The R&R Voting Guide for the 2024 YDSA Convention

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The 2024 YDSA Convention is being held online from July 19-21. Important political debates around internationalism, electoral strategy, structural reform, budgetary issues, ecosocialist strategy and the presidential election are being addressed as YDSA continues to develop. Reform & Revolution is excited to contribute to these debates and help build a revolutionary Marxist YDSA.

National Coordinating Committee

Daniel Salup-Cid is running as Reform & Revolution’s candidate for the National Coordinating Committee At-Large. He is committed to building the youth wing of a socialist party through anti-imperialism, mass campaigns and political independence. Fighting the class war requires young radicalizing people to organize together around radical demands, and Daniel is prepared to help lead the way. Read his YDSA platform here and consider ranking him #1 for NCC.

Convention Resolutions

Alongside running a NCC campaign, Reform & Revolution has submitted a number of exciting resolutions for the YDSA Convention, including:

R2. Bringing Class Struggle to Student Government
Amendment to R16. Ecosocialism Beyond the Green New Deal
R18. For a YDSA Program Committee
R19. For Protest Democracy
R20. Building the Socialist Movement Through YDSA
Amendment to R22. Class Struggle Internationalism

Read Reform & Revolution’s voting guide for the YDSA Convention resolutions and amendments below:

*Resolution*	*Title*	Recommendation	*Description*
R1	Make YDSA an Anti-Zionist Organization in Principle and Praxis	No	Consistent, principled and independent organizing for a free Palestine is a much more meaningful way for YDSA to commit to anti-Zionism than any expulsion. The goal should be to strike a substantial blow against Zionism, and to do this YDSA needs to be relying on a political strategy around mass action and political education to win people to socialist anti-Zionist positions. This resolution tails movement groups like SJP and PYM, which is ultimately a shortcut.
R2	Bringing Class Struggle to Student Government	Yes, written by R&R members	This resolution was written in collaboration with comrades in Marxist Unity Group. When R&R’s NCC candidate Daniel Salup-Cid ran for student government as a YDSA representative, it transformed his chapter and opened up exciting opportunities to agitate for socialist politics. From fighting for a ceasefire resolution to opposing attacks on academic freedom, this is a platform YDSA can use to rally students forward. A class-struggle strategy for student government can help build strong chapters across the country, and a supportive, hands-on approach from the Electoral Committee is best suited to help them reach their goals. Interventions into student government won’t be strategic for every chapter, but for chapters where it can be, this resolution is a strong foundation for principled electoral projects in YDSA.
R2-1		No recommendation	This amendment expands on what makes student government interventions strategic and calls for the Electoral Commitee to run an electoral strategy training. While aiming to weaken parts of the base resolution, the amendment would have little practical effect on its implementation.
R2-2		Yes	YDSA and DSA should be taking bold steps to present itself as a clear alternative to the Democratic and Republican parties during the presidential election. This amendment outlines a class-struggle orientation to the presidential election with the goal of building YDSA as the youth wing of a future socialist party. Reform & Revolution firmly supports this, but the amendment falls short of providing a clear synthesis with the content of the base resolution and would likely overburden the Electoral Committee. This amendment should have been an independent resolution. However, the presidential election is an important political moment which YDSA must be adequately prepared for, and the amendment provides a strong approach.
R3	For Rechartering the Youth Labor Committee, Student Worker Unions, and the Rank-and-File Strategy	Yes	Rechartering the Youth Labor Committee and reaffirming YDSA’s commitment to the rank-and-file strategy is necessary. Groundbreaking labor victories led by YDSA members, such as the successful undergraduate worker union campaign in the University of Oregon, point the way forward for the type of work the YLC should be supporting going forward. YDSA has a unique ability to bring together social movements and the radical wing of labor organizing, and student worker unions and the rank-and-file strategy play a vital role in working towards this goal.
R4	Towards a Workers Party	No recommendation	While the political scope of the resolution is appreciated, it does not fully consider what it will take to forge a workers’ party. Institutional union membership is an interesting step forward, and connections to labor should be strengthened, but this resolution should be grounded in a broader discussion within YDSA and DSA about party-building and labor which has not yet been had.
R4-1		No recommendation	A distinctly socialist presence in the labor movement is something which YDSA and DSA members must work together to build, and this amendment presents a bold vision for doing that. However, socialists organizing openly within reform caucuses often provides more opportunities for socialist ideas to be heard. In so far as this amendment opposes institutional union membership, the amendment also suffers from a lack of discussion in YDSA about the topic.
R5	Towards a National Student Strike for Palestine	Yes	R&R supports this resolution as well as R17. There Is Only One Solution! Intifada! Revolution! but feels that both resolutions have limitations and that a stronger compromise resolution should have been made. YDSA should be setting ambitious, concrete goals alongside a campaigning approach, and this resolution is commendable for attempting to do so. However, the resolution lacks critical details about how the goal of a national student strike for Palestine would be achieved. It mainly centers organizing trainings as a way to get chapters involved, but as the cohort model of previous national campaigns has shown, this is insufficient. Running strong campaigns which build YDSA requires consistent support for chapters, a timeline and work plan, clarified demands, and national coordination, much of which this resolution only leaves implied. As written, it’s difficult to imagine this resolution facilitating a successful campaign.
R6	Recommitting to the Activist	Yes	The Activist provides a way for YDSA members to engage in written debate, discussion and analysis. This work should continue and expand as YDSA develops.
R7	Prioritizing Red/Rural Area Recruitment Trainings	Yes	The South and other red and rural areas have been turned into bulwarks of reaction by a hyper-exploitative section of American capital. They lag behind the rest of the country, while becoming the foremost centers of white supremacist politics, a vast lacuna of anti-union economies, and a permanent hard right bloc in both parties and both chambers of congress. These regional strongholds of reaction have been a pillar of American capitalism since the early defeat of Reconstruction, ensuring that the South’s economic reliance on slavery went unresolved once the Civil War was over. The material consequences of this history must be confronted directly in order to successfully organize a socialist movement in the US. It is only by finishing reconstruction and turning it into a wider war on capitalism that we can achieve liberation. The political moment calls for a bold socialist program which is prepared to fight racism and white supremacy while providing a fighting answer for how conditions in the South can improve for the multi-racial working class. Unfortunately, this resolution aims much lower, providing an organizational answer for a political problem. Nonetheless, increased support for rural and red state chapters should be supported.
R8	Recommitting to Socialist Political Education	Yes	While this resolution is unfortunately modest and lacks a strong vision for the goals of the Youth Political Education Committee, political education in YDSA is necessary and should continue over the next year.
R9	Cohering a National YDSA	Yes	This is a strong structural reform for YDSA. By creating a model in which the NCC, committee co-chairs, and committee members are regularly coordinating, YDSA will be best prepared to run strong mass campaigns which effectively make use of the whole organization. Additionally, its emphasis on function-based committees over issue-based ones ensures that important political decisions are not isolated from YDSA as a whole, while allowing for greater practical collaboration between committees on common goals. While in and of itself insufficient for building a politically strong YDSA, this structure is well suited to carrying out the organization’s goals and building party-like structures alongside a mass campaigning approach.
R10	Fighting for Victory in the Heart of Empire	No	The youth international work of YDSA should be run by YDSA, not housed under the purview of the DSA International Committee. No other committee in YDSA functions like this, and it has hindered the potential of YDSA’s internationalism. While opening up the committee to members is a step in the right direction, allowing applications to be subject to the approval of DSA IC liaisons is not good democratic practice for YDSA. Additionally, the platform amendment fails to address critical parts of YDSA’s internationalism. YDSA should go beyond diplomacy, seeking to build genuine political collaboration across borders and eventually a socialist International.
R11	Strong Foundations for a Growing YDSA	Yes	The work of the Youth Growth and Development Committee, such as the fall and spring dues drives, leadership development, fundraising and organizing trainings, is worth continuing. However, as with other resolutions which recharter existing committees, it lacks a bold vision for growing YDSA or developing the work it’s done over the last year.
R12	Responsibilities for National Coordinating Committee Members	Yes	It’s not just the frequency of calls, but the political content of one-on-one support from national leadership to chapters, which makes the difference in building a strong organization. This is a modest, but good, standard to set and should serve as a way to develop politically stronger measures next year.
R13	Towards Intersectional and Diverse Organizing in YDSA	Yes	As with R7, this is an organizational answer for a political problem. While YDSA’s internal structures are an important part of building a strong organization, this must be paired with a bolder vision for intersectional organizing than is offered here. Diversity in YDSA needs to be earned through a program which proactively engages and mobilizes people of color. Even so, the resolution should be supported as a modest reform in the meantime.
R14	Building YDSA Communications for the Future	Yes	The Communications Committee has been an exciting member-run project in YDSA, giving the organization an independent socialist voice throughout its organizing, particularly amidst the Palestine student encampments. The work of the committee partly inspired the DSA Communications Committee resolution written by R&R members Sarah M. and Judith C., which can be read here. This work should continue to develop and thrive.
R15	No Votes for Genocide	No	While the attempt by comrades in Marxist Unity Group to offer a message for the presidential election is admirable, the slogan “no votes for genocide” falls well short of what YDSA and DSA need right now. The problem with the slogan is that it is essentially negative, clearly addressing what YDSA does not support but not what it does. It is reformist to the extent that it centers voting as the key action in messaging, but ultraleft to the extent that it reduces the far-right threat of Donald Trump by treating both presidential candidates as the same. What the socialist movement needs at this moment is a clear and independent positive alternative – a mass campaign to build a socialist party with a plan to run a presidential candidate in 2028. While other parts of the resolution are appreciated, such as mobilizing YDSA members to the DNC and encouraging student government campaigns, the programmatic weakness of the slogan all of this work is supposed to promote makes this resolution difficult to support.
R15-1		No recommendation	There is not a compelling reason for YDSA to be taking a national position on a DSA-LA endorsed municipal elected official.
R15-2		No recommendation	The use of conditions in the national endorsement of AOC is a productive step forward for YDSA and DSA as the organization searches for a partyist future. However, this amendment misses one of the critical uses of electoral conditions, which is as an educational tool to win over people to socialist political independence. Additionally, the withdrawal of the national endorsement request by NYC-DSA makes parts of this amendment outdated.
R16	Ecosocialism Beyond the Green New Deal	Yes	Note: This position reflects a contested question within R&R. For more information, see this debate. A majority of YDSA members in R&R support degrowth, holding a democratically planned economy which remains within ecological boundaries as a key task for any socialist program. While this is a contested debate within the caucus more broadly, there is common agreement that this resolution makes a key mistake by abandoning the fight for a Green New Deal. While the GND is deeply insufficient for addressing the full scope of the climate crisis, it has previously rallied the disparate environmental movement toward a common fight and gives socialists the important opportunity to put forward an independent ecosocialist program. Rather than posing degrowth strictly against the GND, the most effective way to build support for degrowth is by tying it to the battles of today and the need to go further, toward ecosocialist revolution.
R16-1		Yes, written by R&R members	This amendment resolves the critique put forward by R&R and politically expands the resolution. Outlining how the fight for a Green New Deal can serve as a transitional step toward an ecosocialist degrowth program, the amendment also tasks YDSA with holding international discussions about the climate crisis, including degrowth and ecosocialism in campaign messaging, and expands on the content of the base resolution. This resolution points the way toward a better, more actionable ecosocialism. Read an article from R&R member Judith C. in The Activist which motivates the amendment here.
R17	There Is Only One Solution! Intifada! Revolution!	Yes	R&R supports this resolution as well as R5. Towards a National Student Strike for Palestine but feels that both resolutions have limitations and that a stronger compromise resolution should have been made. This resolution outlines a robust and detailed plan for a national campaign for Palestine. It’s exciting to see the mass campaigning approach which R&R has advocated for over the past two years develop as a core part of the organization. Based on the impressive work comrades in Constellation have done on the Campaign Organizing Committee, this resolution has built up the trust that it can and will be implemented. However, the resolution lacks a unifying national goal for chapters to work toward, such as a student strike or day of action. Without this, it is difficult to judge the success of the campaign, and the important work done at the chapter level isn’t given an opportunity to become greater than the sum of its parts. This campaign promises a well-oiled machine, but for this reason it also risks being overly mechanical. Additionally, the resolution calls for the IC-YLC or its successor to lead the campaign. Tasking this body with a mass campaign risks diluting both the campaign itself and YDSA’s international work more broadly. If R23 does not pass, this also means that the campaign would be under the purview of the DSA IC, which is a breach of YDSA’s autonomy and democratic structures.
R18	For a YDSA Program Committee	Yes, written by R&R members	R&R believes that YDSA and DSA need a strong foundational program to unite members and build the organization around a common set of political demands. This takes time, and the Program Committee would be tasked with researching historic programs and drafting one for YDSA which represents the membership, to be voted on at the 2025 YDSA Convention. Having passed programmatic unity as a basis for membership at the 2023 YDSA Convention, the development of a strong program to campaign around would be a powerful step forward for YDSA as a whole. With a concise and bold program, YDSA would be best positioned to genuinely build from one campaign to the next, give chapters a political direction which connects them to a broader struggle, direct every committee and national structure toward a shared project, and develop a clear vision for what the organization is fighting for. These are important parts of advancing the socialist movement. Most importantly, a clarified program is the foundation of a socialist party, and YDSA should be taking actionable steps toward building this party. By drafting an effective program, the Program Committee can also provide a guide to DSA in the development of a socialist program for the organization as a whole.
R18-1		No	While much of this amendment is appreciated and elaborates on key parts of the resolution, the expansion of the Program Committee structure with no limit on how many members can join is not conducive to the tasks set in the resolution. The goal is to create a short, punchy program drafted by appointed and experienced leaders who reflect the political makeup of YDSA. Without a solid team consciously taking the broader membership into account, drafting a coherent program will be much more difficult. Presenting the clearest, most concise reflection of the core of YDSA’s politics requires not just a willingness to add things, but to cut things too. A smaller committee is required to negotiate these intricacies, and a larger one will struggle to handle the influx of different voices and ideas. The creation of a program is an important responsibility, and the structure needs to reflect that. R&R would support splitting the question to preserve a workable committee structure while accepting the helpful political suggestions.
R19	For Protest Democracy	Yes, written by R&R members	R&R members across the country, from Miami and Milwaukee to Boston and Gainesville, have participated in student encampments for Palestine. These experiences have been exciting and informative, showing both the impact that Palestine has had on radicalizing young people and the limitations that still need to be overcome in the movement. One of these limitations is a lack of organization and democracy. Movements are strongest when their participants have democratic structures which deliberately empower them to act and learn through struggle. As YDSA chapters join coalitions with other movement groups to fight for a free Palestine, one of the most important contributions they can make is to put forward an independent socialist message and build support for it by arguing for protest democracy. The resolution commits YDSA to advancing that goal.
R20	Building the Socialist Movement Through YDSA	Yes, written by R&R members	The recent budget crisis in DSA has led to an intense debate about where the organization allocates its resources and to what end. One of the consequences of this crisis is that YDSA faced multiple cuts to its budget, including the loss of an in-person 2024 YDSA Convention. R&R holds that these cuts were a mistake. YDSA is the most exciting part of the DSA and has continued to grow while DSA loses membership. While YDSA is given a higher proportion of the budget than it gives back, this is for good reason: the organization is committed to developing lifelong socialist leaders. The DSA budget should be used to invest in members first and foremost, and members have an important role to play in achieving that. The resolution criticizes the DSA National Political Committee for cutting YDSA’s budget, affirms a member-run mass campaigning approach is the best way to grow the organization as a whole, and commits the NCC to advocating for an in-person 2025 YDSA Convention.
R21	Building Militant and Democratic Student Unions on College Campuses	Yes	The resolution establishes a plan to begin supporting YDSA chapters in building radical student unions which can function as a way to organize the broader student population in university campuses. This is an extension of the ‘transitional organizations’ approach taken by B&R, which has YDSA members building radical mass organizations as a step to bringing young and working-class people into YDSA. R&R is critical of this approach, holding that it puts organizing openly as socialists in the background of struggle when it should be a central task. However, what’s appreciated about this resolution is that it specifically commits YDSA to choosing five strategic chapters to support in building these student unions, which allows for lessons to be learned with an exploratory lens.
R22	Class Struggle Internationalism	Yes, amended by R&R members	Reform & Revolution wrote an amendment for this resolution which has been accepted as friendly. Socialist internationalism must be at the political core of YDSA and DSA. R&R holds that an international revolutionary movement of the working class is necessary to successfully defeat capitalism and imperialism, and that the best way to achieve this is genuine collaboration with socialist parties across the globe. Everything the organization does should be centered around advancing socialist politics and building a new International. This requires taking a firm stand against campism and the logic that “the enemy of my enemy is my friend.” Likewise, it also requires a firm understanding of the unique tasks set for the socialist movement and why social democratic parties are insufficient. Every member of The Squad has voted to expand NATO, but socialists must staunchly oppose militarism across the globe. Solidaristic, principled and effective internationalism must be advanced everywhere.
R23	For an Independent Youth International Committee	Yes	YDSA’s internationalism should be accountable to YDSA members, not the DSA IC. Aside from the IC-YLC, no other structure in YDSA is under the purview of its DSA equivalent. As building relationships with socialist parties and youth organizations internationally becomes an increasingly significant task, it’s also imperative that YDSA have a structure which can facilitate this important work. Over the past year, the IC-YLC has not been a functional body, with members having to wait for months before joining the committee. Additionally, the small size of the body meant that it limited participation from YDSA members more broadly. It is an anti-democratic structure, and this resolution changes that.
R24	Budget Autonomy for YDSA	No	An important question for YDSA is how it can best affect the course of DSA as a whole. R&R wrote R20 because YDSA members are also fully DSA members, and should be able to advocate for their interests and political positions on that basis. The agenda change and YDSA consensus resolution at the 2023 DSA Convention showed that when working together, YDSA could successfully achieve this. However, this resolution overcorrects for the cuts to YDSA’s budget by seeking to explore financially separating from DSA. By creating a context where YDSA appears to be at a serious distance from DSA, the resolution leaves YDSA in a less strategic place going forward; YDSA is strongest when fighting for its positions from within the organization.
A1	Priority Campaigns for YDSA National	Yes	YDSA should be setting clear political priorities which allow the organization to coordinate in an effective way. This constitutional amendment outlines a democratic process to ensure that two campaign priorities are set at every annual convention. This is a clear step forward for cohering the organization. It also makes running campaigns a core part of the organization’s structure, which is exciting.
A2	Towards a Workers Party	No recommendation	See comments for the companion resolution, R4. Towards a Workers Party.