Michelle Wilde

Why YAL (Almost) Lost Me

Oct 24, 2011 at 2:37 PM

By Michelle Wilde

Now that the year is in full swing, I thought it might be a good time to reflect on how I ended up in the clubs that I did after starting at a new college this fall.

Surprisingly, the YAL chapter on my campus has failed to convince me to participate, despite my desire to do so. Actually, if they can’t convince me, a dues-paying, YAL-blogging member to join the chapter, who can they convince? Probably not very many people.

But here are a few easy fixes they could make that I believe would greatly increase their membership in a short amount of time. If any of these apply to your chapter, you might consider changing them as well.

1. Meet in a meeting room or classroom on campus

The chapter at my college insists on meeting in bars and restaurants in the area, rather than on campus. I object to this strategy for several reasons.

First, you are simply not going to convince an innocent freshman girl to walk into a strange bar and yell, “Hey! Which five of you are the YAL chapter?” Especially when your entire chapter is senior guys she’s never met before.

Second, it makes your club look less legitimate. There are hundreds of rooms on campus to use and look professional. If you don’t take your club seriously, nobody else will either, so please, meet in a classroom.

A Slippery Slope of Education Regulation

Aug 25, 2011 at 12:45 PM

By Michelle Wilde

Much has been said about the United States’ poor education system in international rankings and the ridiculous cost of college tuition. Now, the Department of Education is at it again, this time unveiling new guidelines for states to receive a total of $500 million to reform preschools.

Although Secretary of Education Arne Duncan swears we will not see 3-year olds filling in bubbles for standardized tests, there will be, “more observations necessary to evaluate programs and students and to improve instruction.” In other words, one way or another, the federal government will soon be playing a larger role in a preschool near you.

What concerns me most about this new initiative is that it will open the door to a slippery slope in which the government begins to raise a child more than the parents do. The White House website has already cited a statistic saying only 40% of 4-year olds are enrolled in preschool. If they are drawing attention to this now, it may only be a matter of years until preschool, or even earlier childhood education, is mandatory.

Ayn Rand Makes Front Page News

Jul 25, 2011 at 11:23 AM

By Michelle Wilde

The front page of the leading newspaper in Ecuador was nearly blank today. That is, except for this quote:

When you see that trading is done, not by consent, but by compulsion–when you see that in order to produce, you need to obtain permission from men who produce nothing–when you see that money is flowing to those who deal, not in goods, but in favors–when you see that men get richer by graft and by pull than by work, and your laws don’t protect you against them, but protect them against you–when you see corruption being rewarded and honesty becoming a self-sacrifice–you may know that your society is doomed.

The quote is from Atlas Shrugged, which if you haven’t read yet, you should buy today. The paper apparently decided to print it after its directors and an op-ed writer, Emilio Palacio, were sentenced to three years in prison and fined $30 million for writing and printing a piece judged to be libel against the president. The ruling has been criticized by human rights advocates for intimidating citizens and media who might dare to question the government. The decision also seems suspicious because a flurry of judges oversaw the case throughout the process (which began in February), and the last judge was in charge for less than a week. The judge who issued the ruling also did so just minutes before his authority expired.

While this is certainly an awful milestone for the freedom of the press, it is encouraging to see Rand’s message, and that of liberty and freedom in general, still find a way to be heard, standing as a glimmer of hope when oppression seems to be winning the most.