CAMBRIDGE, MA – The Harvard College Democrats today announce a coalition of 26 college Democrats chapters calling for a boycott of donations to the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee over its regressive policy of blacklisting vendors who work with challengers to Democratic incumbents. 26 chapters from around the country have signed our letter to the DCCC below.
Harvard College Democrats Statement Regarding Co-Sponsorship of Wall of Resistance
Today, the Harvard College Democrats voted to co-sponsor the Wall of Resistance, an art display that will be up in the Science Center Plaza from Tuesday, April 2nd to Saturday, April 6th.
Our mission as Harvard Dems is to promote progressive values on campus and beyond. Fulfilling that mission requires persistent and intentional honesty. We decided that it was better to have a debate than to not, to hold a democratic vote of our board than to not, and to engage on this issue than to not. When we are presented with challenging questions about justice, we will engage with them because we believe that we are better for it. That is our basic commitment as Democrats and one we will always honor with love and respect.
Our party is democratic precisely because it contains a range of views on Israel and Palestine and on every other issue. Our job as leaders is to allow all these views to hold space, and that’s why we allotted more time for board members to deliberate on this issue than we’re aware has ever been allotted on any other co-sponsorship ask we’ve received. In this case, 8 board members voted in favor of co-sponsorship and 3 voted against.
We decided to include the vote count in this statement to make it clear that, because the Democratic party includes a range of views, our board had varying opinions. And while the vote today reflects the majority opinion of our executive board, the complexity of this process reflects that there is not a consensus among Harvard Democrats on this issue.
We recognize that members of our community feel that their identities were at stake in the outcome of this decision and that either a co-sponsorship or no sponsorship would cause hurt.
Decisions like these require us to think deeply about what we stand for and the values we represent. Those same values call on us to continue fighting for a more just and equitable future. Going forward, we intend to do exactly that.
Yours,
Harvard College Democrats Executive Board
Statement on Justin Fairfax and Mark Herring
Last week, the Harvard College Democrats called for the resignation of Virginia Governor Ralph Northam. We remain committed to our belief that Governor Northam has betrayed our values and must step down. After hearing that Virginia Attorney General
Mark Herring also used blackface on one occasion, we affirm our stance that racism and public service are incompatible and call for Attorney General Herring to step down.
In last week’s statement, we also urged Governor Northam to allow Lieutenant Governor Justin Fairfax to lead Virginia forward. However, over the course of this week, we were unnerved and disappointed to hear about two sexual assault allegations against Lt. Governor Fairfax.
We believe survivors, and we believe that Lt. Governor Fairfax must step down. Virginians deserve leaders in office whom they can trust. The conduct detailed in the allegations against Fairfax has broken the trust of Virginians and everyone who campaigned for him, including members of the Harvard College Democrats.
We are aware that if Northam, Fairfax, and Herring all step down, Speaker of the Virginia House of Delegates Kirk Cox (R) will become governor. We believe that our moment in time calls on us to act in accordance with our values of equity, accountability, inclusion, and justice. We cannot support Northam, Fairfax, or Herring’s leadership. All three men must step down to allow Virginia to come together and begin to heal from the wounds racism and sexual assault have inflicted.
As College Democrats, we will never stop working to uphold our values on campus and beyond, especially by campaigning for elected officials who share that commitment to our values.
Statement on Ralph Northam
In 2017, the Harvard College Democrats campaigned for Democrats in Virginia up and down the ballot, including for Governor Ralph Northam. Because of our work supporting his campaign as well as our belief in equity and inclusion, we are compelled today to speak about the revelation that he appeared in a racist photo in his medical school yearbook and participated in the racist tradition of blackface on at least one other occasion.
Use of blackface, white supremacist garb, and racist symbols is unacceptable. By appearing in this photo (or, as he alleges, approving the photo to be in his yearbook), Governor Northam has betrayed the values we and the Virginians who elected him hold dear. Racism and public service are incompatible, and Governor Northam’s participation in white supremacy means he is not qualified to govern the Commonwealth of Virginia.
Governor Ralph Northam has betrayed the values he told us he believed in, and it is time for him to resign and allow Lt. Governor Justin Fairfax to lead Virginia forward.
Statement in Response to President Trump's Oval Office Address on January 8th, 2019
We, the Harvard College Democrats, reject President Trump’s message of fear and hatred. In a direct address to American citizens, the president misled, misrepresented, and outright lied about the state of our immigration system, all to scare Americans into blaming the Democratic party for a government shutdown caused by the president and exacerbated by congressional Republicans.
Harvard College Democrats Comment on Proposed Title IX Changes
Re: ED-2018-OCR-0064
To Whom it May Concern,
Thank you for the opportunity to comment on Nondiscrimination on the Basis of Sex in Education Programs or Activities Receiving Federal Financial Assistance. We, the members of the Harvard College Democrats, urge the Department of Education to reconsider its proposed Title IX rules and regulations. We believe these proposed regulations would harm survivors of sexual assault and harassment on college campuses. As an organization of Harvard students who are committed to advocating for the values of equality, opportunity, and freedom, we stand with survivors of sexual assault and harassment and affirm their right to access their education….