Students revive Democratic club
Discussion listed as first event

By Jessica Cervantez
Staff Reporter

The TCU Young Democrats will host a panel discussion today titled “The 2000 Election: Lessons Learned, New Directions, Fresh Perspectives” with nationally recognized leaders in the Democratic community.

Josh Wall, a junior political science major who helped to organize the event, said the discussion is a starting point to unite TCU Democrats and to bring the organization back to campus. At one point, the Democratic Party at TCU outnumbered the Republicans in the 1960s and 1970s. Wall said that as the years progressed the membership died down.

“This event will give students interested in the Democratic Party an opportunity to become involved and make a difference,” Wall said.

Wall said TCU is the only major university in Texas that doesn’t have a Young Democrats Party.

“Maybe (Young Democrats) aren’t all active, but they’re there,” Wall said. “Even Baylor (University) has a Democratic Party.”

The three panelists speaking are all under 35 years old and have a national leadership role in the Democratic Party.

Scott Bates, a partner in a national consulting media firm based in Austin and Washington, will be one of the panel members.

He served as Secretary of State for the Commonwealth of Virginia under Governor Douglas Wilder and has since worked on various national and international election campaigns.

Susan Hays has been active in Texas politics for more than 10 years. She served as treasurer in the 1996 Victor Morales Campaign for the U.S. Senate. Hays is currently president-elect of the Texas Women Lawyers Association.

James Aldrete, the third panelist, is a recognized leader in helping Latinos get elected in government offices. Aldrete is currently a partner in the media firm MAP Communications.

Former Tarrant County Democratic Party Executive Director J.D. Angle will serve as the moderator for the panel.

Adam Ryan, a senior finance major who contributed to organizing the event, said the discussion will allow different views from important people in the field of politics.

“Our goal is to get a group started on campus,” Ryan said.

Ryan said he and Wall collaborated ideas and pitched them to Russell Langley, executive director of the Tarrant County Democratic Party. Langley then asked the panelists to offer their expertise in the discussion.

Langley said the panel will bring diverse perspectives and answer questions of what Democrats should have done differently in the 2000 election and what they can now do differently.

“There’s a growing movement of young leaders,” Langley said. “We want to give them voices of venue.”

Wall said this will be the beginning of the return of the TCU Young Democrats on campus.

“People assume just because we’re in Texas or are at a private university we shouldn’t be Democrats,” Wall said. “We just want people to stand up for what they believe in. There’s nothing wrong with being a Democrat at TCU.”

The discussion is open to the public and will be held at 6 p.m. today in the Sid W. Richardson Building, Lecture Hall 3.

Jessica Cervantez
j.s.cervantez@student.tcu.edu