College Students for Bernie
 Logo of CSFB | |
 | |
| Abbreviation | CSFB |
|---|---|
| Motto | Students of the 99% for Bernie Sanders |
| Formation | 2015 - Present |
| Type | Political organization |
| Purpose | Campaign, Education |
Region served | United States |
Membership | 260+ Chapters |
| Website | http://www.collegestudentsforbernie.org |
College Students for Bernie (CSFB) is a grassroots organization dedicated to increase young voter participation, enhance progressive politics, and support Bernie Sanders' 2016 presidential bid. Currently, there are over 200[1] chapters in universities across the United States.[2]
Mission statement
College Students for Bernie aims to mobilize college students for progressive action, discuss issues that target the youth, as well as enhance Senator Sanders 2016 presidential bid. With a network of over 100 colleges across the United States and Canada, CSFB is a nationwide grassroots movement that will change the way young progressives interact with our democracy.
Founding
College Students for Bernie was founded in April 2015 at Middlebury College[3] by Elizabeth Siyuan Lee[4] and Nathan Rifkin.[5] After coming up with the "chapter model", where each college would have their own chapter under a larger network of progressive college students, they reached out to their peers to help establish chapters at Middlebury and other colleges across the United States.
After they worked with progressive students in other colleges to establish around 30 chapters, College Students for Bernie was featured on the front page of the Daily Kos.[6]
Other Active Members and Founders
The following people (listed in alphabetical order) also played a key part in the establishing of the national organization.[7]
- Maximillian Cotterill, University of California, San Diego[8]
- Hannah Fertig, University of Colorado, Boulder[9]
- Alex Forgue, Northern Illinois University[10][11][12]
- Sam Ghazey, University of Vermont
- Justin Lee, University of Maryland[13][14]
- Joseph Nunez, East Los Angeles College[7]
- Benjamin Packer, Dartmouth College[15]
- Elia Pales, Michigan State University[16][17]
- Harley Tonelli, Berklee College[7]
- Joshua Tyler (J.T.) Stanley, University of Maryland[18][19]
Structure
College Students for Bernie has a horizontal leadership structure, where each student plays a vital role in promoting progressive politics. Each college has a chapter of College Students for Bernie. They collaborate with each other through State Representatives. State Representatives work with each other to implement events and campaigns within their region.
The national organization is independent of the official campaign.
Chapters
Chapters are student-run organizations at local colleges and universities. Chapters register with the national organization, but are free to implement their own campaigns and to develop their own organization structure. The national organization has over 260 chapters across the United States[20][21]
| State | Number of Registered Chapters | State | Number of Registered Chapters |
|---|---|---|---|
| Alabama | 7 | Montana | 0 |
| Alaska | 0 | Nebraska | 0 |
| Arizona | 1 | Nevada | 1 |
| Arkansas | 1 | New Hampshire | 2 |
| California | 48 | New Jersey | 5 |
| Colorado | 5 | New Mexico | 1 |
| Connecticut | 1 | New York | 17 |
| Delaware | 1 | North Carolina | 10 |
| Florida | 7 | North Dakota | 0 |
| Georgia | 8 | Ohio | 10 |
| Hawaii | 1 | Oklahoma | 3 |
| Idaho | 1 | Oregon | 6 |
| Illinois | 9 | Pennsylvania | 6 |
| Indiana | 8 | Rhode Island | 1 |
| Iowa | 2 | South Carolina | 2 |
| Kansas | 2 | South Dakota | 0 |
| Kentucky | 2 | Tennessee | 4 |
| Louisiana | 1 | Texas | 7 |
| Maine | 4 | Utah | 3 |
| Maryland | 2 | Vermont | 3 |
| Massachusetts | 16 | Virginia | 6 |
| Michigan | 9 | Washington | 12 |
| Minnesota | 4 | West Virginia | 12 |
| Mississippi | 1 | Wisconsin | 4 |
| Missouri | 3 | Wyoming | 0 |
| International | 1 | Total | 263 |
Actions
College Students for Bernie has hosted nationwide calls and spearheaded the social media campaign #BernieBlast, where individuals flooded the internet with images of why they support Bernie Sanders.
Many chapters spent their time registering students to vote, and campaigning for Sanders on their campus and in their local areas. Part of campaigning in their local areas involved phone banking, an action that the national organization encouraged the chapters to do.
Campaign style
Through the use of social media, College Students For Bernie have encouraged college students to take part in the debate through online platforms such as Facebook and Twitter using hashtags such as #DebateWithBernie #StudentsForBernie.
Local chapters have worked with the national organization to phonebank with the national campaign in key states like Iowa and California.
The national organization has pushed the "Get out the Vote" initiative by the national campaign encouraging students to register to vote and to vote on campus.
DNC Convention and Other Actions
During the Democratic National Convention, the group endorsed the "People's Convention", a separate convention that was designed to create an open space for people to come together and create a progressive platform by the "people and for the people."[22]
College Students for Bernie teamed up with Young Democratic Socialists to co-sponsor a conference called "From Sanders to the Grassroots." The conference took place from August 5 to August 7 (2016) at the National 4-H Conference Center.[23]
On March 11, College Students for Bernie members took part in the 2016 Donald Trump Chicago rally protest organized by students at the University of Illinois at Chicago(UIC).
Press
College Students for Bernie has been noted on the New York Times,[24][25] Cosmopolitan,[26] Truthdig,[27] Wall Street Journal[28] and others.[29][30]
Press Releases
The group has not issued many press releases. The organization published a statement after the Iowa caucus on their website and on the Daily Kos[31]
Beyond the 2016 Election
After the 2016 election as well as the Democratic Primary elections of 2016, College Students for Bernie encouraged its members to change its chapters into a new group, Young Progressives Demanding Action (YPDA), which was founded by those who were active in the founding of College Students For Bernie. Young Progressives Demanding Action, is a subgroup of Progressive Democrats of America (PDA).[32] Other members and founding members encouraged chapters to merge into a Young Democratic Socialists (YDS) Chapter. The group, College Students for Bernie, hopes that these merges will keep young people active in progressive politics by posting the following message on their website:
College Students for Bernie is encouraging our chapters to join either the Young Democratic Socialists (YDS) or Young Progressives Demanding Action (YPDA). Both organizations will have a full time staffer dedicated to your transition and development. YDS and YPDA will continue to support one another as we grow our own organization. YDS will focus more on social movements and YPDA will organize through progressive electoral work that goes beyond the election and extends into policy. Both are necessary for the Political Revolution.
References
- ↑ Ball, Molly. "The Kids Are for Bernie, but Are the Kids Alright?". The Atlantic. Retrieved 2016-06-11.
- ↑ "CSFB National Roster - Google Sheets". docs.google.com. Retrieved 2016-02-23.
- ↑ "Why Young People Like Bernie Sanders". The Daily Caller. Retrieved 2016-06-11.
- ↑ Levitz, Jennifer. "Sanders Supporters at Colleges 'Not Yet Interested' in Joining Clinton Camp". WSJ. Retrieved 2016-06-10.
- ↑ Olcott, Grant (2016-02-25). "The Middlebury Campus" (PDF). Retrieved 05-06-2016. Check date values in:
|access-date=(help) - ↑ "College Students for Bernie Sanders". Daily Kos. Retrieved 2016-02-23.
- 1 2 3 Lee, Elizabeth Siyuan (2016-02-10). "5 Things I Learned From Starting College Students for Bernie". Medium. Retrieved 2016-06-10.
- ↑ "Young People on the Streets of Cleveland and Philadelphia". The Nation. ISSN 0027-8378. Retrieved 2016-11-23.
- ↑ Becky, Bond (2016). Rules for Revolutionaries: How Big Organizing Can Change Everything. United States: Chelsea Green Publishing. pp. 19–20.
- ↑ "the-chase". the-chase. Retrieved 2016-06-10.
- ↑ "International Inspiration for Irish Students' Battle for Free Fees". www.universitytimes.ie. Retrieved 2016-06-10.
- ↑ "College students put down their Sanders signs, wonder what's next". mcclatchydc. Retrieved 2016-11-24.
- ↑ "UMD students garner support for Bernie Sanders' presidential bid". The Diamondback. Retrieved 2016-11-24.
- ↑ "Text for Bernie Lives On in Issue-Driven Campaigning | Civicist". Civic Hall. Retrieved 2016-11-24.
- ↑ McGahan, Sara (2015-07-15). "Students organize in support of 2016 candidates". The Dartmouth Newspaper. The Dartmouth. Retrieved 06-02-2016. Check date values in:
|access-date=(help) - ↑ "Bernie's spring break blues". POLITICO. Retrieved 2016-11-24.
- ↑ Picard, Joe (2015-10-20). "Maybe Hillary Clinton is the unelectable candidate". TheHill. Retrieved 2016-11-24.
- ↑ "Young Democrats loving Bernie, hating Hillary on debate night". Washington Examiner. Retrieved 2016-11-24.
- ↑ Bloc, The (2015-09-29). "Student Organization Rallies Behind Presidential Hopeful Bernie Sanders". The Writer's Bloc. Retrieved 2016-11-24.
- ↑ "CSFB National Roster". Google Docs. Retrieved 2016-06-10.
- ↑ College Students for Bernie. CSFB National Roster National Roster.
- ↑ Schmidt, Peter (2016-07-11). "What's Next for College Students Who Backed Bernie". The Chronicle of Higher Education. ISSN 0009-5982. Retrieved 2016-07-13.
- ↑ "From Sanders to the Grassroots". Retrieved 2016-07-13.
- ↑ "The Graying of the President". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2016-02-23.
- ↑ Chozick, Amy; Alcindor, Yamiche (2016-02-04). "Young Democrats Flock to Bernie Sanders, Spurning Hillary Clinton's Polish and Poise". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2016-02-23.
- ↑ "Here's Why Young Women Aren't Voting for Hillary Clinton". Cosmopolitan. 2016-02-18. Retrieved 2016-02-23.
- ↑ "The Grass Roots Are Getting Greener for Sanders, but Will They Wither?: Bill Boyarsky". Truthdig. Retrieved 2016-02-23.
- ↑ Levitz, Jennifer. "Sanders Supporters at Colleges 'Not Yet Interested' in Joining Clinton Camp". WSJ. Retrieved 2016-04-04.
- ↑ "'College Students for Bernie' chapters explode nationwide; members bash Hillary as fake - The College Fix". The College Fix. Retrieved 2016-02-23.
- ↑ "College Students for Bernie to Hold National Town Meeting". Americans for Bernie Sanders. Retrieved 2016-02-23.
- ↑ "A Statement from College Students For Bernie After Iowa". Daily Kos. Retrieved 2016-06-11.
- ↑ "Defying Expectations, Young Sanders Activists Remain Engaged". Common Dreams. Retrieved 2016-11-12.