YAL@VU: Spring Kick-off Events

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.

YAL at IUPUI to host Civil Liberties College Tour Stop

Young Americans for Liberty at IUPUI will be hosting one of the stops on the YAL Civil Liberties College Tour on Tuesday February 7th!

At the current moment, an event of this nature is certainly necessary, as every day, we are seeing our rights whittled away by a government that has stepped far outside of its constitutional and legal constraints. Legislation such as the PATRIOT Act and the NDAA have roused people awake to the threats we face and even have become seminal issues for Republican presidential candidates.

All of these developments have come about as a result of wars, and as Randolph Bourne's thesis suggests, war is the health of the state. Wars, like the ones the US government is conducting in Iraq, Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Somalia are the health of the state because many accept the certain steps taken in effort to make us "safer," when in reality, our rights and privacy are violated.

Many do not know this, but as a result of NDAA, anyone of us can be indefinitely detained with no charge. Yet, many accept this. Those who warn of it are painted as traitors and terrorist sympathizers, by those who do not understand the laws of this country and their natural rights.

Need Funding for CPAC? Get Help From Your SGA!

With CPAC approaching there is always the concern of how to pay for the trip. Like every college student, I am on a budget and the cost of going to Washington D.C. is quite expensive. Recently on December 1st, YAL at the University of Central Florida was able to receive funding from the Conference, Registration, and Travel Committee (CRT) in the UCF Student Government Association. YAL recieved $825 for 5 people for airfare. This was sufficient funding to pay for our plane tickets and subsidize the cost of the trip. UCF YAL did it in 3 easy steps:

1. YAL filled out the form to request funding.

2.YAL had an officer go in front of the committee and explain why YAL needed funding to go to CPAC.

3.Then I explained how CPAC was a non-partisan conference open to all conservative students regardless of their political party affiliation. Finally, I explained how CPAC will benefit UCF and YAL. After that the funding was unanimously approved by the committee by a vote count of 8-0. 

YAL Members Speak out against False UW "Diversity" Requirement

Last week, the Associated Students of the University of Washington (ASUW) Student Senate passed a resolution supporting a graduation requirement known as the "diversity requirement."

Similar to other credit requirements, such as Natural World (math and science) and Visual, Language and Performing Arts (art, music and foreign languages), the diversity requirement, according to a November 29 article in The Daily, would mandate students take two courses of two to five credits that focus on resolution goals:

The goals include analyzing at least one socially constructed identity, teaching how these identities intersect with life, and teaching students to think about inequality and activism. Also...exploring customs and traditions as they relate to power and oppression, exploring the historical precursors of power relations and investigating how contemporary society contributes to inequality.

Members of the local chapter of Young Americans for Liberty have been some of the most vocal critics of this requirement.

The Daily article quotes YAL member and ASUW senator James Hubert in saying the University of Washington should encourage diversity awareness, but "...the really valuable education about diversity [comes] not from classes but from the interaction with students from other races and other lifestyles...We should be encouraging people to go out and interact with others who are diverse rather than having them taught by a professor..."