The liberal agenda is hot and heavy on college campuses nationwide. It's not a new phenomenon but championing diversity of thought seems to be increasingly threatened.
If you're a conservative student on a college campus, don't worry. It is possible to survive the tedious liberal lectures and propaganda thrown in your face.
When I attended Northern Arizona University, I was part of a small minority of conservative college kids (who would have thought in Arizona, right?). We made it our mission to be politically active and conduct events across the campus. We wanted to expose our peers to the conservative principles of limited government, individual freedom and liberty. We faced one scary, but very real, scenario: the university attempting to suppress our First Amendment right to free speech.
On the 10th anniversary of 9/11, two friends and I decided to hand out flags with pins that read, "9/11. Never forget." We were outside in the designated "free speech zone" - which is ludicrous in itself - when it started to rain. We moved inside the student union and were immediately faced with backlash from campus administration. They used every tactic in their book to shut us down. They told us we were a fire hazard, even though we were standing against a wall with flags in hand. They told us we weren't allowed to be there, even though we were tuition-paying students. They even resorted to calling the campus police on us, who said we weren't doing anything wrong. All she did was take down our names and give it to campus officials.
Fast forward 72 hours. The video we recorded of the entire incident went viral. One of the girls went on Glenn Beck's show, back when he was at FOX News, and people suddenly heard of our small mountain town and campus. Every class I had, even non-political science classes, were talking about the scenario. NAU President Haeger was forced to hold a "forum," which basically consisted of my peers bashing us. I stood in a roomful of hundreds of people and was told I was a disgrace and an embarrassment to the university and shouldn't be allowed to be a student any longer.
Eventually, NAU tried pressing misconduct charges against the three of us. We were charged with failing to follow university direction and disrupting university activities. If we were found guilty of the charges, we could - and probably would - be expelled from the university.
Student Life tried contacting me and getting me to sit down with them. Thankfully, I had the advice of the Freedom for Individual Rights in Education (FIRE) and their constitutional lawyers on my side. They had our video, which showed what had taken place, and showed that we were well within our rights.
Even though they tried shutting me down, I stood my ground. And so can you. Here are the vital takeaways I gleaned from my experience:
1. Knowing state laws is beneficial.
Every state has different laws. In general, if you're on a public university or college campus, you're allowed to hold events without the need for administration approval. On my college campus, we frequently had churches and outside groups who would come to our campus to promote events or causes. They were well-within their rights, because the university is funded by the taxpayers.
Private colleges and universities have more stringent policies about what a student can or cannot do. They are allowed to do that, because they're not funded by the state.
2. Deliberately defying university rules is a losing battle.
Even though we fought and argued with NAU over the issues we had, we weren't deliberately defying orders given to us. We started out in our university's free speech zone, even though we disagreed with that designation. We weren't looking to cause a ruckus, so we followed the established rules. Purposely defying every rule and regulation the college has isn't worth the fight. I learned to pick and choose my battles.
3. Recorded conversations can both help and hurt.
During our fiasco with administration, what saved us from expulsion was our video. We were able to prove, without a doubt, what was said and what words were exchanged. There was no doubt in anyone's mind.
The video also went viral, meaning the issue couldn't be swept under the rug. All eyes were on the university's administration. How they handled the situation would set a precedent for generations to come.
However, a video can go both ways. It can bring light to a situation, but it can also bring skepticism. We had to be prepared for the possibility of both outcomes.
4. Social media CAN be an advantage.
Social media helped us spread the word about our campus shutting down our event. We shared our story far and wide. People on both sides shared our videos and story, either because they agreed or disagreed with us. They shared because they wanted others in their network to know how outraged they were, which was good for our message. We got our message out there, even by those who were wanting to work against us.
5. We were prepared to battle it out to the end.
None of us imagined we would be in a national fight with our university. It wasn't something I could have ever imagined, let alone planned. We were compelled enough to fight for what we believed in, so we saw it through to the very end.
6. Utilize available resources made all the difference.
When we took on NAU, we utilized every resource we could think of: the Leadership Institute (LI), FIRE and conservative media outlets. They were our greatest allies, and they did everything they could to fight for us.
At the end of the day, every college and university is different and the response from administration will differ as well. These are a few of the lessons I learned from my individual experience fighting for conservative values on a college campus.
If you're interested in learning about organizations who focus on student activism, here are a few really great resources:
Leadership Institute
Young America's Foundation
Young Americans for Liberty
Turning Point USA
College Republicans
Young Republicans
Students for Liberty
American Majority
Future Female Leaders
Network of Enlightened Women
Other vital resources include: