ASU College Democrats Minutes 9/20

ASU College Democrats
Meeting, September 20, 2011, 2011
Attic Window Room, Plemmons Student Union

Minutes

Officers: President Lia Poteet, Vice President John Secrest, Secretary Katherine Patterson, Treasurer Seth Cohen, Academic Advisor Charlie Wallin

Other Members: Chris Griffith, Chelsey Meade, Katie Nelson, Joceyln Hunt, Mollie Clawson, Sophie Watson, Johnny McElhanny, Tiffany Teague, Jonathan Wyant, Zoe Detter, Emily Lawrence, Dwight Miller, Steven Hatley, Rachel Torgerson, Liz Bennett

Icebreaker:
What exciting thing have you done?

Contact Table:
We will have contact tables set up in the Plemmons Student Union this week to provide voter registration forms and discuss the upcoming NC budget hearing on Thursday. A sign up was sent around but you can show up anytime between 10am-2pm.

Speaker:
Allan Scherlen, Boone Town Council candidate. Mr. Scherlen discussed the importance of student involvement in local politics, and how these local elections can have a major impact on the university and the lives of students in Boone.

NC Budget Hearing:
The hearing will be held in the Price Lake Room of the Plemmons Student Union, from 3:30-5pm.

Rock the Vote Concert:
Rock the Vote has been moved to next Friday, September 30 from 4pm-8pm. Publicity for the event has also been moved forward, so this Sunday we will be painting the expression tunnel on campus at 7pm, and chalking the campus next week after the meeting.

CDNC Fundraiser Kickoff:
The event is being held in Raleigh this Saturday from 7-9pm. Tickets are $15 and carpooling can be arranged if you need a ride.

Homecoming:

Homecoming is coming up and we hope to be as involved as possible as a club! It will be a great opportunity for the College Democrats, and homecoming gives clubs and organizations on campus a chance to compete for funding from the University! Each competition earns points for your club, and the club with the most points gets the most funding.

Here are some of the events that we can participate in:

Blood Drive-September 28^th (You can either donate blood on behalf of the club or volunteer at the blood drive.)

Lipsync Competition

Club Banner to hang in the Student Union

Float/Kazoo band for the parade

Nominate a Homecoming King and Queen

Upcoming Events:
NC Budget Hearing - September 22
CDNC Fundraiser Kickoff - September 24
Rock the Vote Concert - September 30
College Democrats service weekend with the UNC College Dems - October 1-2.

Voter ID Bill

Please become a fan of the Operation: Stop Voter ID page! It is very important that we get the word out about the legislation that will be passed. There is a petition going around the ASU Campus that you all should sign as well. For more information on the Voter ID Bill and how it will affect students please check out some of the links below: 

Democracy NC
Southern Studies
Watauga Watch

Here is the Facebook Page: 

Operation: Stop Voter ID

North Carolina's Budget

Here are some interesting links about the budget proposals for our state. Comment with your opinions!


NC Policy Watch on the Budget Proposal


Charlotte Observer on the Budget Proposal 


GOP Response to Budget Proposal


Try Balancing the Budget yourself here:
 Balance the Budget Challenge 

Minutes 2/15

ASU College Democrats

Meeting, February 15, 2011

MacRae Peak Room, Plemmons Student Union

Minutes

Officers: President Lia Poteet, Vice President Sarah Cox, Secretary Chelsey Meade, Treasurer Charmaine Feist, Academic Advisor Charlie Wallin

Other Members:  Ian Kelly, Johnny McElhany, Katherine Patterson, Dwight Miller, Lauren Richards, Alex Stanley, Chris Griffith, Katie Nelson, Joel Hileman

Icebreaker:

What is your favorite dessert?

Bake Sale:

The tables for Valentine’s Day are all taken so we are going to take the 15^th and 16^th instead. We also are not allowed to sell baked goods so we will be giving them out and asking for donations for Pakistan. We will be going to Lia Poteet’s apartment after the meeting on TODAY to bake and make posters for the contact table on the 15^th. Bring any ingredients you would like to use.

**Update: We made over $100.00 at the Bake Sale (on donations alone!). We plan on doing this more often!

Check Yosef Blog:

The first blog post is up! The website is asucollegedems.blogspot.com you should definitely check it out! If you have any ideas for blog posts or if you are interested in helping out with the blog email us at asucollegedems@gmail.com .

DC Trip:

We have decided that it would be best to move the DC trip from the first weekend of Spring break to February 25^th because the College Democrats of America Conference will be in DC that same weekend. Lia will be submitting a fund request from to the CSIL so the cost of the trip will be calculated soon for those considering attending.  So far the price is down to $90.00 total but it could be cheaper depending on the allocation of funds from the CSIL.

Powershift:

Vice President Sarah Cox spoke to the group about Powershift, which takes place every April in DC and focuses on Environmental Efforts. She is the campus Coordinator for ASU and is looking for a core group to help recruit students and fundraise in order to send a large group of App students to DC that weekend. She spoke about Powershift conventions from previous years, where Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi spoke and the Roots preformed.  If you are interested in getting involved with Powershift please contact Sarah Cox.

Dance Marathon:

Every year there is a Dance Marathon in Legends to support a charitable organization. This year the proceeds of the Dance Marathon will go to the Western Youth Network. It is this Saturday, even if you are not signed up to participate in the Dance Marathon you can be a Moral Dancer! Moral Dancers will be able to come to Legends around 10:30pm to dance alongside those who have been there throughout the day and give them that extra boost of energy they need to finish the marathon!

Transcript Information:

Please visit the SDR website and request membership with the A.S.U College Democrats in order to have it listed on your transcript for this semester.

 

Upcoming Events:

Bake Sale for Pakistan – February 15^th

College Democrats of America Convention – February 25th

CDNC Convention – April 4^th

Powershift – April 15^th-18^th

Proposed NC Voter ID Bill

Now in control of the NC General Assembly, Republicans are working to pass a new bill that would require all NC voters to produce a state issued ID at the polls before they are allowed to vote. At first glance this seems like a perfectly reasonable idea, and conservative groups across the state are standing up in support of the proposed legislation. Take for example the Caldwell County Tea Party website, where they insist that everyone in the state, even if they do not have a driver’s license, have a state issued identification card, claiming that the calls for concern are "silly". However, a recent preliminary comparison done by the NC Board of Elections found over a million registered voters in the state whose names or other information were not found in the DMV database after cross referencing was completed. While this number could drop after further comparison, the Board of Elections believes that at least 700,000 registered voters would be without the proper identification to vote. The groups affected most by this legislation would be democrats, composing 50% of the preliminary count, as well as minority groups, with African Americans taking the hardest hit. On top of all of this, most election officials say that instances of voter fraud are very rare, leaving many to question the real motivation behind this legislation. Another interesting facet to this legislation is the cost. The Republicans championed fiscal responsibility throughout this past election, so why is it that they are willing to spend millions of dollars to end voter fraud that rarely occurs in the first place? “Facing South and the Institute for Southern Studies released and analysis showing that a voter ID bill proposed by North Carolina Republicans could cost the state $20 million or more over the next three years, exacerbating the state’s $3.7 billion budget gap”(southernstudies.org). Does it not seem a bit counterproductive to cut funding to education and social programs across the state only to turn around and spend it again to prevent voter fraud that rarely occurs in the first place? 

Sources:

http://www.southernstudies.org/2011/02/report-voter-id-law-unaffordable-for-north-carolina.html

http://www.americanindependent.com/168715/photo-requirement-in-voter-id-bill-could-affect-hundreds-of-thousands-of-n-c-voters

http://caldwellteaparty.org/2011/01/31/nc-legislature-stalling-voter-id-bill/