UH Young Democratic Socialists of America’s first general meeting on Wednesday, Sept. 10, 2025 | Karen Wei/The Cougar
For the daughter of two union parents, democratic socialism is really just about the basics.
“My dad is a union electrician and my mom is in a union as well, so I’ve kind of been exposed to progressive politics and the idea that no job is lesser and everyone deserves equal pay and breaks and days off,” said history junior Emma Key.
Key was one of many like-minded peers who attended the fall kickoff meeting of the UH Young Democratic Socialists of America, held on Sept. 10.
“We’re a very welcoming environment,” said YDSA co-chair and political science senior Rafael Angel Jimenez Duran. “You don’t need to have any experience whatsoever. Just come with an open heart, an open mind and an ambition to get on the ground and work.”
The meeting started with a small-group discussion on what socialism is – to Jimenez, much of what YDSA stands for is a “common-sense ideology”.
“I think people are starting to realize that socialism isn’t the evil zeitgeist that they thought it was in previous years,” Jimenez said. “If we see that the community needs healthcare, we’re promoting free healthcare. If we see that the community needs Plan B, we’re giving Plan B. If we see that homeless people need food, we’re out in the streets giving people food.”
“I think we really did a good deal when it came to lowering the cost of Plan B on campus,” Jimenez said. “In previous years, the campus pharmacy had the price of Plan B at around $50 – definitely a profit motive there. Through petitions and canvassing, where we got over two thousand signatures, we were able to force the university to lower the cost of Plan B down to a somewhat reasonable price.”
Political science senior Cody Szell, who currently serves as the membership secretary, introduced the labor working group. The group participated in a strike pushing for a $23 wage for Hilton Americas-Houston workers on Saturday, Sept. 6 and plans to expand into a Students Against Starbucks campaign.
“I do think that we kind of forget that individual people matter and people collectively matter,” Szell said. “In whatever ways we can gather collectively with the highest efficacy possible, I think we can attain power that way and change our world for the better.”
But although the topics at hand were heavy, the mood in the room was light – pizza was passed around and people sipped on sodas. After Szell spoke, senior and YDSA co-chair Sam Brenner introduced the political education working group, which will hold lectures on topics ranging from fascism to the alt-right.
“We are tackling very serious problems,” Jimenez said. “We’re dealing with the lack of reproductive rights in a very conservative state. We’re dealing with immigrants being deported on a day-to-day basis. We’re dealing with genocide in Palestine. And while it is very important to tackle these issues with maturity and with respect, we can cultivate a stronger relationship with each other to foster a better relationship moving forward and actually get our boots on the ground and work hard.”
After a presentation by the communications committee, Jimenez introduced a resolution to create an Immigrant Justice Campaign that passed unanimously. The resolution calls for UH to address the presence of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Department of Homeland Security on campus by requiring signed warrants, alerting students through UH GO, and taking preventative measures to protect students, staff and faculty.
“In these recent years, I’ve personally witnessed family members and friends being deported, detained,” Jimenez said. “I have people very close to me who are in precarious situations regarding their immigration status. And seeing all this and seeing the cruel way in which these people are treated frustrates me.”
With nearly every seat filled, turnout at the kickoff meeting was a record high — a room full of people hungry for change and willing to fight for it.
“I was already kind of politically involved, but the election made me definitely feel like kind of going out there into spaces I wasn’t used to,” said physics PhD Kailliou Macon-Goudeau. “I was just kind of more of a basic Democrat and then after Trump got elected, I was like, yeah, we’re going to have to do a little bit more than this.”
YDSA plans to start holding bake sales this semester and will send delegates to the DSA National Convention in winter.
“I think under the constant stress of the economy deflating income, a lot of people kind of get into their head that there’s nothing that can be done, and that they’re alone in their struggle, and that they’re unable to put food on the table for their family or that nothing’s really going to get done,” Jimenez said. “I really hope that people come to these meetings and see that they’re not alone, that there are people there willing to fight with them side by side, and see that the community’s there for you.”
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