New Members

Q: Where are meetings?

A: Right now, all our official DSA meetings are over Zoom, which you can download here. We sometimes have socially-distanced outdoor social activities that are 100% optional.

Q: How often does the DSA meet?

A: The entire Upper Valley DSA meets once a month, but the specific working groups typically meet every week. You can see upcoming meetings in our Google Calendar. If you miss a meeting, you can always check meeting minutes in the Google Drive (you need permission to access, reach out to be added).

Q: I can’t access the internet for meetings - how can I get involved?

A: If you are unable to access the internet for zoom meetings, you can still get involved by calling into a meeting by phone (call 646 558 8656, meeting ID:93836429489 pw:UVDSA) and you can always call (802) 234-3056 for more information. Or, if you’re in touch with any of the active members, simply reach out to them, they’ll be happy to help you get connected - it is one of our main goals as a chapter to eliminate barriers to getting involved, and bring in people from as many different walks of life as possible.

Q : Do I need to be a registered member of the DSA to join the chapter?

A: No, we don’t require you to be a dues-paying member, either of our chapter or of DSA national to be part of our working groups, chapter projects, or to attend meetings. The only thing you need to be a member in good standing of either our chapter or DSA national to do is to vote in chapter-wide decisions, like resolutions and elections.

Q: There’s so many things going on, where can I jump in?

A: The best thing to do is pick one meeting you're interested in and attend it! If you aren’t sure exactly what interests you that’s okay too, feel free to attend meetings until you find a working group you want to plug into. The Call To Action meeting is also a great way to get a summary and easy entry into organizing.

Q: I’ve never done any activism before, and I don’t know if my skills will be useful. Can I still be involved?

A: Yes, of course! Everyone can help and everyone’s skills are valuable. A lot of skills that might not originally come to mind as helpful to the organization actually are, including graphic design, budgeting, cooking, conflict resolution, etc. No matter your skills, there will be ways you can help the DSA. Our value as people is not defined by how well we can be exploited under capitalism. Your passion and dedication, your dreams and hard work, are absolutely integral to the fight for collective liberation.

Q: I believe in this work, but I have limited time and energy. What kind of a time commitment is DSA?

A: It’s really up to you. We have people putting in many hours a week, people who plug in when our campaigns need extra feet on the ground, and everything in between. If you sign up for our newsletter, you can keep up with what’s happening in the chapter without going to weekly meetings.

Please know this: The burdens placed on all of us under capitalism are different. We are committed to developing a sustainable mutual aid infrastructure that provides material aid and relieves some of the stresses of daily living to make all of us more available for the fight for collective liberation. That could look like many different things depending on our community’s needs: members providing childcare for other members, so they can attend meetings or knock on doors; organizers providing support to folks in crises like illness or bereavement; chapter comrades coming together to take care of the daily needs that capitalism tries to force us to buy as individuals in order to free up time for leisure, socializing, and organizing!