Recap of College Democrats of New York Convention

more info on the CDNY blog

This past weekend featured the 2009 College Democrats of New York Convention and as expected, it was by far our best convention ever! We had over 125 students in attendance, from 25 different chapters across the state. Students traveled as much as 8 hours from Buffalo and Fredonia into NYC where our Convention was held, hosted by by St. Johns College Democrats.

Friday night was our comedy show, featuring Laughing Liberally. I want to thank Justin Krebs, who worked with our organization to put the show together. The show was pretty funny and entertaining.

Saturday was a very long day and packed with activities. We had our state senate panel which everyone enjoyed, as our state legislators talking in depth about gay marriage which is currently on the floor of the Assembly and the increase in SUNY tuition. The biggest message that they had to deliver was that college students need to lobby our state's legislators by going to their offices, and making sure their voice is heard. I couldn't agree more. Lobbyist groups have become skilled experts at lobbying politicians to get what they want, and college students need to really improve in this area, now that we have shown everyone that we can mobilize thousand of volunteers during elections.

Our morning speakers included Matt Silverstein, President of the New York State Young Democrats, and Manhattan Borough President Scott Stringer, who recently formed an exploratory committee for running for Senate in New York against Senator Gillibrand.

In the afternoon, we had our breakout sessions in New Media, Communications and Field Organizing. Surprisingly, this was one of our members' favorite events during the weekend. The in-depth discussion and trainings provided students with new skills that can add to their repertoire.

Our keynote speaker, Nassau County Executive Tom Suozzi, did not disappoint. He was incredible, bringing energy and passion with him to the stage, speaking for half an hour, and taking audience questions for another half an hour. Not only was Suozzi elected the youngest mayor ever of his hometown in Glen Cove, NY, but he also is constantly on twitter and plugged his new website a few times. He also uses facebook frequently- in fact his facebook page status said today that he had a great time at the Convention.

On Sunday we had a session on our organization by-laws and elections to elect the new executive board. I want to congratulate my friend Ian Rivera who will be taking over as president of the organization, as I move on to a position with the College Democrats of America. In all, it was a terrific convention. Check out our website in the coming days for all our pictures.