Better Know A Member

So today we have Shamil Rodriguez, Chair of the Hispanic Caucus of the College Democrats of America sitting down with me for our latest installment of Better Know A Member.

CP: So Shamil, why did you decide to become a democrat?
SR: My father went to Iraq and came back injured and he wanted me to go more on the education route. And he was afraid that I would be treated the same way he was, so for me, I just saw the war and I said why couldn’t I be one of those decision makers. Why can’t I be one of those guys that makes the decisions.

CP: So, you were president of College Democrats two years ago, what was it like 2 years ago?
SR: We used to have two meetings, it was a lot of infrastructure development. Our biggest concern was just being able to have consistent meetings and being able to have a few programs a year and increasing membership. We were unknown to everyone, people didn’t even know if there was a college democrats chapter on campus.

CP: So what was your biggest obstacle then?
SR: Increasing members, and increasing the active membership and developing infrastructure. Our executive board saw first hand what could happen to an organization if the entire e-board graduates. We had to literally re-create the wheel.