Will Stewart-Starks

Zombie Founding Fathers Warn of Dollar Crash

Nov 7, 2011 at 11:06 AM

By Will Stewart-Starks

This Halloween, University of Kansas Young Americans for Liberty invaded campus as rotting corpses and creepy ghouls to illustrate a similarly ailing dollar. They were assisted by a zombie horde of founding fathers and Death himself who stalked the Graveyard of Fiat Currencies. The Zimbabwe dollar, Yugoslav Dinar, and the German Mark were represented on tombstones which illustrated the frailty of any nations currency as students passed out information on how an essential role of government should be to ensure sound currency.

Passersbys were given "zombie money" that featured images of Ben Bernanke and the 100-year chart of the declining dollar. Students were then encouraged to spend their "money" on campus to buy lunch or other goods. Some perplexed students challenged the value of the ghoulish dollar as "not being real money because it was just paper."

YAL members were able to relate the decline in the value of the dollar over time by showing the inflation of products from 1913 (after the creation of the Federal Reserve and their mandate to secure the dollar) to today.

Some students were shocked to hear how the price of a loaf of bread had risen from 10 cents to $2.50 or a gallon of gas from 3 cents to over $3.

Free Speech Activism Continues to Resinate at KU

Oct 20, 2011 at 7:00 PM

By Will Stewart-Starks

The University Daily Kansan today has a cover page article on FIRE after recent YAL activism brought free speech issues to the attention of students:

The University received the lowest possible ranking for a U.S. academic institution for expressive rights on campus, according to the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education, also known as “FIRE.”
FIRE issued the University a “red-light” rating in 2011 for two policies in its “Housing Handbook” that the group considers to restrict freedom of speech.
“Without free speech and the full exchange of ideas on a college campus, students are only going to get part of the picture,” said Azhar Majeed, FIRE’s associate director of legal and public advocacy. “One’s education at the college level consists of more than just classes and exams. It includes the conversations that you have with your fellow students, with your professors and other people in the college community.”

Read the entire piece at the UDK online and leave a comment for Bobby Burch for keeping this in the news cycle at KU.

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VIDEO: Northern Arizona University Administration Shuts Down Student Event

Sep 16, 2011 at 1:15 PM

By Will Stewart-Starks

This is what happens when college bureaucrats attack. I hope this video is an inspiration to all Young Americans for Liberty as we celebrate Constitution Week and the incredible role the youth activist plays in promoting the message of freedom. Free speech is essential to a free society and a freer campus.

Read what happened here and see the follow-up story here.

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Visualize the Debt at the University of Kansas

Apr 5, 2011 at 12:55 PM

By Will Stewart-Starks

KU VTD

Rain or shine, our Visualize the Debt display went up in the heart of the campus on the Watson Library lawn. Thousands of students passed in the cold weather and rain; some took the time to figure out what this big number was all about and how it related to their future.

YAL at KU was excited to speak with local media that also came out in the appropriately dreary weather to talk about our nations growing debt crisis. In addition to wanting to do this again on a nicer day, we have been solicited to feature our display at the upcoming tax day Tea Party for Kansas State! Coverage from the day included:

Blog from the Lawrence Journal World
Video from SilverSaver.com
Local Channel 6 coverage of the event (will post a video if possible)

RT: Ron Paul's New Haters

Feb 20, 2011 at 6:49 PM

By Will Stewart-Starks

Adam Wood discusses why he made the decision to resign from his position at YAF and why a libertarian and conservative youth movement is key to victory in 2012.

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Adam Wood Plans Resignation from YAF over Ron Paul Purge

Feb 14, 2011 at 12:07 PM

By Will Stewart-Starks

"‎Young Americans for Freedom (YAF) has just committed suicide and lost at least one Intern by attacking Ron Paul. I will be handing in my letter of resignation on Monday."

Adam Wood, former President of Students For Ron Paul at the University of Kansas reacts to his organizations actions after a second Paul victory at CPAC. What we need now are principled leaders like Adam who will make significant sacrifices for the cause of liberty. Needless to say he will be looking for "another job with an organization with integrity."

Give him your support and friend him if you have not already.

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10 Days Till Tom Woods Shakes Up Kansas, KSU

Feb 7, 2011 at 12:40 PM

By Will Stewart-Starks

Tom Woods KSU 2011

I am proud to announce a very special event that is being put together by an awesome group of young Kansas liberty loving activists next week. The Kansas State chapter of Young Americans for Liberty is bringing New York Times Best Selling author Tom Woods to Kansas. This is going to be a real treat and MUST attend event of 2011. I hope you will all do what you can to support and get yourselves out to see one of the few economists who got it right and has a vision to right the economic ship of state.

Tom will be giving an exclusive lecture based on his soon to be best selling book Rollback: Repealing Big Government Before the Coming Fiscal Collapse. So spread the word and you can support the tireless effort by donating to make this event a success in our final 10 days of promotion.

Lets get ready to Rollback!

Young Americans for Liberty, KSU Presents Dr. Tom Woods

Feb 16th, 2011

Forum Hall, Student Union 7PM

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Protest at Ft. Campbell, KY over Deployment of Wounded Soldier

Jan 11, 2011 at 6:26 PM

By Will Stewart-Starks

A soldier at Fort Campbell, Kentucky is being forced to return to Afghanistan as early as tonight, amidst claims he is not fit to deploy because he has not received treatment promised by the Army for severe Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder sustained during his deployments to Iraq and Afghanistan. Here's a video of notice being served to his chain of command.

Jeff Hanks deployed to Afghanistan early last year with the 101^st Airborne Division out of Fort Campbell, Kentucky. He returned to the base on leave from Afghanistan this past September, where he sought and was denied treatment on two separate military bases for traumatic injuries sustained in combat.

Veterans Rally for the "Right to Heal"

Oct 12, 2010 at 8:45 PM

By Will Stewart-Starks

Check out this video of an interview with an antiwar activist from Iraq Veterans Against the War (IVAW), which includes in its mission support for "Full benefits, adequate healthcare (including mental health), and other supports for returning servicemen and women."

In fact, IVAW has just launched Operation Recovery:

Thousands of troops are being sent to war despite suffering from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI), and Military Sexual Trauma (MST). Many of us within IVAW have faced or are currently facing deployment as we try to recover from the severe trauma we have already experienced.
While we recognize that we must stop the deployment of all soldiers in order to end the occupations in Iraq and Afghanistan, we see the deployment of soldiers with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, Traumatic Brain Injuries, and Military Sexual Trauma as particularly cruel, inhumane, and dangerous. Military commanders across all branches are pushing service members far past human limits for the sake of 'combat readiness.' We cannot allow those commanders to continue to ignore the welfare of their troops who are, after all, human beings.

There is a problem, a basic right is being denied, and we will organize to get it back.

This issue affects all of us. Everyone needs to recognize that the improper standards of care in the military and VA are harming our brothers and sisters, our nation, and only furthers the cycle of dehumanization and destruction of these wars.

This campaign will focus on ending the deployment of one traumatized service member for every five deployed total. This change would also reduce the ability of our government to engage in endless war that perpetuates the unhealthy state of our troops.

Learn more here.

YAL at the University Of Kansas Takes Flight

Aug 20, 2010 at 8:59 AM

By Will Stewart-Starks

This week for many a Jayhawk is freshmen orientation, which means big events, games, and prizes more commonly known as Hawk Week. Young Americans for Liberty is there participating in all the festivities, including the KU Unionfest and the Beach n' Blvd.

YAL's table drew in many as we gave away copies of Bastiat's The Law and Ron Paul's Revolution along with educational information about our chapter. Students were interested by the World's Smallest Political Quiz and choosing the right rubber duck in our USS Jayhawk to win a prize. Especially exciting was our Treasurer, who dressed in colonial garb and carried the Gadsden Flag. We were successful in taking down names of over 40 incoming students and informing them of our welcome meeting on August 24th.

Treasurer in Colonial Attire