Young voters from higher education institutions form new chapters within the national party Young Democratic Socialists of America collaborate with their peers on how to impact their communities and campuses.
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Students pay attention during a Young Democratic Socialists of America chapel (Photo courtesy of Ben Mercer)
I believe that forming groups with diverse backgrounds and beliefs allows campuses to learn from each other and move forward. Higher education institutions perform at their best when ideas are challenged and re-evaluation takes place. Fresh ideas and perspectives allow universities like ACU and others to thrive rather than sticking to the same systems and processes. YDSA and other student organizations across ACU and the country provide opportunities for students to make their voices heard.
One of the founding members of the ACU chapter is Hansen Penya, a sociology student at Abilene, who helped found the group last spring. School year 2022. YDSA and other organizations like it believe in equal voices, with YDSA working specifically to improve the lives of workers. Penya, alongside Ben Mercer, a young social work student from Harker Heights, collaborated to found the first-ever democratic socialist organization at ACU.
The ACU section is actively working to be part of the national organization composed of 104 chapters. The national organization got off to a slow start with 25 chapters in 2016, growing to 84 in 2019 and now 104 in 2023. Universities across the country have been discussing how to adequately represent the most radical ideas and allow students freedom of speech and expression within the bounds of the First Amendment. Penya and others like him believe in the power of free thought on higher education campuses to improve the minds and ideals of others and create new spaces for people to express themselves.
Through this Q&A with Penya, you’ll understand more about why it’s important for diverse voices to be heard on campuses, like ACU, and how YDSA will continue to operate.
Mullins: How did the ACU YDSA chapter come about? What is your role and who is the faculty sponsor?
Penya: During my sophomore year, Ben Mercer approached me and he was planning on starting a chapter of YDSA, so when he came to me and asked if I wanted to help start this chapter at ACU, I I immediately said yes. We quickly began to face backlash from higher-ups on campus, primarily because they thought we were an activist organization. They believed that the term “activism” had a negative connotation and that any organization calling for activism was not allowed. So there was a discussion and, ultimately, the organization was approved by Student Life and then by Dr. Schubert. We are the only organization that went to the President’s Office, signed, and was allowed to be on campus through their approval.
Mullins: What is the biggest difference between democratic socialism and welfare socialism? democracy?
Penya: Democratic socialism is one of the means by which socialism can arise. There are people who call themselves libertarian socialists or who believe in a form of communism that is also rooted in anarchism, which is a really interesting concept. The difference between socialism, democratic socialism, and something like social democracy is that there is currently no country in the world that operates under a socialist economy. Rather, there are social democracies. So countries like Sweden, Finland and any European state with a strong social safety net would be considered social democracies still rooted in capitalism and anchored in a capitalist organization of the economy, but enjoying fairly strong support for social policies. social needs such as health care and education. No country operates under a socialist organization of the economy and, again, social democracy is rooted in a capitalist organization economy, which is the main difference. Socialism calls for the end of capitalism as an economic organization and demands that workers be the ones who own the capital and means of production rather than separating them into a hierarchical structure as is the case in capitalism.
Mullins: What is the biggest misconception about YDSA?
Penya: I believe the biggest misconception people have about democratic socialism is that everyone who adheres to this way of thinking is an extremely politically left-leaning social justice warrior. We are seen as people who cry in every comment of conservative thought and pretend to be victims and pretend that we are evil and unchristian. This is simply not true and is probably the biggest misconception that I think people in this political group face.
Mullins: How would you respond to other political groups on campus?
Penya: I am happy that the ACU allows different opinions to be expressed. We must be respectful of others and recognize that as human beings we have rights and that there are certain forms of dignity that are essential to living a way of life, especially in a Christian institution that seeks to follow the messages of Jesus.
Mullins: What do you want people to know about YDSA?
Penya: Our main concern is to make our community, our city and our country as fair and just as possible for as many people as possible. The end goal is that everyone can have their basic needs met and live comfortably. Our message and values truly align with what we hear from Jesus in the New Testament.
Post-Q+A analysis: After this interview, I think it is extremely valuable to have different perspectives and voices within higher education institutions, especially private institutions. At institutions, like ACU and other private Christian universities, it is important to have conversations with others of different beliefs and do our best to meet them where they are and achieve to common ground. Despite negative feedback during the development of the initial chapter, Dr. Schubert signed the group once conversations took place to rename the group’s wording. Because of these facts, YDSA worked and fought to be trained and took the appropriate steps to be trained.
YDSA does its best to form communities of ACU students to have conversations about political and non-political topics they face every day. Penya even acknowledges in his responses that some on campus have different beliefs, but he feels obligated to do his best to understand them and meet them where they are. As a student on a private Christian campus, I believe it is imperative that we do our best to listen to those who differ in opinion rather than being closed-minded. We are all better for listening to those with different opinions. This is how we improve each other.