Save The Date

When: Friday, February 18 – Sunday, February 20

Where: George Washington University, Washington, DC

Host: GW Liberty Society

Who: The largest group of pro-liberty students from around the world

We are pleased to invite all students and non-students interested in liberty to attend the 2011 International Students For Liberty Conference!  The International SFL Conference is the premiere event of the year for students dedicated to liberty and advancing freedom on campus.   The world’s largest crowd of pro-liberty students will gather for a weekend of learning about liberty from contemporary leaders in liberty, discussing best practices for promoting liberty on campus, and getting more involved in the larger movement for liberty.

The inaugural Students For Liberty Conference in 2008 drew 100 students from 42 schools in 3 countries.  The 2009 International SFL Conference brought 153 students from 86 schools in 13 countries together.  The 2010 ISFLC drew 304 young liberty advocates through “Snowpocalypse”  to Washington DC.   Check out the webpages of the 2008, 2009, and 2010 International Conferences to see past speakers, workshops, and events.

At the 2011 International Students For Liberty Conference, you will experience:

• Activism training featuring workshops taught by fellow student leaders of liberty.
• Networking with the leaders of the liberty movement and your fellow pro-liberty students from around the world.
• Social Events featuring free drinks (both hard & soft).
• Meals while at the conference: dinner Friday / breakfast, lunch, & dinner Saturday / breakfast & lunch Sunday, plus coffee available throughout the conference.
• Great Speakers, such as George Mason University’s Tyler Cowen!
• Celebrate Liberty with the largest gathering of pro-liberty students in the world!

K E Y N O T E    S P E A K E R

Tyler Cowen – Professor of Economics at George Mason University & General Director of the Mercatus Center

Tyler Cowen is the general director of the Mercatus Center at George Mason University and the Holbert C. Harris Chair of Economics at George Mason University. He also serves on the Mercatus Center’s board of directors.

A dedicated writer and translator of economic ideas who often delves into the economics of culture, Dr. Cowen has published dozens of books, reviews, and articles. His recent books include: Create Your Own Economy and Discover Your Inner Economist, as well as a co-authored textbook series from Worth Publishers including Modern Principles of Economics, Modern Principles of Economics: Macroeconomics, and Modern Principles of Economics, Microeconomics. He contributes frequently to The New York Times and Money and serves on the on the advisory boards of both Wilson Quarterly and American Interest.

Tyler’s previous books include: Good & Plenty: The Creative Successes of American Arts Funding (2006); Markets and Culture Voices: Liberty vs. Power in the Lives of the Mexican Amate Painters (2005); Creative Destruction: How Globalization is Changing the World’s Cultures (2002); What Price Fame? (2000);  and In Praise of Commercial Culture (1998).

He is also an author for the internet’s most popular economics blog Marginal Revolution along with his personal ethnic food website Tyler Cowen’s Ethnic Dinning Guide. Dr. Cowen studied economics at George Mason University and earned his PhD from Harvard University in 1987.

Registration

Registration for the International SFL Conference will be available in the fall.  For now save the date and prepare for another wonderful conference!

Students For Liberty is a network of pro-liberty students from all over the world.  We work together to spread the ideas of liberty on campus and beyond.  One of our main activities is organizing conference so students can come together to meet each other and the leaders of the liberty movement.

Each conference is open to both students and non-students and features 3 meals, great speakers, advanced training, and an evening social event.  Registration is free and easy, so check the links below to learn more about each conference and register today.

October 9 – Philadelphia, PA – Drexel University

October 16 – Chicago, IL – University of Chicago

October 16 – Phoenix, AZ – Arizona State University

October 23 – New York, NY – Columbia Univesity

October 23 – Malibu, CA – Pepperdine University

October 23 – Atlanta, GA – Kennesaw State University

November 6 – Berkeley, CA – University of California, Berkeley

November 6 – Austin, TX – University of Texas, Austin

November 6 – Boston, MA – Harvard University

Parking - Information on parking at American University can be found here: http://www.american.edu/finance/transportation/lotinfo.cfm.

Attendance - An incredible amount of work has gone in to preparing this conference.  No student is paying the full cost of their attendance at the conference as all registrations have been significantly subsidized by the generosity of SFL’s donors and supporters.  Speakers are taking the time and energy to travel to this conference and speak to you.  So, out of respect to the many people who have gone to great lengths to put this conference on and to help SFL continue to justify holding this event to our many supporters, attendance at all portions of the conference is mandatory.  Every session of the conference will be incredibly rewarding, and we don’t expect this to be an issue for anyone, but we wanted to make the attendance policy clear.  Accordingly promptness is also appreciated so that me might start each session on time and maximize your conference experience.

Dress - The dress code for the conference is business casual.  Out of respect to the speakers and in the interest of professionalism, please follow this guideline for all conference activities.

Housing - If you are signed up for dorm housing you will receive your room assignment and specific instructions later this week.

Departure - The conference concludes at 2:00pm EST on Sunday, February 14th.  Out of respect to our closing speakers and the student volunteers hosting the conference, do not plan to depart until after the conference is concluded.  Our closing keynote Russ Roberts is a fantastic speaker that you will not want to miss.

Cancellations - If you need to cancel your registration for any reason, please email Clark Ruper at cruper@studentsforliberty.org.  We are at capacity (actually, we are stretching capacity to accommodate as many as possible) and absolutely cannot accept any more registrations.  If you are not attending, please let us know so that we can open your seat up for another student.

If you have questions concerning any of these details or the conference in general, please email Clark Ruper at cruper@studentsforliberty.org.

John David Fernandez, a student at Columbia University, was an intellectually curious and principled advocate of liberty who passed away in January of 2010 due to complications from pneumonia. Published in the Columbia Spectator and Mises.org, he was known as an ardent defender of private property rights who never hesitated to challenge the assumptions of his peers. David was a long-time student of the Austrian School of Economics and Mises University, where he forged friendships with important figures in the liberty movement. In 2009, he was elected the Vice President of the Columbia University Libertarians and quickly helped them become one of the top libertarian campus groups. In this capacity, he helped put together the inaugural Ivy League Alliance For Liberty Conference and was also essential in organizing the 2009 New York Students For Liberty Conference, which brought over 100 students together to explore topics in liberty.

The John David Fernandez Annual Scholarship is Students For Liberty’s memorial to David’s passion for liberty. This yearly scholarship is awarded to the student who has best demonstrated a deep engagement with ideas in liberty and actively sought to advance liberty amongst his peers.

The scholarship provides a $100 travel stipend to Students For Liberty’s annual International Conference in February and waives the registration fee to this conference. The stipend will be provided via a reimbursement for travel expenses. The deadline to apply is January 31st, and any enrolled student is eligible.

The John David Fernandez Scholarship Application Form

If you would like to support the John David Fernandez Annual Scholarship, please consider making a donation to the scholarship by donating here.  Here are some testimonials of those who have already contributed to the scholarship:

Dr. Tom Palmer, member of Students For Liberty’s Board of Advisors: “This young man can never be replaced, but his passion for liberty can live on, transmitted to other young people. I’m pleased to sponsor a scholarship in his name.”

Alexander McCobin, President of Students For Liberty: “This scholarship is not something that ought to be supported, but a project that will carry on a fellow student for liberty’s quest for justice and freedom when he can no longer do so himself, by inspiring and supporting other students like John David.”

Below is a list of the nominees in each category with a short description. Leading up to the International SFL Conference we will feature in-depth profiles of each student, event, and group. Make sure to stay tuned to learn more about these fantastic leaders of the student movement for liberty!

Student of the Year

This award goes to a student that has shown true passion for the cause of liberty and represents the drive that students possess to change the world. While there are many students doing incredible things, this award is to recognize one student that has made a tremendous difference on campus and whom we believe will continue to make a difference for liberty in the future. The student of the year is a leader of the student movement for liberty, a tireless worker for the cause, and an inspiration to fellow students.

Norman Horn

University of Texas

Libertarian Longhorns

President

Norman was the main organizer for the 2009 SFL Texas Conference, created LibertarianChristians.com to outreach to the Christian community, is active in local and Texas Libertarian Party and Texans for Accountable Government, and published in Young American Revolution as well as many other media outlets.

Dennis Craig

George Washington University

Liberty Society

President

Dennis was the president of the Temple Libertarians during the Spring of 2009 and transferred to George Washington University in the Fall. There he re-founded the GW Liberty Society, hosted Patri Friedman, hosted FIRE President Greg Lukianoff, organized an informational meeting on getting internships, hosted IJ’s Robert McNamara, and took leadership of the DC Forum for Freedom.

Jackie Silseth

St. Cloud State University

College Libertarians

Former President

Jacqueline Silseth is the founder and former President of the St. Cloud State Libertarians, an assistant organizer for the Libertarian Party of Minnesota, Chair of Legislative Affairs at SCSU, and founding board member and Volunteer Coordinator & Executive Secretary of the Year of Youth project.

Mike Sertic

California State University-Sacramento

Students for Liberty

President

Mike Sertic founded Students for Liberty at CSUS where there had been no previous liberty presence. He organized regular group meetings along with round table discussions, held numerous Operation Politically Homeless outreach events on campus, passed out pocket Constitutions on Constitution Day, screened Indoctrinate U, and earned local media coverage on health care issues.

Liya P.

George Mason University

Economics Society

President

Liya was a Koch Summer Fellow in 2009; is President of GMU Econ. Society; published an article for Citizens Against Government Waste, “Beach Houses: Owned by the Rich, Paid for by Everyone”; earned the Southwestern Economic Development Award for Outstanding Scholastic Achievement and Howard R. Bloch Economic Scholarship; hosted numerous high-calibur speakers such as Robert Higgs, Larry Reed, and Peter Boettke; is active in the DC Forum for Freedom; published a healthcare op-ed in Philadelphia Inquirer; and was a participant in the SFL v. SDS debate.

Student Group of the Year

The Group of the Year award goes to a group that has shown an outstanding commitment to promoting the ideas of liberty and illustrated successes in developing as an organization. The best organization is not the one with the most members or the one that has held the most events, although many great groups have both. The best groups have a strong membership of dedicated students and events that make an impact on the campus at large. The best groups seek to broaden their reach both on campus and beyond to other organizations. Ultimately, this award goes to the organization that SFL considers to be a model, an example of what a group should be that others can look to for inspiration.

American University Students For Liberty

The AU SFL has been one of the most active campus groups during the past year. During the summer they recruited over 100 freshmen at 6 different orientation events. This Fall they held many speaker events such as “Anarchy: Debating the Extremes of Liberty”, “The Obamacare To Come: Healthcare Reform, The Free Market, and You!”, “Market Failure: How the government created the financial crisis”, and “Civil Liberties: America’s Most Endangered, Endangered Species! AU SFL Present Congressman Bob Barr!”. They also held numerous activism events, such as Students Rights Week with street theatre, and participated in the 9/12 March on Washington. They also traveled to Philadelphia to participate in the FreedomWatch student special and the Mid-Atlantic Students For Liberty Conference. This Winter they will host the 2010 International Students For Liberty Conference.

Drexel University Student Liberty Front

The Drexel Student Liberty Front has held a fantastic series of events this past fall including a”Free Philly” Concert, a “V for Vendetta” campus movie night, Students Rights Week (events nightly including speakers from FIRE, Philadelphia Public Defenders Office and screening “Indoctrinate U”), Student Liberty Front Barbecue, Freedomain Radio’s Stefan Molyneux and 2004 Presidential Candidate Michael Badnarik “Minarchy v. Anarchy Debate”, hosted Reason’s Radley Balko on the Militarization of Police in response to the Drug War, hosted PA State Representative Sam Rohrer and Mises Institute’s Thomas Dilorenzo on Tenth Amendment. They also organized and hosted the FreedomWatch student special and the 2009 Mid-Atlantic Students For Liberty Conference.

University of Nevada-Reno Students For Liberty

Last Spring the UNR Students for Liberty hosted Nick Dranias, a fellow at the Goldwater Institute, who lectured about “The Top Ten Ways to Effectively Increase Liberty at the Local Level.” This Fall the UNR SFL hosted a bi-weekly Campus Discussion series open to the campus community featuring such topics as Jack Bauer, Capital Punishment, and Zombies & Liberty. To start the year they organized Students Rights Week, which was capped off by the How to Survive a Police Encounter event. They have hosted a number of other events such as discussions on file sharing and the worst presidents. They also maintain one of the most popular student group websites and blogs at http://www.unrforliberty.com. In December they used their website to launch a campaign against their corrupt student government called “The 10 Days Before Christmas” campaign.

Event of the Year

Running an event takes a tremendous amount of work with little recognition. Planning takes an incredible amount of time, and the expectation that something will inevitably go wrong. Holding a highly successful event is an accomplishment of which every organizer should be proud. This award is to recognize events that creatively and effectively spread the message of liberty. Events considered included speaking events, grassroots campaigns, seminars, and protests.

Revolution Week

University of New Hampshire

Young Americans for Liberty

November 2-7, 2009

Remember, remember, the 5th of November. The week of November 5th was the 1st annual UNH Revolution Week, hosted by Young Americans for Liberty. Every day from November 2nd through November 6th, they held a pro-liberty event open to the campus community. On Monday they screened “America: Freedom to Fascism” by Aaron Russo. On Wednesday they screened “Why We Fight”. On Thursday they held an anti-war protest followed by a screening of “V for Vendetta”. Then on Friday they hosted the New York Times best-selling author Tom Woods. To close out the week they attended the 2009 Northeast Students for Liberty Conference at Harvard University.

Liberty on the Diag

University of Michigan

College Libertarians

October 20, 2009

The UM CLs organized a coalition of student and community groups to protest against the university’s campus-wide smoking ban. The coalition consisted of the College Libertarians, Students for a Free Economy, Young Americans for Freedom, Students of Objectivism, Students for a Sensible Drug Policy, Campaign for Liberty, and the Local Libertarian Party of Washtenaw County. The event consisted of a protest on the Diag (main common space at UM) with each organization hosting a table to spread information on why their group opposed the ban. The posters on the ground were quotes from famous defenders of liberty such as Thomas Jefferson, George Washington, Murray Rothbard, Milton Friedman, Mark Twain, Benjamin Franklin, and Robert Heinlein. The CLs followed up with a media campaign consisting of letters to the editor and capped off with UM CL President Jonathan Slemrod being quoted in Time Magazine.

Ron Paul at Wake Forest

Wake Forest Un iversity

Young Americans for Liberty

Date: April 20, 2009

At the end of the last election cycle, no one was quite sure what would happen to Ron Paul. He had built a huge following during his primary campaign, but would that momentum continue without an election to rally support? The Wake Forest Young Americans For Liberty set out to make sure the Ron Paul movement stayed strong on campus. The Wake Forest YAL was the first campus group to host Ron Paul after his presidential campaign, thus beginning the transition from the presidential campaign to the Campaign For Liberty and Young Americans for Liberty grassroots initiative. They did a fantastic job marketing the event. On the big night, the line to get in stretched across the quad. The event attracted over 1,300 students at a school of 6,800 and filled the largest auditorium on campus.

Cato Speaker Series

DC Forum for Freedom

Fall 2009 to Present

The DC Forum for Freedom is a coalition of pro-liberty student groups in the Washington, DC area. The group is made up of members from American University, George Washington University, Northern Virginia Community College, Howard University, Georgetown University, University of Maryland-College Park, and George Mason University. Once per month the DC Forum members travel from across the region to the Cato Institute for lectures from such scholars as David Boaz, Dan Mitchell, and Dan Griswold. Following the lecture, the students get together for a social event where the students interact one-on-one with Cato Scholars and staff, sharing knowledge and experience on how to fight the battle for liberty on campus. While the event is held at the Cato Institute, DC Forum students are in charge of organizing, advertising, and helping execute the event, a testament to what can be done when student leaders put their mind to making something happen.

Honorable Mention: The Pathway to Prosperity Seminar

African Liberty

University of Dodoma

November 16-17

While this event does not qualify for an award because it was not primarily organized by students, it deserves special mention. On November 16-17, a total of 159 students participated in this seminar at University of Dodoma in Lagos, Nigeria. The students learned how liberty leads to more prosperity, particularly in the developing world. In an academic world that is even more pro-socialist than the rest of the world, the organizers introduced the students to freedom through open market operation and encouraged them to pursue entrepreneurship.

Your registration is not complete and you will not be accepted into the conference until this fee is paid.

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Regular Registration Fee

If you are not a member of a SFL affiliated student organization, the Late Registration fee is $50:

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Discount for official SFL Affiliate Groups

If you are a member of a SFL affiliated student organization, the Late Registration fee is $25.  If you do not know whether your group is affiliated, check this list.  Affiliated groups are marked by an *.If your group is not yet affiliated with SFL, you can apply for affiliation here.  Make sure that your student group is affiliated before clicking this button:

How to Apply: Complete the standard application form for the 2009 International Students For Liberty Conference here. Answer “Yes” under questions 2 that it is ok for SFL to share your information with other organizations for the possibility of receiving a scholarship. SFL will automatically enter you into the scholarship pool with the Commonwealth Foundation.

Who May Apply: All students who are either originally form Pennsylvania or are studying at a school in Pennsylvania may apply. SFL will automatically enter you into the applicant pool.

Scholarship Amount: Up to $100 for Travel and Housing (paid via reimbursement, receipts must be turned in by March 1.)

How to Increase Your Chances: Not all students who apply for the Commonwealth Foundation scholarships may receive them. To increase your likelihood of receiving an application, take extra time to write your essays. Make sure there are no grammatical mistakes and that your knowledge of and interest in promoting liberty are well articulated.

The Commonwealth Foundation is an independent, non-profit research and educational institute that develops and advances public policies based on the nation’s founding principles of limited constitutional government, economic freedom, and personal responsibility for one’s actions. It is based out of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania.

The trip is for students who attend schools in the state of Michigan only.

If you are interested, RSVP for the Facebook Event here: http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=221797728625&ref=mf

If you have questions email sfe@mackinac.org

Officially affiliating your student group with Students For Liberty has many benefits.  One of which is discounted rates to attend our conferences, especially the International Students For Liberty Conference.  Starting this week, SFL will be offering a special $15 registration fee for the International Conference to members of affiliated student groups.

Not an affiliate yet?  Don’t worry, you can affiliate your group now to receive these benefits.  Affiliation is simple, all we ask for is information on your group, what you have done recently, what you plan to do, and input on how SFL can best help you.  All you need to do is fill out the affiliation form on our website here: http://studentsforliberty.org/college/groups/affiliation/.  After submitting the form you will receive an email confirming your affiliate status.  Then you and your group will be eligible for the special $15 rate.