane to Dallas, Texas. Due to a delayed flight he arrived at Southern Methodist University in Dallas about 30 minutes into the documentary “Can Mr. Smith Get to Washington Anymore?” which tells the story of his unsuccessful race in the Democratic primary to be a candidate for the US House of Representatives.

After the movie ended we raffled off some Campus Progress t-shirts and Jeff Smith took the floor. He first asked that everyone move closer to the front so he could talk without a microphone. He spoke very briefly about the role that money plays in politics and particularly about how it factored into his campaign and then took questions. There were twenty-three people in attendance, so we were able to have a fairly personal conversation with him. He is a great speaker- funny, receptive, very intelligent. We learned more details about his run for Congress as well as about his subsequent election to the Missouri State Senate.

A diverse group of students were in the audience. Our main cosponsor on campus was the Student Filmmakers Association. This was great because there were a lot of people in attendance who weren’t there to be political. The SMU Democrats, the University Honors Program, Spectrum (LGBT), the Association of Black Students, and the Political Science Symposium also cosponsored the event. Thursday is a tough night for an event as it is, but a lot of these organizations did not come out to support us. At the national summit in February we talked a lot about reaching out to other organizations and not just asking them to cosponsor. If you want another student group to really push for people to come to an event, then you need to attend their meetings and their events in turn. This is something our chapter of DM needs to keep in mind for next time. Nonetheless, we had a diverse group of students and were able to have a really interesting discussion with Jeff Smith. He was very open and told some extremely funny anecdotes about St. Louis politics.

DM and SFA members treated Jeff Smith to dinner and coffee at a local favorite, Café Brazil. The event did not end until 9:45 so we actually kept the Senator out until midnight! He was exhausted from a long day but so open and amiable. We were able to share our interests and learn about his. By the time we parted he knew all of our names and we all had his card. In fact, he gave his card to everyone who attended the event.

Ultimately, this event was smaller than I would have liked, but it was also one of our most successful. Last semester we had 70 people attend an event, but I feel like we did not make strong connections to Democracy Matters and what we do. This event had a much stronger message about the role that young people can play in politics and how much greater that role could be if it weren’t for certain aspects of institution politics like the focus on money. Plus I got to take home extra Jimmy John’s
sandwiches.

Cody Meador
Southern Methodist University Democracy Matters Campus Coordinator

Lies! Corruption! Special Interests! "The Best Government Corporate Money Can Buy"

An Evening with Gore Vidal & Sonali Kolhatkar

On April 2nd, Los Angeles Valley College Democracy Matters chapter
sponsored a one on one live interview with the legendary Gore Vidal.
Gore Vidal is a prolific American novelist, playwright, and essayist,
one of the great stylists of contemporary American prose, who has been
active in politics. As an essayist Vidal has dealt with a wide range of
subjects from literary to issues of national interest, and people he has
known. Vidal has been pointedly controversial in American politics.  The
event, co-sponsored by Campus Progress and CALPIRG, attracted an
audience of more than 100 people.  Vidal was interviewed by Sonali
Kolpaar from KPFK's (Pacifica radio) morning show, "Uprising".  Sonali
recorded the interview and played it on her radio show.

There was a question and answer session at the end of the interview, and
many campus and community organizations tabled at the event.  Following
the Gore Vidal interview was a powerpoint presentation on clean money.
The Democracy Matters student coordinator, Andrea Barrera, and a
representative of CALPIRG presented the power point together.  They made
a great connection between corruption and special interests, bringing
the awareness of clean money to their campus.  The students that
attended the event received extra credit from their professors, and many
of the other attendees heard about the event on Sonali's (the
interviewer) radio show.  Democracy Matters and CALPIRG teamed up to do
press releases.

The student coordinator, Andrea Barrera, started planning the event two
months in advance, and it took persistance to convince Gore Vidal that
the event was worth it, but she DID IT!  Andrea started meeting with
other student organizations about one month before the event to find out
who would be able to co-sponsor, as well as inform their membership.
The event was an incredible success! 

Father Simon Harek Event , "The Global War on Terror" at University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee

On Wednesday, April 2nd, Father Simon Harek from Marquette University's Center for Peace Studies spoke to about 55 people at UWM. Cosponsored by Democracy Matters and Progressive Students of Milwaukee, Simon Harek spoke about the relationship between corporations, special interest groups and private donors, the Bush Administration, and the Iraq War.

Harek theorized that war profiteers have always been businesses from the private sector who profit off the US going to war. For example, during WWII, dress shops that begin making uniforms to support the troops and also made a profit off of it as a byproduct. However, special interest groups now have such a large influence OVER, and a strong investment IN, the US' foreign policy, they are now attempting to MAKE WAR FOR A PROFIT INSTEAD. Harek further theorized that his is leading to essentially a corporate takeover of Iraq.

After the speech the audience wanted to know ways they could help change this. I spoke about the importance of having our US Representatives and Senators support the Fair Elections Now Act, and discussed how ridding elections of private donors and special interest groups will make our politicians more accountable to their constituents, and not those who fund their campaigns.

Jordan Burghardt
Democracy Matters Field Organizer

Marquette University: Sustainable Development and Our Environment

On March 4th, Democracy Matters at Marquette University hosted a panel discussion
entitled “Sustainable Development and Our Environment”.

There has been a growing concern among students on Marquette’s campus about the
University’s commitment to environmental stewardship. The news of Marquette’s plans
to build a new law school building, engineering building, and administration
building has given a platform for concerned students to engage the administration
with these concerns.

Democracy Matters, in coalition with the Les Aspin Center for Government Alumni
Council and Students for an Environmentally Active Campus, was able to successfully
provide a venue for this discussion with the March 4th event. Panelists included Dr.
Michael Switzenbaum, Professor and Executive Associate Dean of the College of
Engineering, Ms. Laura Bray, Executive Director of Menomonee Valley Partners Inc.,
and Mr. Tom Ganey, Director of the Office of the Marquette University Architect.

Democracy Matter’s campus coordinator was the moderator of the panel discussion, and
gave a brief introduction to the event. He talked about the Democracy Matters
Organization and quickly explained how money and politics is related to the issue of
sustainable development. He then introduced the panelists and moderated the Q & A
session that followed the panelist’s presentations.

The event was a great success, with nearly 100 students in attendance. Students had
the chance to voice their concerns for an environmentally sound campus, and hear the
University’s plans to that end. Although the event was not centered around the issue
of money and politics, it did give recognition to Democracy Matters on campus and
raise awareness of the issue of campaign finance reform. Students picked up
literature on the relationship between election finance and the environmental
movement, and have since contacted the Democracy Matters Campus Coordinator in large
numbers.

Student activists can learn from the indirect approach taken by Democracy Matters at
Marquette. As most Democracy Matters activists know, it can be difficult to attract
students to the issue of campaign finance by itself. By pairing the issues of
Democracy Matters with the issues that resonate on campus, a large audience can be
made aware of the influence of money in politics.

Benedictine University Coal Ben Debate

Democracy Matters Presents: The Coal Ben’s Presidential Debate

Democracy Matters sponsored Benedictine University’s Presidential Debate. The debate focused on four major issues in this upcoming Presidential election, the war in Iraq, health care, education, and the candidates tax plan. The candidates were portrayed by students, with the Republicans and Democrats having one representative for each issue. Because of the split in the Democratic Party, Senator Clinton and Senator Obama’s split the topics. Student’s debated the issues using their normative values and the specific stances of their candidates, which provided quite the entertainment for the audience. Between 50-60 students, faculty, and staff came to experience the debate’s energy and information. Each section of the debate focused on the issue of money and its influence on that particular topic.

The debate concluded with a discussion on private money interest in politics, and how each of the four issues are directly effected by special interest group’s torrential influence of representatives at all levels of government. Planning an event around the exciting Presidential Election is a great cover for getting the message of Democracy Matters to the public. People are energized and passionate about the outcome of this election and are eager to support their candidates, having this type of crowd a coordinator can find new recruits. The debate sparked interest in both the 2008 Presidential Election and the Benedictine University chapter of Democracy Matters. Following the debate four members of the audience spoke with me about informational meetings for Democracy Matters. The Debate was an ENORMOUS success!!!

Kyle T. Schulz (Campus Coordinator Democracy Matters-Benedictine University)