Co-Chair Candidate Profile: Nat Leach
The Activist interviewed the candidates for national co-chair at the 2024 YDSA national convention. Nat Leach discusses their run for co-chair.
YDSA’s National Convention is on the horizon. Though the event will be online this year, the key elements that makes convention important will remain. Hundreds of YDSAers will gather to discuss, debate, and vote on resolutions impacting all areas of socialist organizing, from labor to Palestine and much more. What passes on the convention floor becomes policy, determining the strategic and ideological direction of America’s largest youth socialist organization. The NCC is YDSA’s highest organizing body, comprised of “co-chairs” who sit on DSA’s National Political Committee (NPC) and at-large members. This year, five candidates are running for the position.
The Activist sat down with Nat Leach, from University of Michigan YDSA, and spoke about their decision to run.
Nat’s statement on their candidacy can be found here.
The questions and responses in this interview have been edited for clarity.
Q: Could you talk about your tenure as co-chair of the University of Michigan YDSA chapter, what that taught you about leadership, and how these experiences will inform you if elected NCC co-chair?
Nat: Through COVID, I came to find DSA on the tail end of the Bernie era and knew that of the campus organizations YDSA was where I wanted to start. We had our Fight for $15 campaign that we planned on launching in January or February. I was asked to take on as Comms chair. I jumped right into leadership freshman year, blind, knowing nothing except how to use Photoshop and be “semi-Twitter savvy.” The Fight for $15 campaign was my first campaign within YDSA., and that [campaign] ended up being a victory. That was my introduction to YDSA National in all senses. We had a hiccup with grievances, one that was not a legitimate grievance… that kind of stressors going on while learning what a pressure campaign is, how to do tabling, how to do a one-on-one, and things like that. That spring of my freshman year was also my first time going to YDSA conference. I ran for [chapter] president in my sophomore year. There was some chapter conflict in the fall of that year, and it fell on me to navigate things through. It took a personal toll on me and everyone else in the chapter. It put the grievance structure DSA has to the test. Personally, I’m very grateful for that experience, because it has really informed how I view handling interpersonal conflict within DSA. In January, our graduate student union went on an illegal strike. I had a fantastic time being president of YDSA when our grad union was on this huge strike. This [strike] was off the tails of them going on another illegal wildcat strike for workplace protections during the initial COVID pandemic when administrators were forcing the university to open before putting any baseline protections. Although I am not in a union, it gave me second hand experience organizing through a strike. We also developed a very intentional relationship with our Students for Justice in Palestine chapter. Following October 7th, due to our relationship development, we were invited to be one of the cadre organizations of the TAHIR coalition. We have built something of a mass movement on our campus. I’ve had very much hands on experience both on the ground in Palestine solidarity fighting for divestment and, in turn, reinvestment into the student population on campuses, as well as experiences on the back end in doing comms on the local level.
Q: Given all that you’ve done at the national, state, and campus levels, what led you to decide to run for co-chair?
Nat: I’ve been rolling this around in my head since DSA convention last summer; I was slowly moving from working at the local level to going up to national and being introduced to national politics. [YDSA national] is a space that feels relatively inaccessible. It’s hard to climb up the ranks, and even then, a lot of the politics of national seem above where local is at. This summer’s convention really highlighted the disconnect between what’s seen as a national problem compared to what locals believe. DSA and YDSA’s reaction to Palestine has been very radicalizing and was ultimately the catalyst to my decision to run for NCC. I made sure to talk through it a lot with my chapter. I spent a lot of time at conference talking to the steering committee and to my other comrades who were there. The reason I chose co-chair specifically rather than at-large is because no one on the DSA NPC has spent time in the encampments, taking the time to build the mass movement that we talk about, that is happening locally. Since October, I’ve made the choice that I want to be a YDSA co-chair to advocate first and foremost for YDSA, for what YDSA chapters are doing on the ground and to, first and foremost, advocate for the immediate needs of YDSA, especially within the next year.
Q: I know Palestine is an essential part of your platform. Could you talk about what you see as having been the issues in YDSA and DSA’s organizing on Palestine and how your leadership would be different?
Nat: Everyone was talking about YDSA’s Comms response, and it truly was fantastic. I have to give kudos to the original comms team before I was added and everyone else on the NCC who was bottom lining that. Still, YDSA was constantly posting and pushing people up to the encampments. It took a long time to get feedback from DSA. Ultimately, if it will bring us victory or keep YDSA together, I will advocate for it. Sometimes, you have to submit yourself to the movement, and that’s really what I want to do for this next year. Truly, local chapters; I want to uplift you; I am at your will; tell us what national needs to do, in addition to the general priority campaign of Palestine divestment and keeping that at the forefront.
Q: There’s been much discussion around the role of DSA and YDSA in electoral work, especially with endorsing candidates who may not be fully committed to the Palestine liberation movement. What are your thoughts on this subject, and what role should YDSA play in the wider socialist electoral movement?
Nat: My thoughts on this have changed since October. If you asked me this a year ago, I would say we should hold electeds to the same standards that guide Palestinian liberation. Those are the Palestinian redlines, those should be our redlines. Unfortunately, people are going to play politics. They will vote “present” on an Iron Dome funding vote. That’s very hard to explain, especially to socialists like us who say there is a definitive correct answer. But now, more than ever, I believe those red lines are essential. There is a genocide going on, not only with American manufactured weapons but those weapons are built and designed by the alumni of universities that we go to. The people in the government graduated from the universities we go to. We have to do all we can to stop this. We are in another anti-Vietnam War movement, another anti-South African apartheid movement. Although I have many reservations about certain aspects of strategy and discipline, there is a genocide going on. If there is any time to have and enforce the red lines, the time is now.
Q: Another part of your platform is diversity. Could you talk about your diversity platform, how yours differs from others that have been introduced, and how you plan on implementing it if elected?
Nat: I am a white person. I have no idea how YDSA is not serving our black, brown, and native comrades— the best way to find that out is to ask them. I am an academic, and part of that training is surveying how to do that. I’m committed to working with the entire NCC and as our growth and development committee to assemble a survey targeted to our BIPOC comrades asking “How is YDSA serving you?” “how is YDSA not serving you?” Ultimately, I acknowledge that’s a band-aid. Still, I think that it’s at least a step in making room for institutional diversity and seeing material improvements in diversity. This will allow us to inform how the NCC has conversations around building diversity a lot better. Historically, YDSA has been white, it’s been male, and that has built a reputation. Starting to undo that is really important. An essential part of increasing the diversity of membership in YDSA is how we approach ourselves to being on campus… For example, Palestinian comrades will probably be in SJP before YDSA, because that is a place to be in the community and practice politics. I believe that YDSA, we can angle ourselves, especially by meeting the moment for Palestinian liberation and divestment on campuses, as well as highlighting the intersectionality of what liberation means.
Q: Another issue on your platform is accessibility. What does accessibility mean to you, and how will you work on this issue if elected?
Nat: At the local level, I’ll be honest, I was told by an autistic comrade, “Hey, the way meetings are being run right now isn’t accessible. Can I help you improve it?” Little things like that: share all of that information: those things can and should become standardized in YDSA spaces… In addition to working on YDSA becoming more explicitly about fighting ableism and for disability justice, interfacing and sharing that information directly with chapters, I also think we should push chapters to reimagine what disability justice could mean on campus. Yes, of course, there are the literal material improvements that need to be made on campuses regarding elevator improvement, ramps, and maps of accessible entrances. I also think that in the world of disability justice, there is much room for imagination and speculation on what a future world could look like. One other part about accessibility: as someone who is both physically and mentally disabled, something that is very important to me is working to build a trauma informed DSA. Our grievance procedures are not accessible; they lend themselves to re-traumatization. DSA and YDSA almost have a culture of encouraging burnout. I believe that improving YDSA accessibility also includes improving YDSA community care. I’m committed to using part of my time as co-chair to have open organizer support hours.
Q: The budget may be the other most significant subject in the YDSA and DSA space. The deficit DSA has, the cuts to YDSA’s budget, etc… What are your thoughts on what YDSA and DSA should do, and what is your vision for the budget if elected?
Nat: First, it’s important to remember what is and is not outside our control for something as contentious as the budget. It’s important not to hang too far on past actions. The cuts that happened are the cuts that happened. We need to play with the cards that we are dealt with now. I think that, moving forward, YDSA is in a relatively solid spot. If I’m not mistaken, both with and without staff added to the budget, YDSA expenditures sit at around 45 to slightly under 50%. Doing the math, YDSA received proportionally fewer cuts than other parts of DSA. To say that YDSA was murdered through these cuts is an exaggeration. We’re in a really good spot; we still have our paid leadership, and as they’ve demonstrated since the budget meeting, as they hopefully will continue to demonstrate, paid leadership, especially for YDSA, pays off. Paid leadership allows YDSA leadership to focus on academics and organizing for the rest of their time. I think advocating for YDSA first involves asking and engaging with our locals. “What do you need?” and ensuring that what I advocate for is rooted in that. I also think that fundraising is important. YDSA usually does an excellent job with our dues drive, and being more hands on than ever is essential. More intentional membership recruitment will result in more dues coming into YDSA.
Q: Given your lack of a caucus, how do you intend to convey your message? Do you feel that you are at all at a disadvantage?
Nat: Slightly. If anything, because of lack of manpower. But I’m honored to have my chapter’s blessing in this. I know they will do the last minute vote whipping for me. Unfortunately, I can’t be a delegate at the convention so I’m also coordinating a lot with our comrade who is the convention delegate. But I’ve built a lot of connections across the entire political spectrum within YDSA…I’m doing the one-on-ones, building my Excel sheet, and I will have my bullseye voting scale guide. I am doing it that way. I’m ready to do the work.
Q: If you don’t get elected this year, do you intend to run again? What is next for you?
Nat: I want to be on the NCC. Not making it on is not going to change anything I do. I’m still going to be organizing… I’m going to be taking a gap year after this. My intention for that gap year is to serve as a liaison between local YDSAs and our parent DSA chapter because that’s what I’m running on. Whether or not I’m elected, that’s what my mission is for this next year. I will put the same amount of time I would have put into the NCC into local, maybe some national work, wherever I feel it is the most impactful. I’m still committed. Socialist for life.