Recap: Rallying for Health Care Reform

The College Democrats of America Alumni Association recently gave out four grants to college and universities so their College Democrats groups could organize around health care. In this post, a member of the  Georgetown University College Democrats and president of the DC Federation of College Democrats, Fitz Lufkin, writes about his experience in the second of our report-back series.

By Fitz Lufkin, President – DC  Federation of College Democrats

For the week of September 28 – October 2, the Georgetown University College Democrats held its first-ever Issue Awareness Week, focusing on health care reform. We ran a public information campaign throughout campus, hanging flyers, chalking, and tweeting facts about how reform would benefit young Americans. We held a debate with the College Republicans on the issue, attended by about 100 people where we explained the facts and dispelled the rumors about Democratic proposals. The week culminated in the best event of the semester, cosponsored with the DC Federation of College Democrats.

On the afternoon of Friday, October 2, about 200 College Democrats from across the city marched to the White House and held a rally, demanding meaningful health care reform. After a warm-up event at George Washington University, the DC Fed set off for the rally. During the walk to Pennsylvania Avenue from Foggy Bottom, the line of students stretched nearly a city block. Chants and cheers drew attention from tourists and bystanders alike, who joined us for the walk and at the rally. In front of the White House, students spoke about the importance of health care reform and offered personal stories about what it would mean to them. We published a press release and received some great press coverage (GW Hatchet, WRGW) of the event, including this video reportfrom The Hoya:

This amazing week would not have been possible without the support of the College Democrats of America Alumni Association. CDAAA provided us with the financial resources necessary to purchase supplies for our visibility and public information efforts, as well as the White House Rally.  With Congress now on the brink of passing historic legislation, we are pleased that we were able to do our small part in the nationwide movement for meaningful health care reform and we look forward to continuing our efforts until President Obama signs the final bill into law.