ABOUT SDS

What is SDS?
SDS, simply put, is an anti-authoritarian organization dedicated to the struggle for direct-democracy.

What do you do?
Our methodolgy emphasizes direct-action. That is, rather than waiting on politicians or civic "leaders" to end war, stop hunger, save education, or fix the myriad of other social problems that face our society, we take the initiative to do it ourselves outside the scope of their influence. Want to end hunger? Set up a kitchen and start feeding people. Want to end the war? Follow around the military recruiters gathering people for fodder, and harass them. You get the idea.

Are you communists, socialists, anarchists, libertarians, Democrats, or Republicans?
Sometimes. I've always liked Abbie Hoffman's line: "-isms are wazzums." We are not tied down to any specific ideology or philosophy. We don't have a "party line." We are interested in empowering people to think, act, and make decisions for themselves and in their own interestes. We will rise against anything that stands in the way of rank-and-file unity and pits worker against worker or person against person in the interest of greed. That kind of thinking could follow a lot of different philosophies. We'll leave it up to you to pick one on your own.

Why another acronym for the alphebet soup of political organizations?
SDS was reorganized nationally out of the hopes that a new organizational model might better fit the needs of radical youth. The current prevailing organizations, UFPJ/ANSWER/Troops out Now/WCW, have consistently proven incapbable of doing anything other than holding rallies, while simultaneously strangling out the voices of their membership with their hierarchy and bureaucracy. More rallies and signs are not going to end the war. Civil disobedience on a nation-wide scale is going to end the war. We needed something different and SDS was it. SDS was hatched as a nation-wide ad-hoc network free from the prevailing hierarchy of other organizations out there. We have no central committee and no cenral office dictating what actions SDS locals around the country participate in. Locals are set-up to act independently of any national structure, while allowing for national unity on issues when they arise.

How do I join?
You can sign up through the SDS national website. We can get a hold of you that way. You could also just show up to a meeting, or join in an event. Membership in SDS is informal. We're more interested in building communities and networking than building membership lists.

ABOUT SDS's REORGANIZATION

Students and youth have been trying to re-establish SDS since its original collapse after its last national convention in 1969. Recently, however, their has been a historic push behind the SDS effort and chapters have sprung up across the country. A conscious effort has since been put in place to establish SDS on a nation-wide scale. Student organizers from around the country are working to build for an upcoming national SDS convention, slated tenitively for the summer of '06.

Regionally, we're organizing a conference for memorial day weekend of '06, in coordination with other regional conventions happening around the nation that will tie in to the national convention this summer. Our goal is to assess the current state of youth activism on our campuses and in our communities, and to push for the establishment of a manifesto and plan for action and organized resistance for the near future

If it sounds like something you're interested in, then hop on board. Open up,communicate, and organize with other SDSers here at home and around the country.

[Read the Original January 16th SDS Press Release] (PDF)