Tulane student and Students For Liberty leader Marcus Maldonado has just launched a student-led think tank in New Orleans. The Wave Center for Policy and Enterprise works to “unite individuals around innovative solutions to society’s pressing problems like incarceration, polarization, poverty, and more.” 

Only a couple weeks into the school year, he coordinated an event called “Totalitarianism and Democracy.” The students hosted Holocaust survivor Irving Roth, and Gueum Hyok Kim, a defector from North Korea who spoke about their deadly experiences with totalitarianism. Although the event was held on a Tuesday night at the beginning of the school year, more than 150 students attended to hear this important message of liberty.

Maldonado credits SFL with giving him the start he needed to open the Wave Center. “SFL has provided me with the foundation necessary to lead a project like the Wave Center,” he said.  

“Without the training and guidance I’ve received through SFL, I wouldn’t have the skills necessary to launch, grow, and sustain an organization in my community. SFL has provided me with the tools necessary to grow as a leader and to cultivate leadership on my campus.”

Students like Marcus show others on campus that they are able to start making a difference now. Rather than silencing others, he is bringing in people to be heard so that his fellow students can learn about the dangers of big government from those who have lived it.