It was Election Day yesterday and many states across the nation held votes on ballot measures.

The Daily, the University of Washington’s campus newspaper, asked representatives from the six largest political groups on campus ranging from socialist to libertarian, to weigh in on how their groups feel about the issues. Steve Heidenreich, the Public Relations Chair for the UW-Seattle YAL Chapter, spoke out in favor of limited government proposals including liquor sales privatization and education reform over education levies.

While focused on yesterday’s election, the discussion was the perfect segue into next week’s forum, a now-quarterly tradition during which the Young Americans for Liberty, International Socialist, Young Democrats and College Republicans chapters gather to discuss an important current event. This quarter’s topic: Obama’s Jobs Plan.

This is a perfect example of what you can do to help raise awareness of your chapter and ideology while boosting your legitimacy with other campus organizations. How can you make this happen on your campus? It’s easy!

The first and primary step is to have a plan. Unless you’ve frequently collaborated with the other political groups, it is likely they neither know who you are nor know if they can trust you. When speaking to the other groups, come prepared with the following:

• A list of potential topics that would benefit each group to discuss (Example: a local iniative, a specific foreign policy proposal, higher education budget cuts)
• A handful of possible campus locations (ideally ones that you know you could reserve on short notice)
• Dates in which you’re interested
• An organized format: How long will people speak? What order? Will there be a moderator? If so, who? Question/Answer period? Notecards or microphones for questions?

This may seem like a lot, but the more ideas you have prepared ahead of time, the easier the sell to the other chapters. It will show that you are serious about this endeavor and make them far more likely to listen to your ideas.

After you approach the other student organizations with your proposal, the next step (assuming they agreed to participate) is to make sure you get as much coverage as possible for the event. Write a press release and send to local media. But most importantly, get your student paper involved. The Daily, for example, always covers the University of Washington forums because it includes only students and represents all sides.

The week leading up to the event, table in busy areas on campus, chalk, hang posters/fliers, etc. to raise awareness that a forum/debate is occuring. Don't rely on other clubs to do this, because they only recruit people who already agree with them, not with you. 

Go forth, debate and always remember:  Pictures (and sign-up sheets) or your event didn’t happen.

For more on holding forums and debates, check out the activism page here.