Lawrence University Young Democratic Socialists of America
Lawrence University Young Democratic Socialists of America is an Appleton Wisconsin chapter of Young Democratic Socialists of America.
Bodily Autonomy campaign
The Lawrence University Young Democratic Socialists of America is launching a Bodily Autonomy campaign. The campaign focuses on providing free Plan B and an end to deadnaming transgender Lawrentians on databases such as Microsoft Outlook.
When asked about the objectives of this campaign, YDSA co-chair sophomore Nolan Madrigrano and Harassment and Grievance Officer senior Rowan Tipping shared that preventing deadnaming and finding ways for students to anonymously obtain Plan B are the main issues that the initiative must address. Tipping spoke on the importance of anonymity, noting the importance of being able to preserve anonymity when receiving contraceptives. Tipping said campaign members proposed putting them in the Buchanan Kiewit Wellness Center and a vending machine in Warch Campus Center.[1]
Chaper founding
On March 9 2023, a new Young Democratic Socialists of America (YDSA) chapter officially began operating on Lawrence’s campus.
According to member and first-year Ernesto Torres, these types of organizations can help to create a healthy atmosphere on campus. Since being founded, the chapter has begun to create connections, recruit members and build a platform for future community engagement and political action.
To chapter member Hayden Young, a sophomore, YDSA is a way for people to work together and get involved. Their goal currently is to promote political engagement and positive action in the community through smaller goals, such as events and drives, at first. To begin with, a food drive has been planned by sophomore Nathaniel Laprade, head of the Food Drive Committee, and is set to take place over the course of a week sometime during April.
“Having [smaller] goals in mind, like doing food drives and clothing drives, helps get people more committed,” said first-year and Treasurer Emmett Bowman-Grubbs. “If we shot for the moon from the start, we would accomplish a whole lot of nothing, but as more people join and more little things get accomplished, I think bigger things can be on the table.”
Aside from the upcoming food drive, the club has already begun to engage in community outreach, says Young. Chapter Co-Chair Nolan Madrigrano, a first-year, has already begun to make connections with Fox Valley residents, and members participated in last week’s Women’s March. On top of this, YDSA is actively creating committees to plan and expand on projects in the future.[2]