A campus group that has quickly gained a reputation for their interactive public programming is Young Americans For Liberty (YAL).
Despite being under a year old, YAL has already managed to sponsor, or co-sponsor, several events on campus. Its most recent event held this past Tuesday was termed the “Civil Liberties Graveyard,” which intended to highlight a few of the rights that had been “buried” by government legislation.
“I think the average American is unaware of how this is affecting them, and if they could see what is happening they would want to get involved. That is what I did when I became aware. This will be affecting us for the rest of our lives,” said Dakota Parrish, sophomore.
Back in the fall of 2014 only the College Republicans had any organized presence at the university, but since that time, many other political interest groups have been established including the College Democrats, Socialist Student Union, and YAL.
“We have a lot of different things to show how people’s rights are being infringed on, not just by the federal government, but even something as close as the campus smoking ban that is potentially going to pass,” said Jason Fugate, sophomore.
YAL maintains a nonpartisan political stance, and its events have primarily focused on raising awareness on campus about various national economic and social issues, including the debt and freedom of speech violations.
“I think a lot of these issues don’t get airtime. A big thing that gets overlook in mainstream outlets are affronts to civil liberties. We don’t hear a lot about the National Defense Authorization Act and how the federal government can imprison you indefinitely without trial … We are just trying to raise awareness and get these issues out to people. These things are happening and people need to be aware of them” said Garrett Kehr, sophomore, and President of YAL.
Many students who passed by the graveyard display expressed positive thoughts, and others were not quite sure how to interpret the information.
“I think it is important for everybody, especially young people, to be active in government and to know their rights and liberties. I think (education) is important because people need to know when their civil liberties are being infringed on and how to respond” said Ethan Wittkorn sophomore, and Vice President of YAL.
Other upcoming events for YAL include a speaking event on Nov 16 featuring Larry Schweikart from the University of Dayton, who will discuss the federal government’s role in production. YAL will also host a book giveaway before exams in December.
“It is nice to have a more nonpartisan group on campus that promotes a lot of education … I think they do great work and have the best events on campus out of any political organization,” said Aaron Kraft, junior.
Despite the newness of the organization, it was reported that YAL has experienced significant growth since August, and its members encompass a wide range of views.
“We are a diverse group of students who are nonpartisan and who like to discuss issues and raise awareness,” said Bryce Hill, sophomore
Those who wish to connect with YAL are can attend the weekly meetings at 9 p.m. on Wednesdays in Blackmore Library room 119.
