About  the UIS College Democrats

The University of Illinois, Springfield College Democrats is a student-run chapter of the College Democrats of America (CDA). Our mission is to elect Democrats, to raise awareness of issues and ideas that are consistent with the beliefs of the Democratic Party, to encourage student activism and participation in local and national politics, and to give students a voice in shaping the political world.

The CDA

The College Democrats of America (CDA) is the official student outreach arm of the Democratic Party. It aims to elect Democrats, train and engage new generations of progressive activists, and shape the Democratic Party with voices from America's youth. For more information, please see the College Democrats of America website.

What We Do

The UIS College Democrats engage in activities that support and promote the Democratic Party. In addition to campaign volunteering, we meet regularly, conduct voter registration drives, work to improve voter turnout, are looking engage in debates with the UIS College Republicans, and bring in speakers to further discussion of important issues, among other activities. Because we believe that it is crucial not only to promote our beliefs, but also to act on them, community service is a dynamic part of our mission, shown by our commitment to volunteer to do several yearly service projects; namely, our highway cleanup.

Working for the Future

We want to do more. In the fall we plan to inaugurate an "Issue of the Month" program to bring timely, important issues to public awareness on campus and raise support for the Democratic Party. We have begun an initiative to give Election Day "religious holiday" status on campus so that exams and large assignments will not get in the way of student activism and voting. We are working with the University to move polling sites so that students can vote in convenient locations close to where they live. And we are gearing up to energize student activism and voting for the crucial elections to come.