Student Activism
Economics -> American Capitalism and Social Justice Spring 12
Students for a Democratic Society (SDS)
What is SDS?
The SDS is a radical student group that advocates on the behalf of the American youth in schools and communities. The SDS is entirely student run, with over 100 chapters on various college campuses, and in high schools throughout the nation.<ref>Students for a Democratic Society, . "Who is SDS?." SDS: Dare to struggle, Dare to win!. Students for a Democratic Society, n.d. Web. 2 May 2012. <http://www.newsds.org/about-us>.</ref>
Goals of SDS and How They Will be Achieved
Members of this organization emphasize the importance of implementing change “from the bottom up.”<ref name=SDS>Students for a Democratic Society. "Who is SDS?." SDS: Dare to struggle, Dare to win!. Students for a Democratic Society, n.d. Web. 2 May 2012. <http://www.newsds.org/who-sds >.</ref> This means that every member’s initiatives are instrumental in introducing positive change. The SDS recognizes problems in our economy, with our environment, and in our government. The SDS states that there is strength in numbers, and aim to retrieve power in America from the hands of the few wealthy, and restore it to all members of the American community at large. Their platform includes plans for democratic, accessible education, immigration reforms, and climate change and justice. It offers ways in which students can get involved with a movement that is of their interest and will be impactful.<ref name=SDS />
The SDS acknowledges that struggles will be faced because of the numerous oppressive, racist, white supremacist, capitalist, heterosexist, and patriarchal institutions that are currently engrained in American society. However, the SDS promises to take “on these systems by nourishing interconnected and mutually sustaining struggles of liberation.”<ref name=SDS /> Issues that arise throughout the country are handled by chapters who are affected by the issue.
Leaders of the SDS highlight the difference between being an organizer and an activist, and stress that members of the SDS are organizers. The document “Who We Are, What We are Building”<ref name=mission>Students for a Democratic Society. "Who is SDS?." SDS: Dare to struggle, Dare to win!. Students for a Democratic Society, n.d. Web. 2 May 2012. <http://www.newsds.org/who-sds?q=node/4 >.</ref> acts as the mission statement for the organization, and defines organizers as “activists who also work to bring many other people into movements.”<ref name=mission />Currently over 150 chapters exist throughout the country, and these chapters come together to create a powerful, impactful student movement in America.
Accomplishing Social Justice
SDS and Authors
SDS and Alperovitz
SDS makes extensive efforts to maintain a broad platform that addresses the wide variety of issues in society. In doing so, the SDS successfully attracts a myriad of students to get involved with issues they are passionate about. That being said, the SDS does publish a national campaign platform to ensure cohesiveness between the numerous chapters throughout the country. SDS national platform zeroes in on the American education system, and advocates intensive reformation to garner an atmosphere in which education is a societal right, not an economic privilege.<ref>Students for a Democratic Society. "Who is SDS?." SDS: Dare to struggle, Dare to win!. Students for a Democratic Society, n.d. Web. 2 May 2012. <http://www.newsds.org/our-campaigns>.</ref> SDS aims to lower the costs of higher education to make it more accessible to the majority of American youth. SDS does not protest the faculty and professors of higher education institutions, but rather joins with them to fight the rising student tuition costs and simultaneous employee lay-offs. Class sizes also continue to increase, despite the fact that the faculty is not expanding, thereby creating more work for professors for less money.
This initiative is connected to the reforms and ideals advocated by Gar Alperovitz because it supports the restoration of power in the hands of the masses. Acquiring an education is essential in obtaining a self-supporting job in adulthood, and to be able to act as an informed, conscientious citizen of America. Alperovitz emphasizes the importance of “move[ing] the nation as a whole toward[s] greater equality,”<ref>Alperovitz, Gar. American Beyond Capitalism: Reclaiming our Wealth, Our Liberty, and Our Democracy. Hoboken: John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 2005. 71.</ref> and proposes ways in which America can achieve this through his Pluralist Commonwealth model. His model proposes increasing the efficiency and use of human resources, and Alperovitz points out that America “currently throw[s] away literally millions of productive people whose contributions to the economy could be enormous…minority and other low-income students with high test scores are five times as likely not to attend college than high-income students with comparable scores.”<ref>Alperovitz, Gar. American Beyond Capitalism: Reclaiming our Wealth, Our Liberty, and Our Democracy. Hoboken: John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 2005. 77.</ref> This is simply because higher education is not affordable, and thus creates large differences between those who can afford attendance and those who cannot. The protests, marches, and pledges sent to Congressmen by SDS are all initiatives that not only call attention to the unfortunate realities that Alperovitz explores, but also proposes solutions to correct these societal disparities.
SDS initiatives to reform the American education system will allow Americans to reclaim their wealth because it will level the competition for good jobs that offer security, benefits, and a comfortable wage. This will expand the upper class population, and increase the accessibility of opportunities for Americans. Reforms will also restore liberty and democracy by highlighting that the right to acquiring an education should not be a privilege, and should not be deprived of someone simply because they cannot afford it. Alperovitz reiterates that everybody can contribute to society in his or her own way, and education is a valuable gateway in helping to recognize one’s talents and career path. <ref>Alperovitz, Gar. American Beyond Capitalism: Reclaiming our Wealth, Our Liberty, and Our Democracy. Hoboken: John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 2005. 73.</ref> Lowering the costs of education will give people the liberty to make informed decisions regarding their future, and create an atmosphere that is both equitable and democratic.
SDS and Domhoff
G. William Domhoff published a book that analyzed the largest power structures in America, and the various networks that they control. He defined and detailed the superiority and authority that corporate communities, power elites, corporate officials, and members of the upper class have over the military, economic, and political systems in America. Domhoff addresses that social cohesion within these wealthy groups lead to the development of policies and institutions that protect the interests of these groups. Despite the fact that upper classes hate to discuss their upper-class status, this superiority is maintained in numerous subtle ways that subsequently perpetuate stratification in American society.<ref>Domhoff, G. William. Who Rules America? Challenges to Corporate and Class Dominance. 6th ed. Boston: McGraw Hill, 2010. 3.</ref> SDS reforms to make higher education more accessible to Americans of the lower [and consequently, larger] classes are in direct accordance with Domhoff’s analysis. Maintaining such steep costs of education excludes capable Americans from lower classes because they cannot afford attendance, thereby favoring the wealthy and equipping them with opportunities and resources that will make them superior candidates in competitions for jobs, promotions, and pay increases. SDS notes these unjust occurrences, and directly attacks the power elite at college/universities that justify these inequalities. Domhoff’s book highlights the concentration of power in America in the hands of the wealthy, and explains the necessity of deconstructing these communities. In doing so, benefits (such as higher education) produced from enacted policies will impact the lives of all Americans, and not just the wealthy power elite that dominates the government.<ref>Domhoff, G. William. Who Rules America? Challenges to Corporate and Class Dominance. 6th ed. Boston: McGraw Hill, 2010. 180.</ref>
SDS and Yates
SDS and Bowles, Edwards, & Roosevelt
United Students Against Sweatshops
What is USAS?
Established in 1997, United Students Against Sweatshops (USAS) is a youth and student-run organization based in Washington, DC. While its name implies a struggle specifically against sweatshops, it broadly defines sweatshops as encompassing all violations of worker rights in the global economic system.
Goals of the USAS
Accomplishing Social Justice
USAS and Authors
USAS and Alperovitz
USAS and Domhoff
USAS and Yates
USAS and Bowles, Edwards, & Roosevelt
References
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