Kenny Tan

YAL@VU: 4/20 Bake Sale & Radley Balko on the War on Drugs

May 9, 2012 at 3:02 PM

By Kenny Tan

In a free society, individuals should be able to make their own choices about their own bodies. We believe that individuals have the right to consume, smoke or drink any substance as long as their resulting actions do not harm another individual who does not wish to be harmed. But regardless of their initial intentions or motives, those individuals who choose to exercise this right must also take full responsibility for the choices that they make while under the influence of any substances, including any actions that cause injury or death to another individual.

In direct contradiction to libertarian principles is the war on drugs that has been ongoing in America since alcohol prohibition, from 1920 to 1933. Since 1971, the war has been focused on the prohibition of a wide range of illegal substances including marijuana.

During these periods of prohibition, the statistics gathered clearly indicate that homicide rates and police enforcement costs have increased as a result of the drug war. A simple economic analysis shows that whenever a consumer good is prohibited, a black market will result in order to meet supply with demand. However, a black market lacks both a legal system and assurances of product quality, often becoming a dangerous trade.

YAL@VU Spring 2012 Recruitment Report

Feb 15, 2012 at 6:27 PM

By Kenny Tan

YAL@VU had an extensive spring recruitment drive this year, hosting four events to garner interest in the organization, and signing up over fifty new members.

In January, we held a Teach-In on the National Defense Authorization Act, along with a Presidential Debate Watching Party. We also hosted a dinner discussion with Libertarian Vanderbilt Sociology Professor Richard Pitt. In February, we hosted a lecture by libertarian Radley Balko on The Militarization of Main Street. We also participated in the national activism event, Crony Capitalism = Phony Capitalism.

Here are some pictures of our events along with mentions in the press.

YAL@VU: Spring Kick-off Events

Jan 31, 2012 at 6:38 PM

By Kenny Tan

On January 16th, YAL@VU held its first event of the semester, a teach-in focusing on the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) and its provisions for indefinite military detention of terrorist suspects, combined with a presidential debate watching party. We had one of our largest ever turn-outs, with close to 50 people in attendance during the 3 hours. As part of our spring recruitment drive, we also added 16 new emails to our mailing list. Two local TV stations, WSMV and WKRN, came to report on the event. Our teach-in was led by John M. Drake:

John Drake was born in Birmingham, Alabama, in 1968. He earned his baccalaureate degree in computer science from UAB in 1991. He then completed a Masters in computer science. In 1998, Drake relocated with his wife to Nashville so that she could pursue research at Vanderbilt. A friend whom he was helping prepare for the LSAT suggested that he sit for the exam as well. He attended Vanderbilt University Law School and graduated in 2011. He currently works in the Nashville area, where he lives with his wife, Dr. Wonder Drake, and their twin sons, Cameron and Miles.

Music Video: Roll With the Flow

Oct 17, 2011 at 4:46 PM

By Kenny Tan

Released last week, this new music video by Dorian Electra is going viral in the liberty sphere. It's the sequel to "I'm in Love with Friedrich Hayek!"

YAL@VU: Occupy Nashville Rally

Oct 11, 2011 at 6:52 PM

By Kenny Tan

At noon on Oct. 6th, in Nashville, TN, over 200 protestors gathered at Legislative Plaza to hold the first rally of the Occupy Nashville movement, a branch of the Occupy Wall Street movement that has been making headlines in recent weeks. At the rally there was a very diverse crowd of people ranging from libertarians to socialists to anarchists holding signs with phrases including “End the Fed,” “Tax the rich,” and “End corporate welfare,” while chanting slogans such as “We are the 99%” and “The people united will never be defeated.”

At the rally, YAL@VU volunteers distributed copies of The Morality of Capitalism while one member held up this sign about Steve Jobs.

Around 2 PM, the protestors moved to the front steps of the Nashville branch of the Federal Reserve where several members of the crowd began speeches on inflationary tactics used by the Fed to prop up the economy.

Around 4 PM, protestors headed to Centennial Park , where we interviewed some of them:

YAL@VU: Sweatshop Economics Close Recruitment Month

Oct 3, 2011 at 10:40 AM

By Kenny Tan

YAL@VU hosted a webinar watching party on Sept. 27th, streaming a presentation by Prof. Ben Powell on “No Sweat: How Sweatshops Improve Lives and Economic Growth.”

The presentation explained how sweatshops provide a superior opportunity for the workers who work in them compared to other alternatives available to those workers and the role sweatshops play in the process of economic development that ultimately leads to the disappearance of sweatshops.

The webinar was part of the SFL Webinar Series.

A short version of the lecture can be watched below:

We also recieved two more mentions on local television this week related to the recent controversy over the implementation of a non-discrimination policy threatening the freedom of association rights of student groups.

YAL@VU: Dr. John R. Lott Jr. on Concealed Carry on Campus

Sep 26, 2011 at 8:24 AM

By Kenny Tan

YAL@VU got the following front page feature in The Vanderbilt Hustler on Thursday, Sept. 22nd (click on the image for a larger version):

Additional media coverage is here, and you can view a video of the entire event here.

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YAL@VU: Celebrating Constitution Day 2011

Sep 23, 2011 at 9:42 AM

By Kenny Tan

Sept. 17th, 2011, marked the 224th anniversary of the signing of the U.S. Constitution. To commemorate the signing, we held our 2nd Annual Constitution Day Celebration at Vanderbilt.

Distributing 1,200 pocket Constitutions over three days, Friday Sept. 16th through Sunday Sept. 18th, YAL members educated students on the Constitution while providing insight on the need for limitations on power and responsible use of power in order to achieve good governance in both public and private matters.

Vanderbilt YAL Interest Meeting HUGE Success

Sep 8, 2011 at 2:02 PM

By Kenny Tan

Vanderbilt YAL's first official meeting this semester was a HUGE success as we hosted our faculty advisor, Dr. John Lachs, Centennial Professor of Philosophy, who spoke on the "The Significance of Individuals." Prof. Lachs delivered a wonderful speech interlaced with humor and optimism.

We had a great turnout at the event and many freshmen in attendence. Best of all, we had 3 TV news stations covering our meeting: WSMV-TV Channel 4, Nashville, NewsChannel5.com, and WKRN-TV Nashville.

Our meeting concluded with a Presidential Debate Watching Party and several students were interviewed by the media during the breaks.

(We even heard that Rand Paul's bodyguard in Bowling Green, KY saw the footage of our meeting on Channel 5.)

So, how did we get so much media attention? The answers lies in the power of press releases.

Vanderbilt YAL: Fantastic Recruitment Week

Sep 2, 2011 at 10:46 AM

By Kenny Tan

Our recruitment week at Vanderbilt was a great success as we distributed 300 copies of The Morality of Capitalism to students in five days of tabling. We added close to 150 new students to our lists while educating new students about our organization's mission.

We'll be having our first official meeting next Wednesday (9/7) in Commons Center Room 237 at 6PM. Our guest speaker is our faculty advisor, Prof. John Lachs, Centennial Professor of Philosophy. Prof. Lachs will be speaking on the "The Significance of Individuals."

Please come join us as we introduce the philosophy of liberty to first year students! There will be FREE catered dinner and drinks! RSVP here.