This past week-end was a big one for YAL.  In addition to our ongoing April National Activism project, April All-Out Activism, there were two state conventions and a very successful YAL-sponsored speaking event.  In true YAL fashion, student leaders in Indiana, Ohio, and Tennessee closed out the semester with a bang!

Indiana YAL Event:

The Purdue University YAL Chapter had a very exciting week-end.  Teaming up with the Intercollegiate Studies Institute they brought Dr. Tom Woods to speak at their campus on the topics of fiat currency and the federal reserve.  Dr. Woods drew a crowd of over 200 students and representatives from several IN YAL chapters attended the event.

Stay tuned for a full report from the Purdue University YAL Chapter!

The newly formed YAL chapter at the University of Denver is taking their campus by storm, and the local media is noticing. Denver Westword recently wrote up a post about the group's "Occupy the Honor Roll" event for April All-Out Activism:

"We're not in support of the Occupy movement, and we're kind of doing a play on it," [Sydney] Kirchner said in advance of the event. "If someone comes up to the table and says they have a 3.5, we'll say, 'We have some failing students, would you like to share your GPA with them?' Then we'll start talking to them about their political beliefs and how they feel about the Occupy movement."

At that point, the Young Americans explained their own stance on the wealth divide -- namely, the opposite of Occupy Wall Street's. "I don't think they have solid enough goals, and they don't have premises on which to make any change," Kirchner says of the organization. She does, however, have friends who occupy, and she think it's fun. "That's why I'm a part of YAL -- because I actually want to see youth making change."

To read the full article on the group, as well as see pictures of their recent activism, click here.

Want to get media attention for your group activities? Check out the YAL Activism Guide for tips on Media and Public Relations. 

This past Friday, the University of Alabama Young Americans for Liberty celebrated 4/20, holding a cigarette rolling contest and bake sale in the Ferguson Center, our most active student building.  Baked goods were free provided students took part in our cigarette rolling contest.  Though 4/20 is typically known as a counterculture holiday centered around marijuana, we wanted to address more than simply marijuana decriminalization.  We were able to engage many students in discussion over not only marijuana legalization, but drug use and the overall War on Drugs. 

The general response from the student body was great! Around 20 people signed up for our email list and over 50 people participated in our rolling contest.  We were also able to pass out pocket Constitutions and YAL pamphlets to inform students of our overall role in the Liberty Movement.  Other than a few funny looks, the event went smoothly and we had no trouble from the university administration officials. 

This event occured just a few days after we hosted the Alabama Medicial Marijuana Coalition (AMMJC), a local medical marijuana advocacy group.  The solid turnout for that event was able to give us momentum going into 4/20, so it can be said that liberty truly "rolled" at the University of Alabama.

Ethan Frazier
President
University of Alabama YAL

Bowling Green State University's YAL chapter has been causing waves around the university and local community. This time, we're advocating our freedom of expression and the results were much greater than we anticipated. 

A week before our planned event, our chapter went shopping at local hardware and craft stores. We had previously drafted a rough budget and list of needed materials, which made shopping fairly smooth. All of the supplies were generously paid for by a Students for Liberty grant. For more information on that, click here.