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Young Democrats
229043 142576009148659 135516896521237 290514 732864 n (1)
Organizational Information
Founded April 13, 1977
Parent Organization College Democrats of America
Type Political Club
Leadership Information
Elections Group democratic
Presiding Officer Daniel A. Khalil
Advisor Jeff A. Harmon

Young Democrats at UTSA (often abbreviated to "Young Dems" or "UTSAYD") is the UTSA chapter of the College Democrats of America.

History[]

The 1970's[]

Young Democrats at UTSA was originally founded by Ernest W. Bromley in 1977.[1] On April 13, 1977, the Young Democrats had a lecture with Senator Joe J. Bernal.[2] This event, which took place in HB 2.01.10 at 12:30, is the first documented meeting of the Young Democrats. J. Craig Youngblood, founder of the Pre-Law Student Association, was an active member during the club's formative years.[3] Lupe Anguiano, the chair of the National Women's Political Caucus Welfare Task Force, spoke at the Young Democrats' meeting on September 21, 1977.[4] SRA voted to co-sponsor a transportation forum with the Young Dems and Pre-Law Student Association in October.[5] Congressman Bob Krueger attended the general meeting on Halloween '77.[6] Celeste Scalise, an officer during this time, was one of ten UTSA students honored by the Young Leaders Society during their holiday awards banquet.[7]

The 1980's[]

As the new decade came about, the group continued to be active and hold meetings on Wednesdays at 1:00 pm.[8] On March 5, 1980, the Young Dems hosted a forum on the Permanent University Fund.[9] Then, a few days later, the group sponsored another forum for mayoral candidates to speak at, along with the CRs, Political Science Association and Young Socialist Alliance, March 10-12, 1981.[10] Liz Landez, a member of the club, was inducted as treasurer of the Alumni Association for the 1981-1982 academic year during the summer.[11] Meetings were held every Monday at 1:00 pm for the 1981-1982 school year in HB 2.01.08; they were moved to noon later on in the Spring semester.[12][13][14] Meetings in 1984 continued on Mondays at 1:00 pm, albeit in HB 2.01.04.[15] Wayne Terry acted as the principle recruiter during this time. Young Democrats hosted a San Antonio mayoral debate on Friday March 29, 1985. The debate featured incumbent Henry Cisneros and challenger Phil Pyndus and was co-sponsored by the Pre-Law Student Association and the Paisano Student Newspaper Association.[16] It featured an inquisitive panel of both students and professors in the Kiva and was open to the public.[17] More than 300 members of the UTSA community were in attendance, as well as all four local news stations and both local papers.[18]

On October 22, 1986, the group co-sponsored a debate between K.T. Patrick (R) and Tom Daniels (D) in the HB Building with the CRs.[19] On the 28 of September, 1987, Young Democrats participated in a demonstration outside of the San Antonio Federal Building in opposition to President Reagan's support for the Contras.[20] In the Fall semester of '88, the club held its member meetings on Wednesdays at 11 am.[21] On Wednesday, October 26, 1988, Young Democrats faced off with College Republicans in the Sombrilla in front of the large lunch-time crowd of students.[22] Later on in the year, Bromley, who had been working for Sosa & Associates since 1981, was named Alumni of the Year in 1988.[1] The Young Dems met in the Oak Room at noon during the Fall of 1989.[23]

The 1990's[]

1992 Political Debate

The Young Dems debated the College Republicans and Libertarians on October 29, 1992 in an event sponsored by the Paisano and the Office of Student Life.[24] 40% of those surveyed in attendance deemed the YDs the winner; 39% voted for the CRs, 9% for the Libertarians and 12% were undecided.[24] The Dems held a rally close to Super Tuesday of '92 to help energize voters on UTSA's campus.[24] Renaming themselves the "College Democrats", the organization participated in Fiesta UTSA '94 (as well as the three previous ones).[25]

The group worked alongside the College Republicans to raise awareness of political issues and decrease UTSA voter apathy during the '96 Presidential midterms.[26] Benjamin Mora, College Dems President at the time, led voter registration drives and Clinton campaign efforts on campus.[26] Dr. Richard Gambitta was the club adviser during this time, as well a frequently featured analyst of American elections at UTSA.[27] The College Democrats met on Thursdays at 4-6 pm in the Oak Room during the Fall of 1998.[28]

The 2000's[]

In October of 2005 the College Democrats debated the CRs about various topics including the War in Iraq, abortion, immigration and affirmative action.[29] In November of that same year the Dems sponsored the open-mic session "No Nonsense in November" for students to speak out against Proposition 2, a voter proposition that intended to define marriage as between one man and one woman.[30]

The Democrats co-sponsored an event entitled "Is There a Dark Side to the Homosexual Agenda?" with World Center Campus Ministries and Alpha Lambda Tau, a male GLBTQ fraternity, on February 28, 2007.[31] During the Fall 2008 semester the College Democrats were notably inactive.[32] The organization student organization UTSA for Obama lead Barack Obama's campaign on campus during this time.[32] It's possible most College Democrats defected to UTSA for Obama during this time period. The College Democrats fell to a permanent inactive status during the Fall 2009 semester. The first signs of the formation of the Young Democrats came up in late 2009, upon the death of the College Dems. Charles Wilkison, Scott Dalrymple and Jorge Villarreal officially founded the group on January 23, 2010. UTSAYD has persisted till the current day, where it continues to be an active force on campus.

The 2010's[]

The Young Dems made history on October 1, 2011 by hosting the Texas College Democrats' Fall Policy Conference at UTSA's Main Campus.

Executive Board History[]

Current Executive Board (2014-2015)

Term

President

Vice President

Secretary

Treasurer

Director of PR

Fall 2014-Spring 2015 Celia Arsuaga Bryan Bejarano Sandy Hererra (Fall 2015)

Jeff Schilder (Spring 2015)

Kat Hoang Frankie Trynoski

5th "Young Democrats" Era (2013-2014)

Term

President

Vice President

Secretary

Treasurer

Director of PR

Fall 2013-Spring 2014 Ariel Sepulveda Jorge Fuente Bryant Andrade Matthew DeWaal Celia Arsuaga


3rd "Young Democrats" Era (2011 - 2012)[]

Term President Vice President Secretary Treasurer Director of PR Director of Events Historian Fall Committee Chairs Spring Committee Chairs
Fall 2011 - Spring 2012 Daniel Khalil Ayla Larick Matthew DeWaal/Hannah Beck Scott Dalrymple Crystal Poenisch/Sarah Gibbens Laura Kindred Hannah Beck/Charles Duncan Daniel Khalil (Media), Chanel Anderson (Involvement), Sarah Gibbens (Social) Kurt King (Media), Sean Goerner (Involvement), Anthony Herrera (Social)

2nd "Young Democrats" Era (2010-2011)[]

Term President Vice President Secretary Treasurer Public Relations Manager Events Manager Media Manager
Spring 2011 Charles Wilkison David Feigen Ayla Larick Daniel Khalil Tara Neindorff Crystal Poenish Andrew Woodard
Fall 2010 Charles Wilkison N/A Scott Dalrymple Starr Naranjo N/A N/A N/A
Spring 2010 Charles Wilkison N/A Scott Dalrymple N/A N/A N/A N/A

2nd "College Democrats" Era (2004-2009)[]

Academic Year President Vice President Secretary of Record Secretary of the Treasury Secretary of Communications Other Officers
Fall 2006 - Spring 2007[33][34] Alda Morales Jonathan Vela Stephan Nevarez Amarro Nelson Priscilla Velasquez Sydney Klitzer (Membership), Cindy Santamaria (Campaigns), Jake Prejean (Fundraising)
Fall 2005 - Spring 2006[30][29][35][36] James Gill Dante Small Alda Morales
Fall 2004 - Spring 2005[37] Victor Flores Becky Bromley Dante Small Alda Morales

1st "College Democrats" Era (1990-1997)[]

Academic Year President Vice President Secretary Treasurer Communications Director
Fall 1996 - Spring 1997[26] Benjamin Mora
Fall 1994 - Spring 1995[38][39] Michael DeLeon
Fall 1993 - Spring 1994[25] Michael DeLeon

Festivals[]

Event Item Price Quant.
1980 Best Fest Soft drinks No show
1981 Best Fest T-shirts, buttons, raffle; dunking booth
2012 Fiesta UTSA Mocktails
2013 Best Fest Hot Dogs $3
2014 Fiesta UTSA Chili Cheese Fries $3

Notable Former Members[]

References[]

  1. 1.0 1.1 "Roadrunner". Roadrunner. Retrieved November 22, 2011.
  2. "4-11-77". Roadrunner. Retrieved November 2, 2011.
  3. "4-97". Sombrilla. Retrieved December 13, 2011.
  4. "9-19-77". Roadrunner. Retrieved November 2, 2011.
  5. "9-19-77". Roadrunner. Retrieved November 2, 2011.
  6. "10-24-77". Roadrunner. Retrieved November 2, 2011.
  7. "12-12-77". Roadrunner. Retrieved November 2, 2011.
  8. "10-20-80". Roadrunner. Retrieved December 10, 2011.
  9. "3-2-81". Roadrunner. Retrieved December 10, 2011.
  10. "March 10, 1981". The Paisano. Retrieved November 2, 2011.
  11. "6-22-81". Roadrunner. Retrieved December 10, 2011.
  12. "10-26-81". Roadrunner. Retrieved December 10, 2011.
  13. "2-1-82". Roadrunner. Retrieved December 10, 2011.
  14. "3-1-82". Roadrunner. Retrieved December 10, 2011.
  15. "10-22-84". Roadrunner. Retrieved December 10, 2011.
  16. "3-25-85". Roadrunner. Retrieved December 10, 2011.
  17. "3-12-85". The Paisano. Retrieved March 24, 2012.
  18. "4-2-85". The Paisano. Retrieved March 24, 2012.
  19. "10-30-86". The Paisano. Retrieved 24 March, 2012.
  20. "10-19-87". The Paisano. Retrieved March 25, 2012.
  21. "10-24-88". Roadrunner. Retrieved March 24, 2012.
  22. "11-7-88". Roadrunner. Retrieved March 24, 2012.
  23. "10-23-89". Roadrunner. Retrieved December 13, 2011.
  24. 24.0 24.1 24.2 "10-27-92". The Paisano. Retrieved December 14, 2011.
  25. 25.0 25.1 "4-11-94". The Paisano. Retrieved December 13, 2011.
  26. 26.0 26.1 26.2 "10-28-96". Roadrunner. Retrieved December 13, 2011.
  27. "2-26-96". Roadrunner. Retrieved December 13, 2011.
  28. "9-29-98". Paisano. Retrieved December 14, 2011.
  29. 29.0 29.1 "College Democrats, Republicans meet for first debate of semester". The Paisano Online. Retrieved October 17, 2011.
  30. 30.0 30.1 "Students speak against Proposition 2". The Paisano Online. Retrieved October 17, 2011.
  31. "Focus Archive". QSanAntonio.com. Retrieved October 17, 2011.
  32. 32.0 32.1 "Student political apathy sucks". The Paisano Online. Retrieved October 17, 2011.
  33. "Candidates promote student voting". The Paisano Online. Retrieved October 17, 2011.
  34. "Blogroll". College Democrats at UTSA. Retrieved October 17, 2011.
  35. "Vietnam Vet speaks on fresh ideas for Congress". The Paisano Online. Retrieved October 17, 2011.
  36. "Alda for CDA Faith Caucus Chair". Facebook. Retrieved December 14, 2011.
  37. "Students rally in Sombrilla for abortion rights". The Paisano Online. Retrieved October 18, 2011.
  38. "9-24-94". The Paisano. Retrieved December 13, 2011.
  39. "4-25-95". The Paisano. Retrieved December 14, 2011.

Disclaimer[]

This wiki is not owned or operated by The University of Texas at San Antonio. It is independent and unofficial and its views reflect those of its contributors in the UTSA community--students, alumni, and anyone else interested in helping out.

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