On Lenin’s 150th birthday, we must revisit the political challenges and debates of his time to understand why they still matter. Former YDSA co-chair Ajmal Alami argues that we have to learn from these political lessons if we want to win socialism today.
YDSA at UVA’s Central Committee argues that identifying as an anti-capitalist or socialist isn’t enough — in order to build and wield power for the working class and actually overturn capitalism, socialists need strong organizations that can run campaigns, win real victories, and train more socialist organizers. Social justice — a vague euphemism for all…
YDSA Chapters across the US respond to the COVID-19 crisis, and share what they were up to before the crisis and they’re plans to keep the fight going.
A statement by YDSA Chapter Members at the University of California about their struggle for a Cost of Living Adjustment for All — an example of YDSA members linking campus labor struggles to the fight for a just response to COVID-19. Cost of Living Adjustment for All The University of California does not care about…
The COVID-19 pandemic is an unprecedented crisis — and is exposing a crisis of legitimacy for capitalism. We have an obligation to reject despair, come together, and organize, not only to save lives now but to build toward a socialist future.
The global COVID-19 pandemic and the uncertainty around it is terrifying, but in this moment socialists must take solace in each other and in our work to build a movement. We draw our strength from solidarity. Meeting in person, the foundation of organizing, is not an option right now. But we can still discuss and…
As the Spring 2020 semester begins, Georgia Tech’s YDSA chapter is about a hundred members strong, with multiple active committees and campaigns. There’s a strong case to be made that we are the vanguard of the GT student movement. But before us, GT had been a complacent, apolitical campus — until Trump’s 2016 election victory…
This fusion between electoral and non-electoral work demands an independent socialist organization to bring the two together with explicit socialist consciousness. Currently, most students supporting Bernie Sanders are not part of an organization that engages in non-electoral socialist organizing. Canvassing for Bernie with YDSA allows us to talk to our classmates and community members not only about Bernie’s radical platform, but also the obstacles that passing it will entail and how only collective power and organization can overcome them.
The University of Virginia (UVa) doesn’t appear amenable, at first glance, to a College for All (C4A) campaign. The median family income of students is $155,000, making UVa among the wealthiest universities in the nation, and student organizing culture has proven anemic for the past decade: besides sporadic demonstrations against defunding the financial aid program,…
The Activist prides itself on being a publication by YDSA, for YDSA. Therefore, one of our main objectives is to shine a light on the great work our chapters are doing across the country. So, in this post, we present to you our second batch of chapter reports! To check out the first batch, click…
The campus-oriented section of DSA
