Early this morning this morning Latoia Jones President of the College Democrats of America announced that Senator Obama will be speaking at the opening ceremonies of the 2007 CDA convention in at the University of South Carolina in Columbia South Carolina July 26-29. (see the "extended entry" for the full announcement)
This is a great chance for the leaders of the Democratic Party on campuses across America to see first hand why their fellow students are so supportive of Obama's campaign for hope.
“I am looking forward to seeing all the College Democrats in South Carolina,” said Senator Barack Obama. “Thousands of young people are getting involved in this campaign because they see it as a powerful way to change our country. I’m pleased to see young organizers taking leadership roles at the grassroots level, and I hope that College Democrats everywhere will get involved in our student organization.”
We have an unmatched, in fact unprecedented, student campaign, with over 60,000 individual student members and nearly 400 chapters on campuses around the country. If I had to guess, I'd say that Students for Barack Obama has been so successful is that it is organic and self organized. SFBO was started by students before Senator Obama even declared his candidacy. To this day SFBO is student run and organized. We are formally part of the campaign now, which gives us access to many more resources but the campaign has never tried to "take over" we (students) continue to lead a student run organization.
For more information or to register for the CDA Convention, head over to convention.collegedems.com
We would love to see all of you at the CDA Convention. This event is an incredible opportunity for us to come together as an organization—and to get to know some of the best college organizers in the country. The convention also gives us a chance to show the country how much College Democrats love Barack—please sign up today!
If you have not already signed up, you can do so by visiting Link. Registration is $55 if you register before July 1st. The cost goes up after July 1st, so don’t wait! Housing is available on a first-come, first-serve basis starting at $115.
When you sign up, please make sure to include your Students for Barack Obama role in the “Title” field. For example, you should write “Field Coordinator, Texas State Students for Barack Obama.”
The Barack Obama campaign has announced a new and exciting contest to encourage members of my.barackobama.com to reach out and get their friends involved.
Two people will have the opportunity to have Senator make them a personalized voicemail recording. Imagine having your friends call you and hearing "Hey, this is Senator Obama sorry my friend [your name] isn't available".
It's a great and unique opportunity for everyone to participate in, not just the rich or elite. All you need to do to win is just get all your friends and family to chip in $5 and your golden.
Below is the message from the campaign with all the details and rules.
-Nate
The individual who raises the most money and the individual with the largest number of contributions on their personal fundraising page at the end of this week will each get a message from Barack. To make it fair to those who have already started, we’ll measure everyone’s total from the beginning of this week. Hopefully this will be a fun competition for this already dedicated community, and the end result will be great for the campaign. Log in now and get started: My.BarackObama.com You have until 11:59 pm this Saturday, June 30th to reach out to as many of your friends, family, colleagues, and neighbors as you can. Inspire them to join our movement and support our campaign during this crucial week. All you need to do is log on to My.BarackObama.com, go to your personal fundraising page, and follow the simple steps to send out an email to your friends, family, colleagues, and neighbors. Anyone who contributes to your page before midnight on Saturday June 30th will be counted toward your goal. Please note that in order for a donation to be attributed to you, your donor must donate directly through your personal fundraising page and not through the main Barack Obama donation interface.
To make it fair to those who have already started, we’ll measure everyone’s total from the beginning of this week.
Hopefully this will be a fun competition for this already dedicated community, and the end result will be great for the campaign.
Log in now and get started: My.BarackObama.com
You have until 11:59 pm this Saturday, June 30th to reach out to as many of your friends, family, colleagues, and neighbors as you can. Inspire them to join our movement and support our campaign during this crucial week.
All you need to do is log on to My.BarackObama.com, go to your personal fundraising page, and follow the simple steps to send out an email to your friends, family, colleagues, and neighbors. Anyone who contributes to your page before midnight on Saturday June 30th will be counted toward your goal.
Please note that in order for a donation to be attributed to you, your donor must donate directly through your personal fundraising page and not through the main Barack Obama donation interface.
There is a great opportunity coming up in Washington DC for students to rally for change, meet up with other Obama supporters and show the whole country your support for the Obama '08 campaign (if you missed seeing Senator Obama at Take Back America see the blog post below for the video and text)!
If you are near DC, on the East Coast or want to take a roadtrip (this will be amazing, if you have the chance, I recommend it) join us on June 28th on the campus of Howard University for the Democratic Presidential Debate.
If you can't join us, be sure to watch the debate on PBS starting at 9PM EST.
Calling DC area Students, Summer Interns, and all other Obama Supporters! Show your support for Senator Obama at a Pep Rally for the debate in Washington DC on June 28th, 2007.Join others on the main campus of Howard University at 6:30PM.Wear your shirts and Obama apparel to help show your support!To RSVP for the event please click here: my.barackobama.com/page/event/detail/4jw3z The pep rally will begin at 6:30 on the main campus. Following the rally, the public will be allowed to watch the debate from Burr Gymnasium. The Howard campus map is available at howard.edu/library/CampusMaps those driving, parking will be available in the Banneker and Howard Center lots, with shuttles to main campus. Shuttles will also service the Howard/Shaw Metro station. Specific questions regarding the day's events should be directed to eanmgarrett@yahoo.com, who is the leader of Howard Students for Barack Obama. More information about the debate is available at PBS.
The pep rally will begin at 6:30 on the main campus. Following the rally, the public will be allowed to watch the debate from Burr Gymnasium.
The Howard campus map is available at howard.edu/library/CampusMaps those driving, parking will be available in the Banneker and Howard Center lots, with shuttles to main campus. Shuttles will also service the Howard/Shaw Metro station.
Specific questions regarding the day's events should be directed to eanmgarrett@yahoo.com, who is the leader of Howard Students for Barack Obama.
More information about the debate is available at PBS.
See you there!
A few days ago, I had the opportunity to hear Senator Obama give a phenomenal speech at the Take Back America conference in Washington DC.
Take Back America brings together leaders of the progressive blogosphere, activists and campaign staff from around the country. Senator Obama brought down the house! It was the best speech I have seen Senator Obama give since the 2004 Convention (keep in mind, I have not seen all his speeches). Follow the links below to see and read the speech. It seems that I was not the only Obama fan in the building, ThePolitico.com ran a poll of all attendees asking them "if the election were today, for whom would you vote for?" Senator Obama came in first!
After the speech, the Obama campaign held an organizing meeting where about 60 supporters heard from campaign staff about how to get involved. There was a senior staffer from the Field program, New Media and Youth Division. We all learned how to use our my.barackobama accounts to organize our friends, neighbors and community. It was great.
You can watch the speech here or read the whole text of the speech in the extended entry, below is my favorite part.
We believe that we rise or fall as one people. We believe that we each have a stake in one another – that I am my brother’s keeper; that I am my sister’s keeper. We believe that what happens to that family in Iowa, or to those Maytag workers – that matters to us, even if it’s not our family, or our job. And what’s more – in the face of our cynicism, and our doubts, and the power and influence we see in Washington, we believe that this kind of America is possible. The time for the can’t-do, won’t-do, won’t-even-try style of politics is over. It’s time to turn the page. Some of our more cynical friends in the media tease me from time to time for always talking about hope. But the reason I do is because I’ve seen its power. No one thought those South Side neighborhoods had a chance when I got there. But we banded together, and we kept working, and we taught people to stand up to their government when it wasn’t standing up for them.
We believe that we each have a stake in one another – that I am my brother’s keeper; that I am my sister’s keeper. We believe that what happens to that family in Iowa, or to those Maytag workers – that matters to us, even if it’s not our family, or our job. And what’s more – in the face of our cynicism, and our doubts, and the power and influence we see in Washington, we believe that this kind of America is possible.
Just wanted to let everyone know about a great opportunity to see Senator Obama and hundreds of like-minded progressives at the Take America Back conference on June 19th in the DC area.
1.Please join Senator Barack Obama as he speaks to thousands of progressive activists, thinkers, bloggers and leaders from across the country at the annual conference, “Take Back America.”The campaign has passes for supporters to attend this speech. Get your free ticket at:my.barackobama.com/takebackamerica />2.After the Senator’s speech, representatives from the Obama campaign will host an organizational meeting for supporters to talk about how to get involved in this movement for change. The organizational meeting will be at the Hilton Hotel at 4pm.Check out the facebook invite here:www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=2368019526
To the doubters, I say today; You Sir or Madam are wrong. We (America’s youth) will turn out, we will volunteer and we will make a difference.
Alone I am a movement, together we are a force! A force that is energized and activated like never before.
I need only point you to an article in the Daily Iowan to demonstrate my point High-Schoolers Work On Voters. In a scene replicated throughout the country, High School students are getting involved and volunteering on the Barack Obama for President campaign.
Specifically, the article highlights various students that participated in our national canvass on June 9th, Walk for Change.
“We’re going to be the youngest ones voting,” said Kayla Haines, a West High senior. “It’s important we understand the issues and have a say in what happens in U.S. politics”
But will they and their peers vote? That really is the ultimate question. The answer appears to be an emphatic “Yes!”.
While some of the volunteers were not even old enough to vote, such as Lukas Ovrom, a sophomore at City High, he understands the importance of voting. “Getting people to vote makes up for the fact that I can’t” he said.
Those of us that are old enough to vote are turning out in numbers that are very encouraging.
47 percent of people between the ages of 18-24 voted in the 2004 presidential election - an increase of 11 percent over 2000, according to the Center for Information and Research on Civic Learning
In Iowa, that number is even higher with 62 percent of 18-24 year olds voting in 2004.
We are not only voting in the general election, we are also participating in the caucuses.
Also, in the 2004 caucuses, 21,000 people under the age of 30 voted - quadruple the number in 2000.
At the launch of Students for Barack Obama at George Mason University, (click here for video) Senator called for us to take action expanding on the words of Dr. Martin Luther King, and we responded.
The arc of the moral universe is long but it bends towards justice. It bends towards justice. But here’s the thing George Mason, here’s the thing young people. It doesn’t bend on its own. It bends because you put your hand on that arc and bend it in the direction of justice. It bends in that direction because you decide that you’re going to stand up to a war that should never have been waged, it bends because you decide that we need a health care system for all Americans, it bends because you make a decision that every child in America deserves a decent education even if they’re not wealthy…You make that decision and if you grab that arc, think about all the power that is represented here if all of you decide that you are going to get involved. If you all grab that arc, then I have no doubt, I have absolutely no doubt that regardless of what happens in this presidential year and what happens in this election, America will transform itself.
We all know that the Democratic party is the “big tent” party and the party of inclusiveness. I am proud to say that Senator Obama has once again taken the lead on a great Democratic issue and has made his campaign videos accessible to a greater amount of Americans than any current or former Presidential campaign.
A few days ago, Senator Obama’s campaign became the first Presidential campaign to provide campaign videos with both Closed Captioning and Spanish language subtitles. Allowing an unprecedented number of Americans to take note of our message for change directly from Senator Obama himself.
This comes as no surprise to me, every time I have seen Senator Obama speak he has had ASL (American Sign Language) interpreters on stage with him so that our supporters from the deaf community could actively participate in our campaign.
There are more videos and releases to come in dual-language as well.
From the campaign
The Obama campaign is the first campaign to find solutions to make online video and policy announcements available through closed captioning. During the weeks and months ahead the campaign will make available additional videos in both English and Spanish captioning.
There are 10’s of millions of Americans (students and adults) whose first (and primary) language is ASL or Spanish and there is no reason why ALL campaigns should not be reaching out to them. I am very proud to be associated with this movement that is actively reaching out to them.
Currently these videos are LIVE at www.barackobama.com/closedcaptioning or www.barackobama.com/espanol/tv/.
Just a quick FYI. Students for Barack Obama blog now has an RSS feed that will let you create a “live bookmark” and get all the latest updates and blog posts or syndicate our writings.
Just click on the link below.
The AP reports that the answer at Camp Obama is "Yes".
The article highlights Chris Wyant, a recent graduate of Yale University who quit a financial job to attend Camp Obama and volunteer for our movement for change through November '08.
But don't look for bonfires or singalongs at this nearly weeklong summer camp. Here, campers are holed up on a sparsely decorated floor of a downtown office building, gathered around folding tables where they learn more about Obama and how to galvanize support for him.
"Nine o'clock at night you're like, 'Give me the next assignment, like who's the next speaker?' ... It's worth it,"...said Julia Duncan, a 19-year-old from Menlo Park, Calif., who will be a junior at the University of Virginia next semester.
Sound like something you want to be a part of? Check out the blog entry three posts down to see how you can get involved and attend an upcoming session of Camp Obama and get placed in Iowa, Nevada or South Carolina.
Hey Guys,
Just got the following message from the Obama campaign that I wanted to pass along. Looking for summer plans? Here's a plan for you; Change the World.
Do you want to get more involved with the Obama campaign? We are currently looking to fill unpaid internships for the summer and beyond in Iowa and Nevada, and South Carolina, all very important early primary states. This is an excellent opportunity for anyone who is interested in campaigning, pursuing a career in politics, or simply getting more involved in supporting Senator Obama. We need interns from all backgrounds and enthusiasm is more important than experience, so we encourage you to apply if this interests you. Just send your résumé, preference between the three states, and a list of times you would be available for a brief interview to campobama@barackobama.com. We hope to hear from you soon! The Camp Obama Team
The Camp Obama Team
Aimee Fausser, a rising junior at Virginia Tech recently saw the potential for change and joined our movement (full disclosure, Aimee is a good friend of mine).
A few weeks ago, I was talking to Aimee and she let me know that she was unsure of whom to support for president in 2008 but was leaning towards one of the other candidates. I knew I could talk to her and explain what the Obama campaign was all about and why I was ready for a new kind of politics, but instead, I let Senator Obama do the talking. I challenged Aimee to watch two specific videos of Senator Obama speaking and still be undecided. She accepted.
I am happy to say that Aimee is founding a chapter of Students for Barack Obama at Virginia Tech! As she says, she is ready for a leader that
"understands the changes that need to happen in this country. A leader that is strong enough to fight for what is right rather than what is easy."
Aimee is not alone in this, I have heard numerous stories from around the country of students being inspired into action and refusing to sit on the sidelines after hearing Senator Obama speak.
So, by now you may be wondering what two videos I asked Aimee to watch. Or how you can inspire your friends by simply pointing them to YouTube?
Here are the two videos.Senator Obama’s Keynote address at the 2004 DNC ConventionPart 1:
Part 2:
And Senator Obama at George Mason University on February 2nd at the Students for Barack Obama launch.
I will be hosting a "Walk for Change" event out of my (mom's) home in McLean, Virginia because I care about spreading the message that politics doesn't have to talking heads screaming at each other on television or about special interest stacking the deck in the halls of power.
Whether you will be at home or at school this summer, please head over to my.barackobama.com/walkforchange and sign up to host a neighborhood walk or to find one near you.
As the Senator wrote in his e-mail announcing the Walk for Change:
"When politics gets local, when the person talking is your neighbor standing on your front porch, things change."
If you are a supporter of our movement for change and support Senator Obama becoming our next President I strongly urge you to attend.
Please do not worry if you have never been on a canvass before or feel like you don't know enough about the issues. The Walk for Change is about talking to our neighbors and explaining OUR reasons for wanting to change business as usual in Washington DC.
If you support Senator Obama, there must be a reason; whether your a teacher who has seen the damage caused to the public school system over the past six years, whether your a vet who opposes the war in Iraq, whether your an average American citizen that doesn't want torture committed under your name. Whatever YOUR reason is, that's the strongest message of all.
The campaign will also provide suggested scripts, literature and all other necessary material; it is up to us to provide the shoe leather for the Walk for Change to be a success.
In the United States of America, right at this very moment, there over six million high school and middle school students who struggle every single day because they read significantly below their grade level. At the same time the cost of a college degree here in the United States has never been more expensive. Over the past 10 years the cost of going to college has gone up much faster than the average national inflation. After 6 years of the current administration our educational systems are in tatters, with our public schools failing our children and those students that manage to graduate are having a harder time than ever affording to go to college and continue their education
Senator Barack Obama has taken the lead and already begun to address these issues. As a member of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee he has had the opportunity to make a direct effect in the lives of millions of students across the country.
The very first bill that Barack Obama introduced in the United State Senate was the HOPE bill. HOPE looked to lessen the increasing challenge that paying for college has become by increasing the maximum Pell Grant from $4,050 to $5,100. However it was defeated in the Senate which at the time was Republican controlled. I have a feeling though that a President Obama would usher through the HOPE bill through his Democratic Senate and House without much of a problem.
How are our younger brothers and sisters even going to make it to college with our public school systems overworked and under funded like never before? Lifelong teachers are leaving their educational careers behind in search of temp jobs that pay more, so not only is funding being lost, but so are some of our best teachers. If we want to have the best-educated population in the world, we have to recruit and retain talented teachers.
Senator Obama, once again, is already working on the solution. Even though the federal government’s function in local educational systems is limited, Senator Obama has found a way to increase performance bonuses for our best teachers allowing us to retain their talent in the classroom. He introduced and ushered through Congress the “Innovation Districts for School Improvement Act.” This program not only allows, but encourages, schools to breakout of the old system and finds new innovative teaching techniques by providing grants for up to 20 school districts to implement these new innovative techniques. Also, the high performing teachers in these districts can earn bonuses of 10-20%. In order to receive a grant, both a school district and its teachers union have to work together to create the proposal allowing those two different perspectives on education to merge and come up with innovative solutions.
Senator Obama’s new message of hope and new way of doing business in Washington is already producing positive results. With your support he can make our country’s education system more innovative than ever before
Welcome to the Students for Barack Obama blog. We went live a few days ago (Friday, May 4) and I hope you’ll find us to be an informative and interesting blog covering not only covering major speeches and event, but also some of Senator Obama’s issue stances and how they pertain to students and young Americans alike.
Additionally we hope to bring you stories about some of the awesome things our chapters and student members are doing around the country. Make sure to come back and visit us often as we’ll be updating everyday with new and exciting posts. Our direct website address is students.BarackObama.com. If you have your own blog and want to link to us or add us to your blog roll, that’s OK too (ok, actually it would make us really happy).
If there is something in particular you’d like to see us cover, if you have any suggestions or you want to get in touch for any other reason, feel free to e-mail me at nate[at]StudentsforBarackObama[dot]com (e-mail presented in a funny way so spamming software doesn't grab it off the web, just use the regular "@" and "." symbols)
PS: We are still looking for a few more writers for our blog, so if you want to join the team get in touch with Marc, marc[at]StudentsforBarackObama[dot]com. He’ll probably ask you for a writing sample so if you send one with your first e-mail, it’ll save you a step and maybe even impress him a little.
In the meantime, here are some other fantastic Barack Obama for President websites that will help you stay up to speed and connect with other young supporters for change. (click on the picture, it's the link)
1. If you haven’t set up My.BarackObama.com account yet, what are you waiting for? My.BarackObama is our social networking site of supporters young and old. You can set up a profile (and invite your friends), meet other members of the movement, find groups of supporters (national and local), have your own blog or fundraising page and all sorts of other cool stuff.
2. Sign up to become a member of students for Barack Obama, you can also use this page to see if there is already a chapter at your college or university, and if not you can start your own.
3. Come check out Students for Barack Obama on Facebook. We have close to 70,000 members and a group for almost each state as well (you’re going to have click through to get your state link)
4. Friend Up! On MySpace. Come check out the official Barack Obama profile and add us as a friend.
5. For those of you out there that want to procrastinate studying for a final or writing a term paper and still consider it educational. Here is a great diary by ChiGirl88 on DailyKos: Barack Obama's IL Senate record
A few days ago I moved from being Virginia State Director over to the internet outreach team and am now a writer on the Students for Barack Obama blog, students.barackobama.com it went live Friday and you should totally check it out if you haven't had a chance.
So, that being said, don’t leave me out in the cold, let me know what your doing.
Did you have a table out during a big school event? Has anyone raised $150 five bucks at a time? Are you guys out there doing visibility? Has your chapter gone out and helped local candidates? How was your debate viewing party? How many trees did you plant on earth day? Who wore their Obama gear to graduation (I know at least one of you did)? and........so on
I also want to hear about what you plan on doing in the future (this way I can be semi-prepared and turn out a blog post much faster, maybe day of but certainly within a day of the actual event).
So if you want to tell your mom that you were featured on Senator Obama's campaign website or if you have any awesome stories/chapters/members let me know.
-Nate de la Piedra
nate@studentsforbarackobama.com
AIM: pitin917
PS: even if you think that your story is "big enough" for the national blog, try me and shoot me an e-mail, I really want to do some pieces on everyday students and young people taking action.
1. Allow users to set goal in terms of number of donors. The campaign message has always number of donors not dollars, but they force us to pick a dollar amount. I e-mail my circle of friends and family with a stated goal in number of donors, but if they click over to my site, my public goal and my neat little thermometer are in dollars not people.
2. AUTO-DEDUPE. Or at least give us that option for those of us that imported our contact list. I imported my Yahoo and Gmail and sent to both, but because the entries were not dedpued, many of my friends got two e-mails from me, kinda sucky.
that the video from any Democratic Presidential debate be available freely after the debate, by either placing the video in the public domain, or licensing it under a Creative Commons (Attribution) license.
Senator Obama, once again, is already working on the solution. Even though the federal government’s function in local educational systems is limited, Senator Obama has found a way to increase performance bonuses for our best teachers allowing us to retain their talent in the classroom. He introduced and ushered through Congress the “Innovation Districts for School Improvement Act.” This program not only allows, but encourages, schools to breakout of the old system and find new innovative teaching techniques by providing grants for up to 20 school districts to implement these new innovative techniques. Also, the high performing teachers in these districts can earn bonuses of 10-20%. In order to receive a grant, both a school district and its teachers union have to work together to create the proposal allowing those two different perspectives on education to merge and come up with innovative solutions.
Senator Obama’s new message of hope and new way of doing business in Washington is already producing positive results. With your support he can make our country’s education system more innovative than ever before.
