National Convention planning is a pressing issue to be resolved.
It is obvious that the various SDS chapters across the country have been participating in anti-war protests and other campaigns during the winter and will continue to do so during the spring. The national convention is going to be a crucial step forward for the movement in several respects. A: a manifesto/founding statement will hopefully emerge from the event. B: SDSers will share several days and nights of discussion, bonding, and partying, laying the foundation for a year of energetic organizing on campuses across the country.
It seems logical that the location of the convention be somewhere roughly in the middle of the 48 states. The three most likely cities to host such an event are Chicago, St. Louis, or New Orleans. I’m arguing that New Orleans would be the best choice, for reasons that are all too obvious. We have an active chapter there and connecting the issues of imperialism abroad, fascism at home and structural racism are crucial to building a compelling strategy for the national organization. New Orleans would also provide SDSers with a chance to take part in the Common Ground collective’s “Freedom Summer” program to assist in community rebuilding efforts in the weeks/days leading up to our convention.
The topic of location/venue for the national convention deserves in depth discussion within the various chapters in the coming weeks, as we all continue on with our work building resistance and organizing youth/students against the system.
Don’t Just Impeach Bush
Impeach the System!
Doug V
NJ - NYC Metro Chapters
I’d vote for someplace a little further North. Most of our chapters are in the midwest and northeast, with some chapters on the west coast as well. If I were going to pick a central location, I’d pick someplace in southern Illinois, or maybe Kentucky. Others have brought up Port Huron, Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan, and Newport Rhode Island.
Its always a predicament, dealing with the East Coast/West Coast divide. For chapters that can’t physically make it out, we should provide some capacity to participate in the convention via teleconferencing or something… mail-in proposals, at the very least.
I think New Orleans is a cool idea. While I don’t know how it would work in practice,
I think we should look into it. I can’t think of a place that the war abroad has been
brought home more obviously than New Orleans and the gulf coast.
While it might not work, I think it should definately be on the table and included in
discussion.
Port Huron might work better. And it might be a more central location for everyone.
I personally think video conferencing is a must. We should consider security too though.
DHS is watching.
Mail-in proposals or something to that effect should be considered too.
-Brian Kelly
Pace U, NYC
kelly@leftist.ws
I can’t advocate New Orleans strongly enough. I’ve been down there a couple of times
now, and I really think that this is a location both central enough and dynamic enough.
Also, an amazing opportunity just to be there. Of course, the local chapter should have
more persuasive things to say one way or another, but I’m all for it. When would the
convention be? Next semester? Summer?
-Leijia
New School, NYC
leijia@riseup.net
During the conference call tuesday evening, the top suggestions that emerged for a location of the national convention were:
Chicago
New Orleans
Port Huron
Other Suggestions?
There seemed to be support for holding the event either during June or in late August, with compelling arguments made for both.
Obviously any location is dependent on resources we can pull together to get this off the ground and the capacities of regional/local chapters to shoulder the load for securing a location, housing, etc…
We need alot of feedback from individual chapters and members to pull this off.
Doug
I would like to plead that the conference not be at Port Huron. There could be nothing more hurtful to the case that we are NOT a revival group stuck in the past than having the meeting there. during the conference call there seemed to be a number of people who agreed with that statement.
Personally, my vote is Chicago. Its centrally located and cheap to get to. Every airline goes there. The train from DC is only $73 one way. Also: the logistical issues of getting a place to stay came up in the conference call: where do we have people on the ground who can set up housing, etc?
My vote goes for Chicago. Its pretty centrally located, cheap to get to, and we have an SDS chapter there to help with logistics.
People that are interested in contributing to the discussion should also check out the E-Rap message boards: http://studentsforademocraticsociety.org/erap/viewtopic.php?t=46