embers of the Young Americans for Liberty organization, also known as YAL, have attended political conferences within the past two months including International Students for Liberty Conference, Conservative Political Action Conference and the Pennsylvania YAL State Convention. The political organization also hosted a “Voice Your Concerns” event on Monday, Feb. 23 in the BSC as well.
Young Americans for Liberty is a pro-liberty organization; it is spreading quickly across college campuses in America.
Founded in 2013, the Elizabethtown chapter of YAL looks to promote the overall mission of Young Americans for Liberty by promoting the philosophy of liberty and advocating for a constitutionally-limited government and individual rights.
“Our club provides a judgment-free environment where students of all political affiliations, or lack thereof, can come and enjoy a civil discussion on current events and issues,” sophomore Resources Director Jenn Feagley said.
Recently YAL hosted a “Voice Your Concerns” event located in the BSC. This allowed students to express their concerns about problems on campus in an open environment.
Both students and staff were able to see all the concerns listed as they were written down. This fueled discussion between staff members, faculty members and students.
There were many different concerns that were brought to light during the event. Students were concerned as to where tuition and fees are exactly going. “While the school offers a general idea of their budget, the students are concerned about exactly where our money is going,” YAL President and junior KayBienne Rosado said.
Students are also wondering why tuition prices are rising if the school is trying to attract more students. There are concerns surrounding why building a new field house is prioritized over renovating dorm rooms.
“We were looking to also get some ideas of ways to improve or address these concerns,” Rosado said. Some of these concerns are being addressed in Student Senate according to Rosado and some members of YAL plan to join Student Senate and make sure these concerns are addressed.
Along with hosting events like “voice your concerns,” members of YAL have also traveled off campus for different conferences. The conferences include the International Students for Liberty Conference, Conservative Political Action Conference, and the PA YAL State Convention.
International Students for Liberty Conference was held in Washington, D.C. on Feb. 13 through Feb. 15. The conference started in 2008 and has been growing rapidly since its beginning. Rosado, senior Steven James Paul, and junior Alar Corwin all attended the annual Libertarian gathering.
Another conference YAL members attended was the Conservative Political Action Conference also known as CPAC. This conference was also held in Washington, D.C. on Feb. 26 through Feb. 28. This primarily formal conservative gathering brought together individuals and potential Republican presidential candidates like Jeb Bush, Rand Paul and Ted Cruz. It is the largest annual gathering of conservative individuals.
The last conference attended by YAL members Rosado, Paul, Feagley, George Stanton, senior Jamie Hopkins and first-year Kyle Schaeffer was the PA YAL State Convention. Held at Duquesne University in Pittsburgh, Pa. on March 14, the gathering brought together members of YAL from different college campuses across Pennsylvania.
“This conference was more tailored towards students with a number of fantastic speakers and valuable resources to help make YAL better,” Feagley said. “I learned a lot politically and met students from other schools.”
This smaller sized convention gave members more time to interact with each other and meet students from other schools with similar interests.
Going to these events have given YAL more resources and tools to better their events and better inform the student body of important issues.
YAL plans to sponsor numerous events throughout the rest of the spring semester. Some of these events include End the Drug War and Incarceration Nation. The latter event will focus on the broken criminal justice system in America.
“We would like to, in the future, work with several other groups on campus to relate to many students on campus,” Rosado said.
