Ask An Organizer

We put Alisa Gallo, one of our YCL organizers and leaders on the spot to respond to this great question from Missouri...

We put Alisa Gallo, one of our YCL organizers and leaders on the spot to respond to this great question from Missouri...

Question: Greetings. I'm a student at Southeast Missouri State University. I'm interested in starting a College Communists organization here on campus and I'm looking for any advice you can give me. Please send me any info. you think would be even remotely helpful.

Alisa Gallo Responds: Obviously you need to recruit some new members before you can undertake any projects as the Young Communist League. Here are some ideas about how to attract new members, since often the problem is that people don't know YCL exists.


1. Invite a YCL leader from another club (if there's one nearby) or the Communist Party to come speak. Publicize the event in a campus paper or a local paper and post a few flyers in visible locations. At the end of the presentation, talk about a "hot" issue at your school or in the neighborhood that you think YCL should organize around. Invite people who attend a meeting to work on this issue.

2. Don't be afraid to identify yourself as a Young Communist. Get involved in school politics or clubs as a member of the YCL.

3. Write letters to the editor as a member of YCL.

4. Connect with other YCLers via Internet. Get them to this website or they can send e-mail to: yclusa@igc.apc.org.

5. Distribute the People's Weekly World and Dynamic. Engage people as you give them out, the literature can help you find interested people. Check in with the National Office at 212-741-2016 to see if anyone has responded.

6. Set up a table at a school or sports event. Sell YCL books and pamphlets and most importantly have a sign-up sheet with the heading "Yes! I'd like more info about the YCL" where students can write their names, addresses and telephone numbers.


Most of all, don't get discouraged! Sometimes you have to find the right issue to get people involved. But if you are on campus doing constructive political work, talking about class issues and asking people to join up, you should have a club of 3-5 dedicated activists within six months to a year.