2007 New York State College Democrats Convention

Every year in New York State, college students who are members of the College Democrats campus organization meet to discuss politics and the future of their Democratic Party. The convention location changes every year and last year in 2006 it was at Buffalo University. This coming year I am pleased to say that Binghamton University, my own school, has the best chance of hosting the College Democrats State Convention. The determination of the convention location is done by a vote of the College Democratic representatives across the state.

Hosting the College Democrats State Convention is a very big deal and it is thrilling for the students who are members of the College Campus organization from the host school. The university itself doesn't really do much of the planning for the convention as the majority of it is done by the College Democrats organization itself both from the host College Democrats group and the state convention funding. The president of the host university from the College Democrats group coordinates with the state Democrats group to make sure that the event runs smoothly. In total, there are anywhere from 50 to 100 or more people who attend the event.

Representatives from each College Democrats group in universities throughout New York State are invited to participate. The convention is usually held in a big open spaced room where large tables and plenty of chairs can be spread out throughout the room to encourage discussion among the representatives there. The event is really a lot of fun and students who aren't even members of the college Democrats group from the host university come and watch the event. The more people that show up to the event, the better it is for the host College Democrats group because that means that they will get more recognition throughout the state for hosting a successful event. It increases the chances that another convention will be held at that university and it also increases funding from the Student Association of that university to the College Democrats group. Funding is of vital importance to the convention and fundraising efforts must be held to pay for the transportation of the students from all locations of New York State. University students from state school upstate as well as from Long Island and New York City gather together to discuss the future of their party.

Important issues that are discussed include who will be the party nominee for president, governor and Congressmen. Another key issue is how College Democrat groups on university campuses can increase voter awareness among college students and increase voter turnout. Refreshments and food is served at the convention and the event is also advertised by the host university on school newspapers or school bulletins, websites and email notices.

The convention was originally going to be at Cornell University in 2007 but because students from the College Democrats organization protested certain issues that Governor Eliot Spitzer stood for in his debate at Cornell University, the state convention has refused to have the convention there. Last year the convention was held at Buffalo University.