Nathan Webster
Template:TOCnestleft Nathan Webster is a Columbus Ohio activist.
Members
As the October 15 2019 Democratic debate approached, members of the Young Democratic Socialists of America chapter at Ohio State University tried to figure out where to focus their energy.
“It’s all related, even though they look like separate issues, ” said Daija Kidd, an African-American studies and sociology double major and co-chair of the Ohio State University Young Democratic Socialists of America chapter, as she tried to get the other members to think about new campaigns for the year.
Nathan Webster, a second-year electrical engineering major at Ohio State, learned about the Democratic Socialists of America through protests in his hometown, Painesville, Ohio, aimed at abolishing Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
For Ricky Vehar, an environmental engineering major, coming out as gay and then coming out as trans moved her closer to the Young Democratic Socialists of America.
James Fisher, a second-year student and a co-chair of the O.S.U. chapter, joined the group for similar reasons: they support giving trans teenagers and adults better access to health care through Medicare for All.
Others joined the YDSA. because they saw the benefits of nationalized health care firsthand. During a yearlong program in England, Johnny Amundson got very sick and was hospitalized for a month. His program enrolled him in the National Health Service, and he ended up paying just $200 in medical fees, he said.
Nikki Velamakanni, a political science major, joined YDSA when she realized that she didn’t want to join the College Democrats chapter on campus because of the stigma around it.
For Evan Schmidt, a second-year economics major, “socialism is a word only. It doesn’t necessarily have a direct correlation to any sort of regime or empire, which allows for that reconstruction around it.”
He grew up in Manchester, Vt., where the idea of democratic socialism was less taboo thanks to Mr. Sanders. When he moved away, out of what he describes as a “sheltered neighborhood,” he had his first experiences with people who grew up with less than he did.[1]