About UND Students for a Democratic Society
Students for a Democratic Society (SDS) began as the student offshoot of the League for Industrial Democracy (LID) which was called the Student League for Industrial Democracy (SLID). In 1959, SLID changed its name to Students for a Democratic Society. LID had envisioned SDS to be a mainly educational organization, but the students in SDS had ideas of political action mixed with education. And eventually in 1965, SDS formally broke organizational ties with LID.
The early SDS strived to be action-oriented, non-sectarian, and multi-issued. Due to many ideological problems of the "Old Left" SDS attempted to undermine such problems by being non-sectarian. SDS was also novel in its approach to organizational structure. It attempted to create an organizational structure that would mirror the political, social, and economic structure that SDS was fighting for. Therefore, SDS tried to steer clear of hierarchies and permanent leaders. Furthermore, some in SDS even devalued structure and organization, while other did value these elements.
Much of their condemnation of the society they sought to change can be found in the most important document that SDS produced--the Port Huron Statement. This far-reaching document not only criticized society, but gave alternatives to such a society they inherited. Their alternative which became a staple of the New Left was participatory democracy. This vision, though somewhat ambiguous, was for a decentralized society where the main institutions that had control over peoples lives were under the control of the people democratically.
Beyond the theory and alternatives that SDS members proposed, SDS was unsatisfied with cathartic intellectual games. SDS had meaning to the extend that it changed concrete political reality. And it is this that they attempted to do. In the early 60's SDS worked with the Student Non-Violent Coordinating Committee or SNCC to participate and organize sit-in, freedom rides, and protests for civil rights. SDS also began what is called the Economic and Research Action Project (ERAP) which was a program for community organizing. SDS members organized communities for working-class and poor people to improve their lives.
However, with the Vietnam War escalating SDS's focus shifted to protest and resistance to the Vietnam War. An important action for SDS was to help organize the March on Washington on March, 17 1965. This protest helped solidify the anti-war movement and solidify SDS as the main anti-war organization. SDS was a house-hold name. In 1968 during the Democratic National Convention, Tom Hayden, one of the main figures of SDS, along with others were charged with conspiracy and inciting a riot. At Columbia University SDSers and others occupied many buildings including the adminstration building. This all led to more SDS members and more pressure on themselves to stop the Vietnam War. And as the Vietnam War escalated SDS escalated its tactics and strategy. Finally, due to factionalism, anger that the war was still raging, and CIA disruption SDS disbanded at its 1969 National Convention.
In January of 2006, Students for a Democratic Society made a resurgence. Current students and old SDSers came together to start the movement again, with surprising success. Since its new inception SDS claims over 265 chapters in high school, universities, and cities. The new SDS has received press coverage from the Nation, Z Magazine, Left Turn, Time Magazine, and other local publications. The SDS chapter in Pace University has been in the middle of a free-speech struggle when some SDSers were interrogated by the Secret Service and meet with repression by the university. This culminated in the arrest of three Pace SDSers. Many SDSers have also been arrested for civil disobedience in New York, Washington D.C, and Washington state. SDS was apart of one of the most important acts of civil disobedience in Olympia, WA where SDSers attempted to block the port of Washington and port of Tacoma to stop the shipment of a Stryker military vehicles to Iraq which was meet with police brutality.
Shifting a little be closer to home, our University of North Dakota SDS chapter in keeping with the goal and vision of SDS is non-hierarchical, action-oriented, and as inclusive as possible. Our chapter does everything by consensus so no one is excluded from the decision-making process. Currently UND SDS is working on counter-recruitment efforts, organizing anti-war events, and trying to shut down or reform a racist bar in Grand Forks. The more SDS can grow in power and people the more it can accomplish. This is why the UND SDS chapter has been working to organize chapter all over North Dakota and Minnesota. We are currently in the process of organizing Red River and Central High Schools in Grand Forks and Concordia and Moorehead Universities. Our SDS chapter in correlation with anti-war organizations all over the country are organizing events for the third Friday of each month for the Iraq Moratorium. Dare to struggle, dare to win.
University of North Dakota
Students for a Democratic Society
Isham Christie
UND SDS