Last year, the organization Young Democratic Socialists of America (YDSA) established more than 100 chapters in high schools and colleges across the country, following the reelection of President Donald Trump, and success of New York City’s Mayoral-elect Zohran Mamdani. 

This month a local chapter launched at Northwestern Michigan College. 

 

Several DSA members enrolled at NMC sought to bring a hub for Democratic Socialists to local public schools. Their original plan was to launch a chapter at Central High School, but was later discarded due to lack of interest at the high school. 

 

NMC 17-year-old Early College student Arthur Lijewski-Lee has followed progressive politics his entire life, and when the opportunity arose to join a local YDSA chapter, he jumped. 

 

Lijewski-Lee’s motivations included a Turning Point USA (TPUSA) chapter’s controversial launch at NMC in late January. 

 

The YDSA organization has been gaining membership in the past year primarily due to Trump’s presidency, and originating from Bernie Sanders’ campaign during the 2016 presidential election. The election of Mamdani (a self-declared Democratic Socialist) as mayor in New York City has contributed to the increase in membership. Lijewski-Lee and fellow members established their own YDSA chapter, which began hosting events on Feb. 24. 

 

Several members of the YDSA chapter at NMC are also members of the Northwest Michigan DSA (NWMI DSA) chapter.

 

“As a chapter, I think a lot of what we’re working toward is community-building,” said Jen Kruch, a co-chair of the NWMI DSA chapter. “Our membership has been exploring ways we can create systems of mutual aid to better connect and take care of one another.”

 

“As we watch the ICE infiltration in Minneapolis ensue, we’re drawing inspiration from the vast network of groups that have come together to support and protect targeted members of their community,” said Kruch.

 

Camryn Jenkins, a second-year Social Work major, has joined the up-and-coming YDSA chapter and is also a member of the NWMI DSA. 

Jenkins said that the local TPUSA chapter’s launch motivated him and fellow members of the chapter. 

 

“So we initially got it started because we found out there’s a Turning Point USA chapter here. So, if they can get verification from the school [then we can too].”

 

Within the group, the members boast a wide range of political beliefs. When they began meeting to establish the group, no two people had the same views, Jenkins recounted.

 

Jenkins’ main interest in joining the group was his connection to labor unions. He comes from an organized labor family and deeply cares about unions. Because of this and DSA’s connection to unions, Jenkins feels like the YDSA chapter is a good fit for him.

 

The YDSA organization’s mission statement highlights their involvement in communities across the country: “We are students organizing in our universities, colleges, and high schools to fight for the immediate needs of workers and students while building our capacity to fight for more radical and structural changes.”

 

One of the structural changes that YDSA targets is labor. The organization’s plan for unionization is to take a “bottom-up approach.” YDSA wants students to go out into the workforce and encourage their coworkers to join their local DSA chapter to further strengthen the unions and further spread their message. 

 

YDSA is implementing a “Rank-and-File Strategy” where members are encouraged to join union groups in education, healthcare, and logistics-related fields. The goal is to recruit Democratic Socialists in a variety of unions to spread their message. 

 

In connection with YDSA’s Ranks-and-File Strategy, Kruch believes that strengthening efforts to protect Traverse City’s natural resources and energy infrastructure will continue to provide jobs for students in the future. 

 

Kruch believes that the YDSA chapter may need to focus their efforts on the job market, to ensure future jobs for students,“If the current students at NMC experience anything like the students at countless colleges and universities which came before them, they will continue to see their job prospects diminish and their student loan debt soar. I say this not to be mean, but to point out the idiocy of young people falling for the lies of the corporate shills, political miscreants, and pseudo-religious grifters that make up Turning Point USA.”

 

Lijewski-Lee mirrored Kruch’s concerns about the impact TPUSA could have on NMC students. “Educating the student body and offering alternative resources may show people that there are alternatives to TPUSA,” said Lijewski-Lee.