
A great way to get involved with the Dems is to attend committee meetings. There are 7 different committees that you can join. Committees meet weekly and plan all the activities of the Dems. If you find a committee you like, please apply to become MAL. Below is a description of each committee. Check the calendar to find out when they meet.
Events Committee
Events Director Jonathan Hawley.
Like organizing fun and exciting events, working with a team, and meeting important people? Join the Events Committee! We are the public face of the Harvard College Democrats; we bring in prominent figures to speak to our members, host dinner discussions with exciting guests, host the Dems Convention, and organize the annual Harvard College Democrats Gala! Have a favorite politician you want to bring to campus or ideas for events you wished the Dems would organize? Become a member of the Events Committee and make these ideas into a reality!
Legislative Committee
Legislative Director Eva Lam.
Debate the Republicans, advocate for policy, discuss issues of salience, and engage the Harvard campus in a dialogue about politics with the Legislative Committee. LegCom works hard to determine the policy of the Harvard College Democrats, initiating organization-wide discussions, writing our platform, and advocating for those policies in frequent debates with the Harvard College Republicans. In just the last year, we’ve debated the Republicans on social security, abortion policy, and foreign policy. Additionally, we created Opportunity for All, a comprehensive domestic policy agenda, and presented it to a variety of public officials. If you get excited about ideas, are passionate about policy, or just want to learn a bit more about economics, foreign policy, domestic policy, and how to frame and communicate your ideas on those issues, then please come on out and join this exciting, engaging committee.
Campaigns Committee
Campaigns Director Audrey White
Interested in campaigns? Electoral politics, perhaps? Then the Campaigns Committee is for you! The Campaigns Committee organizes everything from canvassing trips to phonebanks, opposition research efforts to fundraisers. The Campaigns Committee was in charge of organizing the Dems entire Kerry 2004 campaign effort, instituting trips to New Hampshire every weekend to canvass, and weekly phonebanks to New Mexico as well. CamCom not only organizes electoral campaigns, but also issue campaigns. From advocating reproductive rights to our congressmen and women to creating petitions against anti-gay marriage legislation, if there’s an issue you’re interested in, then CamCom is the place to get that issue noticed! So, if you want to unseat a Senator, elect a President, or pass a bill, then come join the Campaigns Committee!
Communications Committee
Communications Director Sam Novey.
Interested in the intersection of politics and media? Want to help the Harvard College Democrats communicate their message in an innovative and effective way? Join the Communications Committee! On ComCom, you can help start up and found our very own Dems publication! Not only that, but you can voice your opinion on www.demapples.com the official Dems Blog, write op-eds and press releases, and even record radio commentaries. On another committee? Join ComCom and become a liaison to help publicize the successes of that other committee! Whatever your passion, we are the public voice of our organization, and ensure that the campus and world beyond know about the Dems’ campaigns and successes. So if you want to make the Dems’ voice heard, ComCom is the committee for you!
Financial Committee
Treasurer Raul Campillo.
The Financial Committee handles all the finaces for the club, making sure we have the resources to carry out our wonderful activities. We're working on two large projects. First, we're trying to raise $25,000 to invest in the Harvard endowment, which will provide for the long term financial strength of the Dems. We're also spearheading the effort to assemble an advisory board. There are plenty of ways to get involved. You can work on a power point presentation to be shown to a potential board member or donor, write a fundraising letter to go out to our alumni list, organize a forum with a board member and membership to talk about the board, or work with various Harvard administrators setting up our endowment. We meet Mondays at 9:00, in Eliot. Contact our treasurer Raul Campillo ( treasurer@harvarddems.comThis email address is being protected from spam bots, you need Javascript enabled to view it ) for more information, or just come to one of our meetings.
Political Committee
Political director Joanna Naples-Mitchell.
Would you like to see the Harvard College Democrats attract a more diverse membership? Are you interested in helping increase political awareness and activism on campus? Then bring your ideas and your enthusiasm to the Political Committee! As the largest progressive organization on campus it is our responsibility to spearhead initiatives that bring diverse groups of students that share progressive ideals together. The focus of the Political Committee will be to brainstorm and plan events that will facilitate collaboration with other student groups and campaigns on campus such as Fuerza Latina, the Black Student Association, the South Asian Association, or the STOP campaign. The Political Committee will host town hall and dinner discussions on topics such as affirmative action in higher education, immigration, and Black and Latino rates of civic participation. This committee will also focus on devising outreach strategies that will draw members of non-traditionally political groups to join the Harvard College Democrats. Come help shape the future of this new committee!
Membership Committee
Membership director Marianne Eagan.
The Membership Committee is responsible for making sure the Dems have a strong membership base and making sure that this membership base has as much fun as possible. We work hard to recruit new members to the Dems, and we work even harder to organize awesome movie nights and rather eventful happy hours and parties. In addition to committee members, house and yard captains serve on the Membership Committee and work to build a strong Dems community on the local level by organizing social events, recruiting new members, and generally being a voice for the Dems in their locale. Get involved in the Membership Committee if you want to make sure the Dems community remains large, cohesive, and entertained!