2009 Strategy.

We are on day 36 of the Obama's presidency and I think its safe to say that the DREAM Act will not pass in the first 100 days of the Obama's presidency. I'm not complaining but the leadership of this portal needs to be a little more organize in running this forum. We need to come together and present our ideals for getting DREAM pass and come to a consensus for the goal of this portal, cause we are not on the same page right now everyone is doing their own thing. We started off the year without a clear strategy, WE NEED TO COME TOGETHER!!!


Anyone know what ever happened to this very ambitious plan that was never executed? I taught it was a good plan.

http://dreamact.info/forum/showthread.php?t=7135

Thank You for writing this thread. Well, everyone that cares for this site should write a response. When we talk about the failing leadership of DAP we are assuming we have a leadership to begin with. Don't get me wrong, many people have leadership outside DAP. Some people have authority but I cannot say that anyone in this site, including yours truly, is a true leader. Leaders have followers. No one follows me thus, I am no leader. How many of you actually have influence in other members opinions and thoughts. More important how many of you can actually move someone else into action?

I am not putting down DAP. We can create a beautiful structure that everyone is going to ignore because it does not connect to their needs and desires. What is what you wish from this site? What brings you here? What would you like to do and how do you think it should be done?

Usually through person to person conversations, we talk and listen to people who are asked about their communities. The first question is what bothers you from your current life? then what have you do about it? and finally, what do you think it should be done about it?

Thus those are the questions we have right now not only about the Dream Act but DAP. If its members cannot work into creating their own structure and system, how do you plan to create an strategic long term plan for the Dream Act?

The structure should be based on what members need from the site and the plan organized around what the members can and want to do. This, we cannot do by letting 1-4 people say everything that must be said while everyone else stays quiet. EVERY SINGLE MEMBER MUST FORK IN THEIR FEELINGS AND OPINIONS.

This is the most important aspect, after all, if the members are unwilling to give their two cents for something as simple as this thread, how can we organized a phone/email/ rally whatever.
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Finally with the questions:
I am irritated about no having a green card. Not being able to drive, not being able to get a job where i would earn a fair wage. I am angry about people who write without thinking and think without writing. People who talk a lot but do not communicate. People who are connected with hundreds but are alone. I am angry that only five or six people in this site are actually working for the Dream Act and that most of the strongest members eventually leave as soon as they find some better joint. I am angry that some of our most talented members had to emigrate because they are tired of working and waiting for congress to grow some balls/skirts and finally pass this damn bill. I am tired about kids in school that are already at odds with life and still being blamed and scream and being told that they should be thankful for a broken system that does not work for them.

What I did is that I left DAP for a while and although I came back and feel back for leaving, I have never used again as a means of mobilizing. It has become an place to gather news and that's that. When thinking and talking about organizing, outlets outside DAP, like NVSC and Dreamactivist are primary outlets.

What do I wish the DAP becomes? Well, mostly, being unambitious and understanding that internet communication is fast and effective but not moving, I wish for DAP to become a place where people from different areas come and talk about their own efforts at the local/state level. I would like the phone campaigns to be focus when someone asks members of DAP to help an fellow member to tame a congressperson. I would like members of this organization to do outreach to other pro-immigrant organizations and convince them to push for the Dream Act in the same way, they push for immigration reform. I would like to have the freedom of doing what I think is best for my district but also the support of knowing that I am not a lone crusader in this big wide country.

I think the greatest frustrations for everyone on the site are the limitations that come with our status. It varies from state to state, and some of us aren't able to go to college, drive, etc. I do happen to go to college, though, because Utah is one of the few states that gives undocumented students who graduated from a Utah high school access to in-state tuition. I've spoken with people in my school, administrators, counsellors, about the limitations that come with being undocumented, and they've been very understanding. I've told them about the DREAM Act, and they've passed the word around.

Even though it's a small effort, I think as long as the word is getting around, the more support we can get from our legislators. Speaking of which, I've also written to two of my state's representatives, and I even received a letter (pre-written of course) from Orrin Hatch (about SCHIP but still). What do I think should be done about it? We need to get the word out, FAST, and put pressure on our representatives, because if DREAM doesn't pass this year, it's unlikely it'll pass any other year.

Below is a long response to the original proposal...read if you want and have time....

Here we have set of small groups and positions that can help out the organization (DAP) work toward its objective. What has to be defined is the organizational breakdown structure...how they all relate in a functional/matrix manner and the work breakdown structure that will delegate the flow/hierarchy of responsibilities assigned to each group so that they deliver individual or a set of objectives/milestones.

By themselves many DAP members have been taken upon these positions on their own terms:

Bloggers - There are plenty of bloggers all with their own agenda and structure. This is perfectly ok since they all add a different perspective to the issue in general. What could help in my opinion is that if given a certain topic/data (from the Research dept.) they could all give their unique take on an issue every so often - drill the issue like we did with the change.org efforts. They could also, propagate DAP and other DREAM related efforts/events/etc to their local/regional level (From Public Affairs Dept);


IT - The DAP website is set up well and other members have taken time out of their life to create other own (DREAMActivist). DActivist has a well defined format of links to blogs and stories and so does DAP. DAP's advantage is the forum, it allows open communication and free flow of information. If bloggers are relating information to the masses DAP's main purpose would shift to internal affairs: project(s) management, tracking and evaluation without phasing out the other aspects of the forum (off topic/lounge/etc) but its focus would be the projects planned. Given the large number of members in DAP there will obviously be groups and assigned leaders for every effort taken up to streamline and facilitate communication across the board in vertical fashion. The vertical ladder will end at the respective dept. leaders (Research/Blogging/IT Public Affairs) and overall progress/reflections/lessons learned of all efforts communicated in an orderly manner.


Research - We are frequently bombarded with news articles related to DREAM, Immigration etc. yet not so much with regards to statistics and quantifiable data. Given all the data, news articles, changes in legislation (good/bad) and ongoing related incidents is there a way to bring them all together to serve a purpose besides informing us and the masses? Can we use data to serve our purposes? Of course, the dissemination of information is vital, the dissemination of up to date facts is priceless. One problem that has limited my enthusiasm to disseminate information on DREAM in the past is the fact that I did not know what the latest information on it was and whether the data I have is accurate or not. Knowledge is priceless for any organization and at DAP there is unsurmountable amount of data yet we don't archive it nor gather important points from all sources into structured presentations properly for later use. We don't have standard presentations on DREAM, If we are to present anywhere we go by what we know and for that matter what we don't. Yes we can search the forum and the net to find enough information to put on a decent presentation, but is this effective? Is there organizations that do this already? Maybe, but I don't know them nor have their contact info, all I have is DAP on my favorites list. Furthermore, aside from structuring and archiving DREAM presentation(s) material and pertinent information the research dept through their efforts can guide the blogging and public affairs efforts. They will be up to date on current issues better than any other member so they can provide bloggers with talking points. They will be on track with national events and news to disseminate information to members according to region or to ALL. One example I can think of is the Explicit Shows of Support from Certain Institutions for Higher Education for DREAM. We know some have come forth and stated their support for it but how many others have come forth to do the same? How was this archived at this campus? What kind of presentation did they put forth for the University? What related information was presented to achieve this goal? How can we do the same at campuses near us? How can we do this all over the nation? Knowing this information can help other members gather and put forth an effort in their regions, the problem is we are consistently trying to re-invent the wheel. Lastly, this dept will help identify govt. targets. This may already be known to many but such may not be updated and such may be unbeknown to the new members. How to approach them, what to say, what kind of data would help make your argument with such individual etc etc is invaluable.

Finally, Public Affairs - While the possibilities are endless we're restricted by distance so we'll have to remain cognizant of this while pursuing our objectives and keep remote 'activism' at the core. The usual letter writing campaigns, emails, etc but should be done in a more strategic manner by fully utilizing the resources put forth by the research dept to maximize results. Basically know who to target and know what to say (obvious but had to say it). More specific regional and local efforts will be dictated by both research and the local DREAMies. Research can serve as guide yet keep in mind that they are far more detached from what's going on in your region so keeping an eye out for events/news will be everyone's job. Where we go from there and how we approach the situation can be guided through the cumulative effort. It's a way street and communication is the key for success of an effort and the possibility of more efforts. For general national/regional efforts that can be applied in a blanket fashion like a nationwide college campus tour of presentations for both students and administration in efforts to gain public support from the whole institution research based strategic planning would be vital. Research will allow us to PLAN EVENTS alongside ORGANIZATIONS in or outside of our COMMUNITIES where we can walk into the room knowing that what we're about to present has worked in the past, is accurate and effective. In short when it comes to building alliances, coordinating evens and reaching to our communities research will provide the tools to do it effectively.

We currently act as single entities along with other local orgs but we don't necessarily tie these efforts back to DAP or any formalized national/larger effort. Formalized strategies are needed, they can make our efforts easier. While we can inform on a person by person basis if we can streamline the effort to standardize presentations, requests for support procedures and guidelines to planning events and building alliances we could have better results.


Just my opinion.

When I first joined DAP I too was frustrated that not enough people were down to organize something or when I posted an idea only 5 or so people decided to participate. In hindsight I realize that DAP is something else.

I now see that DAP serves the following functions:

1. It's a support group more than an activist site, it seems that most people use it as survival tool, "how to survive as an undocumented student." People come here for advice about taxes, paying for school, applications, family issues, relationship issues (see all the how do I tell my bf/gf threads), etc. I think that's great and absolutely necessary, although there is potential for more. It complements sites like DA.org which have a focus on activism.

2. It's a networking site. People come here and connect with other students, some find others near them, some find on the ground groups to join, and some find other online venues. It's a starting point for many.

3. News source. This one is pretty obvious, I like the articles Ianus and lilbawler post. Thanks guys!

4. It's a social site. Also pretty obvious, mainly the off-topic section.

In order to improve #1 I agree that it would be nice to formalize the info from various threads into guides (taxes, applications, etc) that could also be shared with other orgs. DA.org has tons of helpful info so it would be great if the front page had a link to DA.org, I see them as sister sites.

For #2 and 3, how about DAP joining twitter, digg, etc? Especially to bring more attention to news articles. A person or two could be in charge of that alone.

For #4 I think DAP is doing fine.

DAP can be, and has been at times, people's first taste of activism. I think it would be beneficial for DAP to collaborate with other sites and on the ground orgs (could help with #2), I don't know how much of this is happening. It would be a great way to have its members plugged in to what is going around the country and DAP could contribute with the survival info/guides I mentioned in #1. There could also be coordinated monthly actions (letters, faxes, calls). Those who maintain the site don't have to do this, other people, who would coordinate and communicate with the mods, could do that.

Maybe the problem here is a matter of a discrepancy between what some of us think DAP is and what the creators/mods think it it is. It seems to me that the creators/mods believe their mission is providing a space for DREAMies to meet and discuss, they have already done that and it's just a matter of maintaining the site and moderating. Some of us see a potential for more or expect more. We would have to meet halfway, mods/creators would have to be willing to coordinate other activities and optimize the site for that, and others would have to reach out to them and be willing to volunteer some time. How do we go about that? Or maybe we have misplaced our expectations?

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Anyway, I'm a bit of a newb, but here's what I'm doing:

-Blogging and finding new blogs and supporters by searching for blog posts about the DREAM Act.

-I try to find news about the DREAM Act and immigration every few days and use digg to bring attention to them.

-I am working on DREAM Act brochures/materials with a couple of other people.

-I write letters, call reps once in a while.

-I try to answer those "survival" questions people post here at DAP.

-I am looking for local groups to join now that I have more free time (Thank you economy).

I didn't know I would write this much when I started writing this, take my words with a grain of salt, I could be way off.

I totally missed this thread, my apologies:


http://dreamact.info/forum/showthread.php?t=7135

Can it be moved to the taking action section? Sometimes I don't log in and just check for new posts, but can't see the site news section. I am sure others do the same.

Thanks Nick for putting that post together, I'm going to go read it more closely.

EDIT: I think I have had too much sudafed while fighting this cold and I read the date as 2009. So,my bad that is an old thread. Good food for thought though.

Thank You for this terrific state of affairs. I think you hit right on spot and I think you are 100% right.

When I became a member of both Cosa and DA it was through a link on an article feedback that juan posted. Yes, that juan. After that, i became active locally which truly where my heart is. Even after the Dream Act passes, I will fork out time of my schedule to run through the streets on election day and invite people to vote and gather rallies outside public buildings demanding something.

I agree with ECW.
If any help is needed I will support.

Deft has a great idea, what we need to do, is start from the base, (local) and tie everything with dream. only problem is saying it is different from actually doing it. someone needs to be a community organizer, we might need more than one, i say we base it by regions. nick is busy, and the mods, well i dont kno if they are up for it, so it should come from one of us. it needs to be appointed and everyone should vote on who they want for that position, so there are no misunderstandings and the decision is unanimous.

http://dreamact.info/forum/showthread.php?t=9232

//I wish we still get to see this list used as it was intended//

As I see it (in a quite simplistic and perhaps unrealistic manner)

The next steps....

o Leaders by region/geographical area - Assign/Nominate/ Step
o Milestones - All would need a specified deadline for encouragement.
1. Recruit X amount of new members (example) get one more person to join etc by X date.
2. Send X amount of thank you/reminder letters/emails to existing state and Natl. supporters/political figures by X date
3. Send X amount of persuasion letters/emails to 'iffy' political figures.
4. Send X amount of reminder letters to Obama by X date.
5. Present & Garner support from X amount of organizations in the area.
6. Hold X amount of DREAM informational sessions/presentations in the community.
7. Present and garner explicit support from X amount of Universities (preferably ones where DREAMies study at).
8. Hold ONE major presentation within the Region.

The above are just milestones/goals the work packages that belong to each and would need the commitment from everyone would still need to be defined but such should not be hard…as mentioned the hard part is ‘walk the walk’.

Just my take, I know it might be a bit optimistic so just hit up with some feedback.

-Carlos