"In this time of moral and political crises, it is the responsibility of the youth of America to affirm certain eternal truths."
Those are the opening lines of the Sharon Statement, adopted at William F. Buckley's Connecticut estate on September 11, 1960, a document that gave birth to the modern conservative movement under the banner of Young Americans for Freedom.
Looking around more than half a century later, it's hard to imagine that Buckley and the young conservatives who adopted the Sharon Statement could have known just how bad those crises would get — or how important it would be for young Americans to stand up and affirm the same eternal truths.
Calls for the elimination of Israel and the genocide of Jewish people erupt uncriticized — and even encouraged by school administrators in some cases — on college campuses. Women's athletics programs have been reduced to a mockery by biological men who couldn't cut it competing against their own sex. The idea of free speech is still exceedingly considered the domain only of the "marginalized" and woke. Supposedly elite institutions of higher learning are embroiled in embarrassing controversies created by their presidents.
No, we're not in the 1960s anymore. But campuses are entering a new era of chaos as Young Americans for Freedom continues to carry the torch for freedom amid the moral and political crises of 2024 — and they've just picked a new leader to serve as national chairman of the organization heading into what is expected to be a truly insane year.
Now under the umbrella of Young America's Foundation (this writer's former employer), Young Americans for Freedom has found in its newly named National Chairman Jasmyn Jordan — a 20-year-old student at the University of Iowa — a bold and fearless leader who typifies what it means to be a happy conservative warrior.
At a time when some on the right insist it's better to steer clear of the culture wars, YAF has refused to shy away. Nor has Chairman Jordan. After joining her campus YAF chapter as a freshman, she took on and advanced through leadership roles to become chairman of her chapter within a year, all while shining a spotlight on the cultural issues driving much of today's campus chaos.
While other students at the University of Iowa prepared for "Trans Visibility Day," Jordan set up a "detransition table" to promote the upcoming event her YAF chapter was hosting with Matt Walsh through the Foundation's largest-in-America campus lecture program. Her bold activism, while it sent campus liberals shrieking at the sky, drew some 800 attendees according to YAF.
As those on the other side of the ideological spectrum are wont to do, her work to bring intellectual diversity to her peers at the University of Iowa drew death threats, doxing attempts, stalking, and general harassment from the "tolerant" left. According to YAF, leftists went so far as to spit on those seeking to attend Jordan's lecture with Walsh.
Despite such harassment, Jordan then proceeded to host detransitioner Chloe Cole for a lecture on campus — an event that saw leftists end up getting charged for their attempts to block roads to the venue — along with successful events featuring Kellyanne Conway, Lt. Col. Allen West, Yeonmi Park, and others. Her fearless and successful activism despite the left's harassment even earned her an invitation to testify about life as a conservative on campus in front of the House Judiciary Committee.
Now, Jordan faces the task of leading Young Americans for Freedom and its network of activists across the country as she did the University of Iowa chapter in championing conservative ideas, boldly standing up to unhinged leftists, and refusing to bow to what mainstream culture demands.
Jordan thanked the Foundation for "all the opportunities and growth YAF has provided" in a statement shared with Townhall. “Being a part of the organization was the first time I felt I could truly express what I believe," she explained. "I’m looking forward to helping other young people learn about the principles that have made our country the leader of the free world.”
Young America's Foundation President and 45th Governor of Wisconsin Scott Walker praised Jordan's activism and said the new national chairman "continues to exemplify courage and poise in the face of overwhelming hate from those who despite the very values upon which our nation was founded." Adding he's confident that "Jasmyn's voice and leadership will continue to have a substantial impact on her peers," Walker welcomed her to her new role in "YAF's fight for freedom nationwide."
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