An open letter to the College Democrats of America
Last updated at 3:41 p.m. MDT on July 1, 2020.
To the Executive Board of the College Democrats of America and College Democrats across the country,
Matthew Nowling should not have had to resign. The treatment Matthew described in his statement and in his testimony at the “town hall” by the current Executive Board was abhorrent and inexcusable. Matthew brought attention to the shared experiences of so many POC who consider themselves part of this organization — that the College Democrats of America leadership turns a blind eye to racism and classism in the national leadership. Real change in this organization is long overdue, and our coalition of state federations, standing with Matthew, have the following demands of the current Executive Board and asks of the National Council. If our immediate demands are not met, and commitments to reforms are not made by the national leadership within forty-eight hours, our federations will leave the College Democrats of America, cut all ties with the organization, and denounce it in its current form.
We demand the immediate resignation of College Democrats of America President Mikaela Guido. Additionally, we are calling on the rest of the current Executive Board to commit to not running for a position in the upcoming elections or any after and to commit to not accepting any appointments for national leadership.
We demand that the remaining members of the Executive Board do not proceed with appointments to fill vacancies until the National Council has the opportunity to review and extensively vet potential appointees.
We demand that the Democratic National Committee conduct independent election monitoring of the upcoming College Democrats of America elections and all elections after.
We are calling on the National Council to adopt amendments to the governing documents of the organization which include the following:
- Giving the chairs of each identity caucus a vote on the Executive Board; and,
- Creating an elected Executive Board position committed to inclusivity, diversity, equity, and accessibility and require them to present an action plan to the National Council early in their term; and,
- Allowing federations to vote remotely to ensure that no federation is disenfranchised because they cannot afford to attend national conventions; and,
- Requiring that all candidates for national office receive ethics and training on the election code of conduct; and,
- Requiring that all national officers receive comprehensive diversity and inclusion training, sexual assault and bystander training, and ethics training; and,
- Requiring that the Executive Board attend at least one National Council call quarterly; and,
- Requiring the National Council approve the appointments of members to all committees on the recommendation of the Executive Board; and,
Reforms to the Committee on Ethics which include:
- A standard for conflicts of interest; and,
- Requiring that all Committee members sign legally-binding non-disclosure agreements; and,
- Formalizing a relationship with the Democratic National Committee’s Human Resources Department; and,
- Adopting a standard for issues, including sexual assault and harassment, which should be addressed to the Democratic National Committee, not the Ethics Committee; and,
- A transparent process for filing complaints and bias disclosures, with easy access to forms and process details; and,
- Processes for reporting anonymously, without fear of repercussions.
Further, we are calling on all those who will seek national leadership positions to commit to ensuring these reforms are enacted. None of the federations listed below will endorse any candidate who does not.
We invite other state federations to join our coalition.
In solidarity,
College Democrats of Ohio
Texas College Democrats
College Democrats of North Carolina
D.C. College Democrats
College Democrats of New York
College Democrats of Oklahoma
Alabama College Democrats
College Democrats of South Carolina
Virginia College Democrats
College Democrats of North Dakota
College Democrats of Maryland
College Democrats of Massachusetts
College Democrats of Louisiana
College Democrats of Minnesota
College Democrats of Indiana
Michigan Federation of College Democrats
College Democrats of Illinois
College Democrats of Delaware
College Democrats of Oregon
College Democrats of New Jersey
College Democrats of Rhode Island
College Democrats of South Dakota
College Democrats of Wisconsin
College Democrats of Arizona
College Democrats of Alaska
Pennsylvania College Democrats
College Democrats of New Hampshire
Maine College Democrats
College Democrats of Vermont
College Democrats of Mississippi
College Democrats of Washington
College Democrats of Montana
College Democrats of New Mexico
Florida College Democrats
College Democrats of Connecticut
College Democrats of Nebraska
College Democrats of Tennessee
College Democrats of Iowa
College Democrats of Puerto Rico
College Democrats of Arkansas
College Democrats of California
College Democrats of Georgia
Contact
J.J. Martinez, (Texas College Democrats), (915) 490–1646, jjmartinez@txcollegedems.org
