Volunteer State college Dems take the lead

You may recall our profile and interview with college Democrat Alex Youn here at Facing South last year. He's an interesting young man with a lot of energy, and he's pretty smart about politics.

Alex, who is Vice President of the Tennessee Federation of College Democrats, has been busy helping organize college Democrats in Tennessee and around the South.

At last week's College Democrats of America convention in St. Louis, a new CDA Southern Caucus was officially approved:

The TFCD also took the lead in forming the new CDA Southern Caucus that was officially approved at the convention this week. The purpose of the Southern Caucus is to organize the southern region of the United States in an effort to build a permanent College Democrats infrastructure. Alex Youn, TFCD vice president, is the interim chair of the Southern Caucus.

During the convention, which attracted 556 students from 250 schools in 45 states, the Tennessee Federation of College Democrats was also named the state federation of the year. College Democrats from around the South were well represented at the convention:

Tennessee was represented at the convention by 26 students from 14 colleges and universities. The TFCD had the third largest number of votes to cast in the CDA elections, with Arkansas being first and Pennsylvania being second. The southern states attended the convention in such high numbers that they controlled 38 percent of total votes.

It's encouraging to see college students getting organized and involved. The future of progressive politics in the South looks brighter as a result of their hard work and enthusiasm.