The College Democrats at the University of Houston attended the Texas Young Democrat Convention in Austin April 11 through 13. As a new charter member of the Texas Young Democrats, we were hoping to become one of the major voices.
We wanted to bring more representation to Houston and to the Democratic Party. We accomplished this by forming close ties with other Democrat groups in the Houston area, such as Harris County Young Democrats and the Latino Young Democrats.
Some young Democrats might wonder why they should get involved. For one, politics will continue to be politics unless someone speaks up. Some ethical issues had arisen within the TYD and its ability to follow the rules, and we wanted to get in there and change the whole process. We arrived April 11 and found what we had expected.
Candidates running for the TYD offices were campaigning all-out, going around with big, fake smiles, trying to get votes. They were especially nice to the members from big schools with a large amount of voting power.
College Democrat president Terence O'Neill won the seat of vice president of finance. Trey Miranda, College Democrats member, was elected treasurer. Lily Lopez, of the Latino Young Democrats, was elected region 10 director (Houston area) by the Houston-area groups and Adam Miller, College Democrats treasurer, presided as parliamentary authoritian.
Most of the losers were the candidates with the big fake smiles. They threw the parties and spent tons of money on stickers and flyers, and they walked away with nothing. Everyone who ran from the Houston area did so with pride and confidence.
Houston has received its long-awaited recognition in politics. In fact, the College Dems put a bid to be host next year. UH can be proud of the way the College Democrats participated.
Castillo is vice president
of the College Democrats at UH.