Who Are New SDS?

New Students for a Democratic Society is a national, multi-issue, progressive student organization with over 40 chapters all across the United States. We stand against US wars and intervention, racist discrimination, police crimes, homophobic and transphobic attacks, attacks on women, attacks on reproductive rights, and much, much more.

We were refounded in 2006 after protests against the US invasions of Iraq and Afghanistan, by students who were inspired by the powerful anti-war movement built by Students for a Democratic Society in the 1960's and 1970's.

We host protests and other direct actions on campuses to show students that they have the power to win policies for a better campus and to move society as a whole in defense of progressive social movements.

Join the fight! Dare to struggle, dare to win!

Points of Unity (Passed at 2024 National SDS Convention)

We are the New Students for a Democratic Society (SDS). SDS stands as a broadly progressive, non-tendency, multi-issue, and action oriented national student organization. SDS welcomes all students who are progressive and down to protest. SDS is a fighting student organization. We lead students in protest and confrontation against university administration whose interests are in direct opposition to the demands and needs of students. By doing this on a national level, SDS will build up and expand the student movement here in the U.S. It is SDS’s mission to rally the students around progressive demands and campaigns to lead them to victory. These are our points of unity, used to create unity between local chapters to National SDS and members to our chapters.

SDS is Multi-Issue

SDS is multi-issue and our politics, campaigns, demands, and slogans reflect this. We raise both demands that are student and education specific and demands that apply to justice in society at large.

SDS has roots as an anti-war organization that opposes and fights against U.S. wars, invasion, sanctions, and intervention in other countries. Whenever the U.S. government or its allies attack another country we will protest to demand an end to U.S. intervention and involvement. National SDS stands with all movements and leaders who resist and defend their country by any means necessary against U.S. invasion, occupation, war, intervention, and sanctions.

National SDS stands unconditionally with Palestine. We call for a Free Palestine from the River to the Sea! We demand that universities divest and cut all ties with Israel, and that the U.S. ends all aid to Israel.

SDS demands and defends education!

SDS stands to fight all attacks on education carried out by university administration and politicians. When education bans become law we demand universities do not comply. When budget cuts are threatened SDS fights for full funding of education. We believe education should be free and accessible to everyone, and that students have a right to an education that matters to them. SDS will continue to fight all attacks on Ethnic Studies, DEI programs, Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) Women’s and Gender and Sexuality Studies, Humanities, and all programs facing budget cuts or education bans. Programs like Ethnic Studies deserve more funding and resources, not bans or budget cuts. SDS demands that student cultural groups including Black Student Union, MeChA, Muslim Student Alliance, and others are protected from bans, budget cuts, and all attacks on student groups. Black, Chicano and Latino, and Native enrollment needs to be increased at all universities.

Defend LGBTQ Youth

SDS stands to fight against attacks on LGBTQ students and rights. We call on our chapters to protest, actions, and organize campaigns when anti-LGBTQ legislation is implemented on their campus. This includes bathroom bans and all LGBTQ discrimination. When DEI and ethnic studies are under attack Gender Womens and Sexiuality studies are usually faced with bans or budget cuts as well.

SDS Stands with the Labor Movement and Unions

SDS does not generally organize workers, but we stand in solidarity with all unions on and off campus and unionization efforts. We organize students to rally in solidarity with unions, raise workers’ demands with administrators, and show up at the picket lines. When on campus unions ask, we rally students in solidarity with workers against university administration.

SDS is Broadly Progressive

SDS welcomes all students and youth who consider themselves progressive and action oriented. We are an independent student organization that unites students of various political views and backgrounds to build struggle for progressive demands and movements. SDS is non-tendency, meaning that our members as SDS do not have to uphold a specific political view, philosophy, or affiliation.

SDS is Action Oriented

SDS is a protest movement! Protesting is our primary method to build SDS, raise struggle on campus, win campaigns and demands, and mobilize students. Protesting by having rallies, marches, banner drops, petitions, teach-ins, disruptions, walkouts, sit-ins, encampments, and building occupations is how we as SDS engage with politics, raise our demands, and win. There is political power in protesting and broadly mobilizing students for progressive demands!

SDS is not an electoral group. SDS usually does not endorse politicians or engage in election efforts for candidates. During elections we have raised our demands against the Democrat and Republican Parties by participating in coalitions to march on the RNC and DNC. SDS is a truly independent student organization that exists by and for progressive students.

The Campaign Method is Key

SDS encourages our chapters to organize around a primary campaign on campus. Successful campaigns require SDS chapters to make a list of demands, develop slogans to communicate our demands and politics to students, and to raise these slogans and demands at actions and protests. SDS chapters should identify an issue on campus that consistently brings students to protests, and attracts new people to join SDS. Campaigns take action, time, and support to win demands. Consistently protesting and raising struggle is needed to win the support of the students. Some common campaigns for SDS chapters include divestment from Israel, defend ethnic studies, stop tuition hikes, and increase Black enrollment.

For campaigns we encourage chapters to use an array of tactics and protests to win their demands by mobilizing students on campus. Tabling and flyering are important tasks to bring awareness to students, talk with students to gauge their level of interest, get students to attend protests, and encourage students to join SDS. In order to gain support from student groups and students, it is necessary to get endorsements of campaigns and protests from other student groups. Campaign work also means holding protests to mobilize as many students as possible, and escalating protests to force administration to act on our demands.

University Administration is Our Enemy

University administrators are not our friends or allies. University Administrators fund campus police, expel and suspend student protesters, and ban progressive student groups for a reason; that is to silence student voices and demands. University administration can never be “worked with” or told anything except our demands. SDSers are not snitches or collaborators. The only time members of SDS talk to university administration is at the negotiation table. We as the student movement need to force administrators to act on our demands.

SDS Makes Decisions Collectively

Nationally and locally, SDS makes decisions for organizing in a collective manner, and with the highest participation and input from our membership possible. In order to accomplish this SDS makes decisions by discussion and voting at our meetings and at our national convention. Attendance is required in order to vote and voice opinions. SDS can only carry out actions successfully if our members know and are committed to the plan. A degree of flexibility needs to be practiced in decision making during emergency situations such as arrests of students or political events/emergencies that require an immediate response. For example, if SDSers are arrested we will not wait until the next National Call to release a National Call-In graphic. Or if there is a police killing in your city, chapters should not wait until the next meeting to call a protest to demand justice.

SDS is a National Student Organization

A great strength of SDS is that we are a student organization that has many chapters across the country who are united and coordinated in action. It is important for all SDS chapters to take up national organizing. During National Conventions, National Meetings we call for National Days of action and collectively call protests at our schools. We share lessons from protests and campaigns and learn from each other's experiences in organizing. Because of this it is important for SDS chapters to participate in national organizing by attending our meetings, conventions, and being active in our committees. National calls and conventions are where we vote and make decisions as National SDS. In order for a chapter to have their voice heard by discussing and voting they must be in attendance of national calls and conventions.

SDS statements must reflect SDS’s politics which are both progressive and action oriented. Statements need to be voted on during meetings after discussion. Statements serve as calls to action and protest, or else what we say becomes words without action, or online “hot takes”. It is not necessary for SDS to have a statement on all social issues. What we say alone will not build the student movement. What we do by calling protests and waging campaigns builds SDS and the student movement. National SDS statements are best when they are paired with a call to action.

All SDS chapters should participate in national days of action. National SDS frequently calls national days of action, and promotes the use of specific slogans for these days of action. National days of action allow SDS chapters to be unified by mobilizing around the same issue and slogans on the same day. National days of action are beneficial to SDS chapters because it allows them to test out new demands and slogans. This is useful for chapters who have not yet established a campaign, or if chapters need to find a new campaign. Collectively, national days of action allow National SDS to see what slogans, demands, and issues are getting students to protest across the country.

The student movement needs a national presence and leader. National SDS must be built up in order to unite SDS chapters, other student groups, and the student movement across the country. Projects such as the national convention are important for establishing ties with other student groups, and uniting our chapters around our politics and methods for raising struggle on campus.

Conclusion

These are New SDS’ points of unity, and we ask that all chapters, both established and newly affiliated, review these points and carry them out in their on campus organizing. We as SDS, our chapters and national organization, our members and our chapters must aim to be united in action, and these principles are here to ensure our unity.

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