Celebrate the Constitution

On Constitution Day 2011 and the week following -- September 17 to 24 -- join YAL chapters nationwide to raise awareness about the principles established in our founding document -- the United States Constitution. 

This year, YAL is encouraging chapters to build "Free Speech Walls" to highlight one of our most important liberties secured by the First Amendment.  This activism idea was pioneered by the YAL chapter at the University of Texas-San Antonio, and it's a pretty simple way to make a big splash on campus.  Two other great options -- using a simple quiz to show students just how little they know about the Constitution and creating a giant Constitution which students can sign -- are also detailed below.

Keep reading to learn how to successfully execute this project and earn media attention and cash prizes in the process!

The Details

• When: September 17 to 24, 2011 -- Constitution Day and throughout the following week.
• What: A nationwide YAL activsm project to educate students about the U.S. Constitution, recruit new members and leaders, and increase chapter activity.
• How: Be creative! But, if you follow the instructions on this page, you can build a Free Speech Wall and catch attention on campus!
• Recruit: New members and leaders for your chapter. Download sign-up sheets here.
• Win: Enter YAL's contest (details at the end of this page) to win activism grants and bragging rights for your chapter

Free Resources for Your Chapter

YAL is offering FREE resources to every active YAL chapter to participate in Constitution Week: 

1. Apply for custom-designed YAL pocket Constitutions:  These are the best pocket Constitutions available, and your chapter can get 200 copies for free!  Complete the online application here.  Every copy includes a foreword by Congressman Ron Paul, the Declaration of Independence, and the Articles of Confederation.  NB:  The deadline to apply for this resource is now past.
2. Apply for a $100 Activism Grant:  Need a little extra funding to make it all happen?  If your activism plans are awesome, YAL wants to help!  Complete the online application for a $100 Activism Grant from YAL here.  NB:  The deadline to apply for this resource is now past.
3. Apply for YAL's Fall Activism Kit: If your chapter has not already received one of these boxes of useful materials THIS SEMESTER, complete the online application to have one mailed to your doorstep!  If you have already received an activism kit, please do not reapply.  Each kit includes:
   
   • Professionally-designed YAL palm cards
   • Operation Politically Homeless Kit
   • Clipboards
   • YAL bottle openers and stickers
   • Young American Revolution (YAR)
4. Download and customize YAL's Constitution Quiz:  This is a great tool to make fellow students aware of just how little they know about the law of the land.  You can also use this as a way to collect names and contact info -- have a drawing for a good prize which students can enter only by filling out the quiz and including their name, email, and phone number.  Download a sample quiz here.
   
5. Download your Guide to Build an Effective YAL Chapter: designed to include all the basic activism information a successful chapter needs to know, use this for a more detailed guide through tabling and recruitment during your Constitution Week event (and as a general advisor in all your activism, actually).
6. Sign up for Students for Liberty's Resources: SFL's materials are available to YAL chapters to supplement your activism.  Check out their:
   • Protest grants
   • Free books program
   • For-purchase activism kits
   • Tabling guide
7. YAL's Sign-Up Sheet Template: Click to download this sign-up sheet, and print out copies to recruit new members. TIP: Always fill out the first 2-3 names on your sheet with your and other members info, so your new recruits never feel like they are the first people to join your chapter. People want to join a club where there is already interest, and if you complete all the fields, then it is more likely new recruits will follow your lead and give you all of their info too.
   
   
8. Order a YAL Banner:  A professional YAL banner will add aesthetic value to your table, which new people will use to judge your chapter.  It is the cheapest, most durable way to effectively present your chapter at your school's activities fair or when you table.
   
   To order yours today , make an account at Mondo Print and then go to their banner page.  Click here for more details on the specifications you should make in your order.

Make Your Activism Creative and Exciting

Use one -- or two or all three! -- of these activism ideas to make your Constitution Week event eye-catching and effective.  For other awesome Constitution Week ideas to supplement this project, check out:

• The 2010 Constitution Day report
• The 2009 Constitution Day report

Each of these pages have dozens of good ideas other chapters have used in the past which you can borrow or modify to make your Constitution Week 2011 great!

1. The Constitution Quiz

This is a great tool to make fellow students aware of just how little they know about the law of the land.  You can also use this as a way to collect names and contact info -- have a drawing for a good prize which students can enter only by filling out the quiz and including their name, email, and phone number.  Download a sample quiz here and build on these questions to make a unique tool for your chapter.

2. Make a Giant Constitution

During last year's Constitution activism, YAL at the University of Texas-San Antonio created a 17-ft Constitution and displayed it in a high-traffic area on campus, offering passing students a chance to be signers of the Constitution!  The chapter handed out over 200 Constitutions and recieved 6 feet of signatures on the display, totalling more than 325 signatures.  An additional 80 students signed up to learn more about YAL. 

The attention didn't go unnoticed!  KSAT 12 (check out the article and video section), a San Antonio ABC-affilate, picked up the story and hung around for over an hour at the event.  The event was also covered by a local blog and Students for Liberty.

Check out the pictures below and UTSA's report from last year for more details on how to duplicate this great idea at your campus!

3. Build a Free Speech Wall

If you really want to turn heads, the main event of your Constitution Week activism should be a Free Speech Wall, a large display designed to catch the attention of passing students and give you an easy way to explain the importance of the First Amendment.

This idea was also developed by the YAL chapter at UTSA, where the wall proved to be a great way to engage and educate the student body.  Take a look at the pictures below and read the UTSA chapter's report from last year to learn how to build your own Free Speech Wall.  Here's a step-by-step instructional video put together by YAL's interns:

Click here to download all the material specifications, diagrams, and instructions in the video.

How to Earn Media Attention for your Chapter

Can you earn a front page story in your campus paper? If your campus or local paper prints a story about your YAL chapter's Constitution event, then we will send you a free YAL banner and five t-shirts to help your chapter grow.

Here are ten steps to earn media attention for your chapter.  Follow these steps, be persistent with phone calls, emails, and in-person meetings, and you will definitely earn campus and local media.

1. Earned media—media coverage you don't have to pay for (unlike advertising)—should be a top priority. Spreading your message on campus will only go so far if only passersby hear about it. So how do you reach everybody that didn't walk by your display? You earn media!

   
   Follow the golden earned media rule: If an activism event doesn't make it in the news, did it really happen?

1. Download this PowerPoint to guide you through creating press releases and media advisories.  You can view YAL National's past releases and advisories here if you need examples of how your press materials should be formatted.

   A. You will send out a press release approximately one week before your event.

   B. Your media advisory should arrive in your media contact's inbox and/or desk the day before your event.

   C. And you should prepare a final press release to go out immediately after your event concludes (just in time for reporters to meet their evening deadlines).

   Make sure your press coordinator follows up each one of these releases with a phone call. Thinking long term, this is about building a relationship with the media contacts in your area for this event, as well as future activism projects.

   If done correctly, you could become the media's go-to for all campus-related stories.

1. Send out your press release 3-5 days before your event.  Use a free mass email service like Mailchimp to make sure your email looks professional.  If you cannot use Mailchimp, use the BCC function to make sure your media contacts do not see each other's email addresses.  Do not send the release as an attachment; put it in the body of the email.

   
   Before you send the final draft, send yourself a test email to make sure it is formatted properly.

2. Follow up your press release with phone calls or in-person meetings.This is the most important step! Members of the press literally receive hundreds of emails each day. With so much traffic, how do you expect them to read and report on your story? Call them!

   
   Pick up the phone or walk into their office. Ask them if they received your press release. If they said they didn't see it, send it to them again. If you meet with them in person, bring copies with you. This step is vital.

3. The morning before your event, repeat steps 5 and 6, but this time send out your media advisory. The media advisory is a quick reminder and follow up to your press release. This will hopefully catch any reporter you may have missed previously.

   
   Make sure you follow up with another phone call! A PHONE CALL IS THE MOST IMPORTANT STEP and the difference between your story being reported or not.

If you have any questions about how to earn media, need help with your press release, are uncertain how to use Mailchimp, or need a media distribution list, email YAL Director of Communications Bonnie Kristian at bonnie.kristian@yaliberty.org.

Reach out to the Regional Leadership Team for Support

Use these links to find the State Chair and/or Regional Director for your area.  If either position has not yet been filled, learn more and apply to join the Leadership Team here.

Enter the Constitution Week Activism Contest!

To enter your chapter in the contest, document your recruitment efforts and post pictures, videos, news articles, and descriptions of your activities to the YAL blog.  Here are the three prizes:

• First Prize:  $500
• Second Prize:  $350
• Third Prize: $200
• Additional $100 prizes may be awarded as merited

Here is the contest judging criteria you should consider:

• Most new recruits to join your chapter and the national organization. Download and print the YAL sign-up form to register new activists and encourage them to join at www.yaliberty.org/join. Bring a laptop to your event and have students register on the spot. The size of your student population will be weighed against the number of new recruits, so smaller schools will not be at a disadvantage.
• Most eyecatching display and table. Take pictures and video of your Constitution day activities on campus. Capture the buzz, excitement, and overall interest on campus.
• Most creative and effective ways to get out information. We are looking for clear, and easy-to-understand materials that recruit the largest amount of students to the youth liberty movement. Include your flyers and handouts in your report on the blog (if you're not sure how to do this, email Communications Director Bonnie Kristian at bonnie.kristian@yaliberty.og).
• Most media coverage. Follow the guide above this section on this page to gain local and maybe even national media attention for your Constitution Week events. Chapters that earn media attention reach a much wider audience and greater respect on campus. Include links to your media coverage in your report.
• Best use of social media. How well can you promote your Constitution events and gain new followers on Facebook, Twitter, and other social media sites throughout Constitution Week?
• Best pictures and video.  Aim for quality over quantity -- 5 awesome pictures beat 50 boring, small, or ugly ones any day.  Remember to keep videos short (3 minutes is about the longest you'd want them to be), upbeat, and set to music.  Post them to YouTube and include them in your blog post report.

Note: Not every item on this list is required to win the contest.  YAL chapters will be judged on their overall performance.

Your entry must be posted on the YAL blog by Monday, October 3 to be eligible. (See the 2010 winners here; for blog access email YAL Director of Communications Bonnie Kristian at bonnie.kristian@yaliberty.org.)

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