Start a group at school?

[EseSocialistaSurge]

So in my school I heard that there had been a Socialist club before but it kinda just faded away. I have been wanting to do something of the sort and im sure they would let me as I have already helped create a different one (Multi Cultural Achievement...). Now heres the problem. Im not clueless but I dont believe I have the neccessary knowledge to lead one. I read up on my own. The reason Id like to start one is because there are none in the area and I believe itd be beneficial to spreading the movement and for me to learn more. I was thinking involving all people of leftist ideology only. To debate and trade Ideas. So any help? I really want to involve myself more but dont know how to do it :(

[Pawn Power]

First off, are you in high school or college and what other kind of groups are there? Do you have any body else yet working on this with you?

Either way, it is really easy to state a group at school. Tomorrow I will post some more resources!

[EseSocialistaSurge]

Oh my bad. I go to a high school. Imma junior. And nobody else is really working with me... I dont know any other leftists... But im sure I could find some! Theres gotta be a few at school. Well actually, most of the students there come from wealthy white familes. I just go there cause my city dosent have a highschool

[Mala Tha Testa]

Me and Ashaman are doing the same thing at our high school.

[EseSocialistaSurge]

Nice. N how is that working for you? What are you thinking about doing? Just getting a whole bunch of people together and seeing what happens?

[MarxSchmarx]

Having organized school groups, here are some things to keep in mind.

First, you will manage to get a handful of people to show up at your first or second meeting. The key is to get them hooked. You can do this through three steps.

First, do things outside of school. Like, organize a visit to a prison, work at a homeless shelter and record stories of homeless people, organize a trip to a concert by a leftie band.

The second is to have a clear program/reason for what your group exists for. Do you do exist to spread the word? Do you exist to educate yourselves about socialism? Or are you a tendency to put pressure on the administration to be more socialist? Hopefully all of the above, but you need a clear vision about how you will achieve this. For example, will you run student government candidates? Do you have particular demands, like a student representative on the school board or ousting military recruiters?

Also, have weekly or semi-monthly meetings. You can liven things up by having food at the meetings or closing with a singing of the Internationale. Expect to chair and organize these meetings for the first couple of months.

Lastly, set up a facebook group. At the first meeting, take membership names and emails. Tell them to sign up to the facebook group. This will let people keep in touch and will mean that you don't have to be bummed if people can't show up to meetings. I wish I had this kind of resource when I was starting out :þ

Lastly, be prepared for the avalanche of work this is going to involve. Starting a group from scratch requires iniatitive, dedication, and infinite patience. People are flaky, members come and go, but don't let that damper your resolve. You will often have to be the one shouldering a lot fo the grunt work. That's how these things work, whether they're the socialist club or the Quilt Makers Club.

It's important to remember that you will encounter roadblocks along the way. Just do your best to stay ahead of the curve, anticipate slow weeks and weeks that will burn you out. There is no "average week" when organizing a group.

Then, when you feel like you have enough to do for 1/2 to a full year, go for it!!

Just make sure you give it some serious thought. Planning ahead never hurts.

[EseSocialistaSurge]

Thanks for the advice :)

[Mala Tha Testa]

Nice. N how is that working for you? What are you thinking about doing? Just getting a whole bunch of people together and seeing what happens?

Well, we decided to do it on Winter Break, so we haven't really been able to do anything yet.
But we're going back on Monday.
Yeah, we're just trying to see how many people we can get to support us before we do anything.
Just kinda unite the Leftists within our school and see how it works from there.

And thanks for the advice Schmarx!

[Pawn Power]

First off, ask yourself what you want this group to do (generally) and why other students would want to join. This information will help in outreach.

You can then start publicizing that this group is going to start. Make a list of people who are interested- collect names, emails, and phone numbers. You will want to personally contact, preferably face-to-face or on the phone, all other students who have showed interest in your group to remind them about the first kick-off meeting.

At the first meeting, you want to give responsibilities to all other students who show up. This gives them ownership of the group. They will feel more invested and committed to the group if they are doing important work and not just showing up to meetings that someone else is running. Also, bring food to the fist meeting!( I can give you more detailed info on running meetings/first meetings if you want?)

Here are some more resources/advice including how to run meetings, recruit new members, and sustainability. Students for Democratic Society: High School Organizing (http://newsds.org/wiki/index.php?title=High_School_Organizing)

[EseSocialistaSurge]

Thanks for the advice. Ill talk to my dean about it cause he likes to help me out. Im sure hell be up for it since its different and new to the school.

[Pogue]

I need some advice on starting some sort of group in my college (thats not a Uni, but a college in the UK, in between school and Uni). I considered getting some help from ENS.

[Sarah Palin]

You don't know how lucky you are. At my school, which is packed with the bourgeoisie children of bourgeoisie realtors and bankers, whenever I bring up communism, they become like the sheep of Animal Farm, except against communism: "THEY DON'T LET YOU READ BOOKS IN COMMUNIST COUNTRIES MAN! HOW COULD YOU BE FOR THAT?" It's really discouraging to be around these people, but what are you gonna do.
But back to the thread, if you can start a club of leftists more power to you. Have you heard of Students for a Democratic Society? Not socialist per se, but they take on pretty important issues.

[Pogue]

You don't know how lucky you are. At my school, which is packed with the bourgeoisie children of bourgeoisie realtors and bankers, whenever I bring up communism, they become like the sheep of Animal Farm, except against communism: "THEY DON'T LET YOU READ BOOKS IN COMMUNIST COUNTRIES MAN! HOW COULD YOU BE FOR THAT?" It's really discouraging to be around these people, but what are you gonna do.
But back to the thread, if you can start a club of leftists more power to you. Have you heard of Students for a Democratic Society? Not socialist per se, but they take on pretty important issues.

I've heard they've become a bit shit lately.