Workshop Title

Topics

Building an Organized Socialist Voice: How to Start or Strengthen Your YDS Chapter

How to start a YDS chapter with a solid and diverse foundation.  Exercises and small groups

Allies in Struggle: Doing Coalition Work Right (Special Focus on Race)

What is an "ally"?  How can YDS chapters build with students of color?

Allies in Struggle: Doing Coalition Work Right (Special Focus on Gender)

What is an "ally" How can YDS be a good coalition partner is terms of gender.

Public Socialist Education: A Cornerstone of YDS Activism

How to conduct socialist education along with your coalition work

Capitalism 101

How does capitalism work and what's wrong with it?  How to refute common myths. 

What Kind of Reforms Should We Fight For

Which reforms are better than others and shift power relationships? Emphasis on labor, racial justice, and voting rights.

Immigration and Capitalism

The Democratic Socialist perspective on immigration.  Discussing how capitalism fostering poor immigration conditions and what socialists can do to challenge the status quo.

Affirmative Action: What it is and Why Your Group Should Use it

How to diversify your chapter the right way, understand affirmative action, institutional racism and sexism, and confront "colorblind racism” and the new rhetoric of the right-wing.

YDS and the Anti-war Movement

Group discussions and brainstorms on our national and local peace work.  Focus on National  Youth Student Peace Coalition, Iraq, and Israel/Palestine.

YDS Fundamentals: Talking Democratic Socialism and YDS

What are our core beliefs?  How do we articulate them in short?  What is YDS' activism?  How do you talk up YDS in terms of ideology and activities.  Small groups and exercises.

YDS Fundamentals: Chums and Bums

Where does YDS stand on the spectrum of the left?  With other leftists: where we have common ground, where we break, and why YDS is the best choice for youth activism

Student Debt

The crisis of student debt is an issue face by increasing number of students and graduates.  How can we fight student debt as socialist activist?  What is our add-value compared to other youth activists on this issue.

Who's Labor Movement?

What organized role do socialists and progressives play in the labor movement?  What role do we play as socialist youth in building the labor movement of tomorrow?  

Plenary

Building the Progressive Majority: Our Role in the 2008 Elections

A forum to review DSA's view on electoral politics & strategies for DSA, YDS, and the democratic Left for the upcoming 2008 elections.