Platform convention will be held at Georgia Tech in the Mason Building. We’ll leave at 10:30ish from the Journalism/Psychology parking lot and be back around 6. Lunch is included.

Platform convention is the time when we, as the Young Democrats of Georgia, edit our platform. There’s debate and discussion - it’s fun. Below is the YDG platform, you can suggest new planks or edit the ones that are there.

Sign up to go with us at the meeting this Wednesday (Feb. 21), or e-mail me at aberash@uga.edu.

The Young Democrats of Georgia Convention will be held on Jekyll Island April 13 - 15. Convention is a great time to meet other Young Dems, attend a lot of cool programs, and hobknob with politicians and other political figures from across the state.

We’ll be staying at the Buccaneer Beach Resort. Some of the scheduled sessions include: Cultural Competency: A Path to True Diversity, How to Run a Field Campaign, Public Speaking, Goal Setting and Strategy Execution, Online Organizing, Communications, and Podcasting, Democrats and the Media. There will be caucus meetings for the Women’s, Minority, LGBT, and College Dems Caucuses, a pool party on Friday night (!) and a gala dinner on Saturday (optional, it’s $25 more).

As far as subsidization, we’ll be able to susidize the cost for about 20 people at a cost of $35 each. The people who signed up last week on the DEFINITELY list get first dibs. We’re doing this for ONE week, so bring your money to the meeting THIS Wednesday, February 21 or e-mail me (aberash@uga.edu) so you can drop it off this week.

See http://convention.georgiayds.org/ for more in-depth information about convention.

The Government and Nonprofit Career Fair will be happening on Wednesday February 21 (10 am to 2 pm) at the Tate Center. This is a very important event for those of you who may be interested in a career or an internship in this area. Please visit the Career Center website for a list of organizations that will be present, as well as some helpful tips.

Professional Dress is recommended, and be sure to do your research before you talk to an organization. Find out what they are looking for in candidates and present your resume with confidence and a smile. Resume paper and a resume folder will make you appear more professional.

Career Center staff will be providing walk-in resume critiques on Monday, February 20 (8 am to 5 pm). This will be very helpful in preparing a professional, well-formatted resume to present to potential employers. For more Career Center information visit www.career.uga.edu.

We’ve got a lot of great things planned (but, really, when don’t we?) over the next few weeks. Check out what’s happening at future meetings:

• February 21: Screening “The War Room,” and discussing what issues a political candidate (of either party) needs to raise to win the 2008 election.

• February 28: Dr. Steve Stice, head of the University’s Regenerative Bioscience Center and leading researcher in stem cells

• March 7: Dr. Loch Johnson, awesome SPIA professor and security/intelligence expert.

Don’t forget we’re still chugging along with PAW activities, and if you’d like to get involved, it’s not too late! Just stick around after our meetings and find out how you can help.

ALSO, YDG CONVENTION 2007 IS QUICKLY APPROACHING! We’re going to start registering this week at our meeting. In order to register, you must be a dues paying member. Convention is always a lot of fun, and this year promises to be no different. You can check out some of the stuff they have planed by going here, and you can also join the Facebook event.

This week we’ll be discussing the role of sex in politics and the media. Also it’s bring-a-friend day - you don’t have to bring a Valentine, although you can. But bring someone we’ve never seen at Young Dems before and you’ll get candy! We’ll be discussing things like:

• The Democratic Party blasting the FCC for not protecting the public, saying the news was filled with “junk, sex, and scandals.”

• The scandal over the political ad criticizing Harold Ford for, among other things, attending a Playboy party.

If you haven’t seen any of these things before, don’t worry - we’ll have some clips to show. And remember to bring a friend!

We had so much fun talking to Dr. Morrow at the meeting on Wednesday, we decided to extend the conversation a little. We’ll be taking Dr. Morrow to brunch this Sunday at 12:15 at Last Resort. We’d like to keep this small though, so we’re going to limit it to the first few dues paid members who e-mail me (Ashley prismatically@gmail.com).

Let me know if you want to come, it’s going to be fun!

As disheartened as we all were win Jane lost in her bid to become a State Senator, we’re all thrilled that Jane was recently elected to a four-year term as chairwoman of the state Democratic party! Click here to read what the AJC had to say about it.

Don’t forget, we have weekly meetings every Wednesday in room 350 of the SLC. This past meeting we had a great discussion with Dr. Diane Morrow about current issues facing African Americans in the United States. Upcoming meetings will include a trivia night and a special meeting for Valentine’s Day. Don’t miss out!

Also, if you’re still looking to become a more active member in our organization, please stick around after the meetings to help plan out PAW (Political Awareness Week). We’ve got all sorts of committees, from fundraising to member outreach, and could really use your help!

The calendar page was updated. Be sure to check it out. It’s fairly bare bones right now, but as the semester progresses we’ll be adding more things. As always, if you have an event that you know of and would like to see it on the calendar, please let us know!

Also, at tonight’s meeting we’ll be discussing last night’s State of the Union address, complete with video clips and pundit commentary. So if you like what you heard last night (cough), or something really made you angry, here’s your chance to sound off. We’ll also have free pizza and drinks, so be sure to come out tonight!

Hey guys,

We’ll be having our first meeting of the semester tonight at 6 p.m. in room 350 of the SLC. It’s been a little over a month since we last met, and there’s a lot of political news to catch up on. We’ll also be discussing our goals for the next upcoming months, potential programs, and convention. So if you’re looking to get involved with something this semester, don’t miss this meeting!

I know, I know. The last meeting already? Whaaa?

Well, because of reading day and finals, this will, indeed, be our last meeting of the year. We will talk about the mayorial run off (early voting began this week!), plans for next year, and the notion of a “War on Christmas.” We’ll have food, drink, maybe a little dance . . .

Hope to see you there :-)