This past weekend the Pennsylvania Federation of College Democrats held its first annual convention at Bucknell University in Lewisburg, Pa. A goal of this first annual convention was to elect an executive board for the federation. Montez Tyson, a sophomore at the University, was elected to the position of treasurer. Tyson is the first Villanova College Democrat to be elected to a statewide position in the Federation, which works closely with the State Democratic Party.

“I am truly honored that the College Democrats of Pennsylvania have determined that I am the most qualified person to be Treasurer of the PA Federation of College Democrats,” Tyson said. “I will use this position to bring honor to the Villanova Democrats in our mission to improve political awareness, and to bring victories to Democratic candidates in ’06.”

Other members of the board included Jill Stracko of St. Joseph’s University, who won re-election as president; Dennis Vondran of Ursinus College, who won election as vice president; Jonathan Mendelson of Carnegie Mellon University, who won election as political affairs director; Ryan Irwin of Penn State University, who won re-election as communications director; and Sigma Dolins of Franklin-Marshall College, who won election as membership director.

Each chapter present was given three votes for each position and could disperse them as they pleased. Candidates were free to campaign throughout the weekend, and the elections were the final event of the convention. Voting was scheduled to be conducted as a roll call ballot, but a motion was made and passed before voting that changed the procedure to a secret ballot. Chapter members agreed this change would maintain the good relations fostered earlier in the weekend.

Saturday featured a talk with 2006 Congressional Candidate Patrick Murphy. An Iraqi War veteran, Murphy told his story of how he arrived at home in Philadelphia at 3:00 a.m., and began working for the Kerry Campaign at 8:00 a.m. that sane morning.

Later in the day, Pennsylvania Governor Ed Rendell held a conference call with the conference attendees, congratulating them and thanking them for their efforts this past election and also taking a number of questions ranging from the statewide to the local.

Sunday featured a talk with Don Morabito, a close friend of Governor Rendell and the current Executive Director of the PA Democratic Party. Morabito spoke of his past experiences and current opinions of the party.

The Pennsylvania Federation was named Federation of the Year by the College Democrats of America. Membership increased a reported 535 percent, counting among its members 75 chapters, totaling 3,700 College Democrats in Pennsylvania.