Fordham’s chapter of the Young Democratic Socialists of America (YDSA), an unofficial student club, will expand from Fordham Rose Hill (FRH) to the Fordham Lincoln Center (FLC) campus.

The first club meeting is planned for next week, and YDSA hopes to have consistent operations up and running at FLC in the coming weeks, according to Matthew Smith, Fordham College at Rose Hill ’27 and founder of Fordham YDSA. Fordham YDSA is a member-run organization governed by a steering committee with two elected co-chairs, where all decisions are made “as democratically as possible,” Smith said. 

Fordham YDSA’s expansion to FLC will make it more convenient for FLC members to participate and may encourage more students to join, according to Smith. Fordham YDSA are still looking for a space to consistently meet, either on or off campus, as unofficial student clubs cannot reserve rooms. At FRH, Fordham YDSA has a network of professors and faculty that support the group and reserve rooms for them. Fordham YDSA is currently trying to assemble a similar cohort at FLC. 

“My elevator pitch would be: Extending democracy from governments and into the workplace and into all aspects of your life, and ensuring that working people have power, and ensuring that working people control where they work, not the billionaires.” Matthew Smith, FCRH ’27 and founder of Fordham YDSA

Smith said he has gauged considerable student interest in YDSA at FLC. He added that he believes many more people would support socialism if they were properly informed about what it really is.

“My elevator pitch would be: Extending democracy from governments and into the workplace and into all aspects of your life, and ensuring that working people have power, and ensuring that working people control where they work, not the billionaires,” Smith said. 

While the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA)’s many chapters have significant autonomy, its overall mission centers around very similar concepts: democracy, anti-capitalism and workers’ rights. DSA is a nationwide socialist organization and the largest in the nation. YDSA is a subsection of DSA with campus and neighborhood chapters. The neighborhood chapters are a recent addition and aim to allow low-income communities and youth who cannot afford to go to university to participate in socialism. 

NYC-YDSA is also experimenting with establishing city-level fundraising where chapters can put money into a collective fund and withdraw it when necessary.

In previous years, NYC-YDSA was not a cohesive organization, and it is only recently that a voluntary confederation of chapters has formed. This year, at a city-wide NYC-YDSA convention on Nov. 23, this new cooperation was put into practice. The convention passed various resolutions, including the declaration of two priority campaigns: turning universities into sanctuary campuses and advocating for the Starbucks Worker Union strike. The strike ended on Dec. 1, when mayor Eric Adams announced a $38.9 million settlement with Starbucks after an investigation found that the corporation was violating multiple labor laws.

Fordham YDSA contributed to the “Students Against Starbucks” movement by tabling outside of Walsh Gate at Rose Hill, handing out flyers with information on how students can get involved. The Starbucks at Rose Hill is not unionized. However, the Starbucks Workers Union had requested that people not patronize any location while the strike was ongoing, a message YDSA supported. 

NYC-YDSA is also experimenting with establishing city-level fundraising where chapters can put money into a collective fund and withdraw it when necessary. Smith said he is “extraordinarily excited” about this prospect and that it would be especially beneficial to chapters with uncertain or no school funding, like Fordham YDSA. Thus far, Fordham YDSA has been operating with the support of the national YDSA and out of pocket, a very limited budget. 

Another recent YDSA event is a potluck drive on Nov. 22 where attendees brought socks, underwear, hats and gloves to donate to St. Joseph’s House, a soup kitchen. The event was held in collaboration with Fordham Catholic Worker, an unofficial student group. The group is part of the larger Catholic Worker movement, a social justice movement grounded in faith that was founded in 1933 by Dorothy Day and Peter Maurin. Fordham YDSA is planning another volunteer event at St Joseph’s, a Catholic Worker house, at the end of this semester or the beginning of next, according to Smith. 

Fordham YDSA, NYC-DSA and NYC-YDSA, were very involved over the last several months with mayor-elect and DSA member Zohran Mamdani’s campaign. Fordham YDSA had consistent canvassing efforts, while NYC DSA helped recruit around 50,000 of the campaign’s estimated 100,000 volunteers. 

Fordham YDSA has been active on campus since 2023, when Smith started it during his first semester at Fordham. Smith said that, despite receiving initial approval from the United Student Government last year and submitting the required documentation, Fordham YDSA has yet to be recognized by the university. 

Fordham YDSA is planning future distributions, where they will continue collecting signatures for their petition demanding Fordham change their policy, which has 354 out of the goal of 400 signatures as of Dec. 1.

Smith said Fordham YDSA is concerned that, should they become an official student club, they would be subject to restrictions antithetical to their socialist ethos. He also expressed frustration about the club application process, which he called unnecessarily long. 

For example, contraceptive access is a central issue for Fordham YDSA. They passed out free Plan B and condoms outside the Walsh Gate of the Rose Hill campus on Nov. 17 and Oct. 8, which they also did several times outside both campuses last academic year. The group brings 64 doses of Plan B and many condoms to each tabling event. After an hour, they are always out of Plan B, which Smith said demonstrates student need. Smith added that he is worried that, as an official student club, YDSA would not be allowed to pass out contraceptives.

Fordham YDSA is planning future distributions, where they will continue collecting signatures for their petition demanding Fordham change their policy, which has 354 out of the goal of 400 signatures as of Dec. 1.

Along with the Plan B distributions, Fordham YDSA is planning to work with immigrant rights groups and focus on electoralism for the next democratic primaries.