Many college students are found wary of uptaking political involvement on campus. However, there are politically-based recognized student organizations (RSO’s) that try to get students involved in a fun and educational environment; this includes the College Democrats of America (CDA).
After coming back from their pause beginning in spring2020, CDA is planning out potential collaborations and events. This is meant to not only draw in more members but also get people thinking about elections and voting.
Catherine Carvalho, the vice president of CDA and a junior criminal justice major, said that some of their programming will be centered around local, state and federal elections. Carvalho said, “Our primary goal is to incentivize students to become more politically active and critical regardless of their party affiliation.”
Despite the RSO including collegiate Democrats, the executive board (e-board) is dedicated to encouraging University of New Haven students to practice their voting rights and want to push for educating themselves about current politicians and legislation. Carvalho said, “During election season, we will encourage students to register to vote and learn about the candidates running.”
CDA is looking to branch out into their communities by working with local stakeholders such as CT Voters First – a political organization that advocates for the use of ranked choice voting, which allows voters to rank their candidates rather than picking one at the election booth.
Mason Smith, the president of CDA and a sophomore political science major, said, “We hope to reach out to many other organizations, communities, activist groups, and local legislators to advance our club.” Smith mentioned reaching out to political studies professor and Rep. Dorinda Borer (D-Conn.), as well as Ronald Quagliani, the associate vice president of public safety who is also the councilman-at-large on West Haven’s city council.
Because CDA has not been active for the past two years, they plan on doing a lot of advertising to the student body. According to Emily Kulinski, CDA’s public relations director and sophomore forensic science major, the RSO plans on using their Instagram @unewhavencollegedems along with posting flyers to make themselves known to the student body.
Kulinski also said she wants CDA to get in contact with professors, specifically from the political science department, to “spread the word to their students about upcoming meetings or guest speakers [that] will grow engagement.”
If you want to keep up with the organization and their upcoming events, check out their Instagram or email them at [email protected].