Why 150+ People Came Together for Self Expression
A cardboard cut-out of Ron Paul poses with our friends from Young Americans for Liberty
The following was written by our North American Communications Chair, Savannah Lindquist who is a student at Old Dominion University.
Saturday, October 21st was the Mid-Atlantic Regional Conference for Students For Liberty. With the theme of “#ExpressYourself”, this conference had an incredible line-up of speakers and I was beyond excited for the day to arrive!
As the North American Communications Chair, I’d driven about 5 hours to the DC area the night before and stayed up late to help staff with last-minute preparations, but the excitement of the pre-conference jitters made my exhaustion quickly slip away.
I had the pleasure of starting the conference off and introducing SFL’s Mid-Atlantic Regional Director, Yusuf Mahmood, who along with his team, worked tirelessly to plan the fantastic conference. The atmosphere was absolutely electric as students were excited to hear speakers such as Jeffrey Tucker, Tom Palmer, Dr. Deirdre McCloskey, David Boaz, and many more. Yusuf introduced our first speaker, stand-up comedian Karith Foster, and we were ready to begin an amazing conference!
One of my favorite aspects of this conference was that three of the sessions were breakout sessions which gave students the option to choose the lectures that most fit their interests. This allows the conference to be tailored to each individual attendee’s interests instead of being a one-size-fits-all event. The #ExpressYourself Regional Conference had breakout sessions on various topics including:
• “Islam and Free Speech” by Faisal Saeed Al-Mutar
• “Queering Libertarianism: A Discussion on Social Justice” by Kelly Wright and Nathan Goodman
• “Changing the World for Fun and Profit” by T.K. Coleman of Praxis
• “How We the People Can Provide Better Public Services than Government” by Daniel Johnson
• “Two Paths to the Total State, One Path Away” by Jeffrey Tucker of FEE
• “Mastering the Art of Political Persuasion” with Robin Koerner
I had the opportunity to peek into all of the breakout sessions to take photos for social media, and I have to say all were incredibly engaging and well attended! When I stopped by Jeffrey Tucker’s breakout session, people were standing against the side walls. I really enjoyed how this conference took on current issues we’re seeing in the media. The panel on combating the alt-right featuring David Boaz of Cato, Tom Palmer of the Atlas Network, and Jeffery Tucker of FEE was incredibly insightful. Jorge Jraissati’s interview with Matt Kibbe about his work to help fellow Venezuelans really put into perspective the enormity of the crisis in Venezuela and the dangers of socialism. It reminded me of exactly why I, and the rest of Students For Liberty, do what we do.
The last event of the night was the debate on open borders with Bryan Caplan and Mark Krikorian (moderated by Trace Mitchell, a current Campus Coordinator at the George Mason University School of Law) This was definitely another one of the highlights of the day. It was great to see two intellectuals discussing such a relevant issue that we see in the news almost daily – whether it’s because of President Trump’s Twitter or a new executive order.
While the attendees enjoyed speakers, they also got to network with each other and the various sponsors and partner organizations. Various groups like the Foundation for Economic Education, Cato Institute, Victims of Communism Memorial Foundation, Foundation for Individual Rights in Education, and Charles Koch Institute where there to pass out swag and talk to attendees about opportunities available to them through their organizations. All attendees left with new ideas to ponder and a bag full of swag including books, t-shirts, pins, and more!
I had an amazing time at the Mid-Atlantic Regional Conference! I’m thankful for every opportunity to be reunited with the great friends I’ve made through Students For Liberty, and something very special about this conference was the sheer number of new faces. Many of the attendees were students at the University of Maryland, College Park and this conference was their first real exposure to the ideas of liberty, and every single person I spoke to said they enjoyed themselves! Watching people sit in on their first David Boaz lecture, and remembering how a lecture by David Boaz changed my life just a few years ago was incredibly inspiring. I cannot wait to see what the rest of the conference season has in store for SFL!
Want to check out a conference for yourself? Find a Regional Conference near you and register today!