PBSC YAF: Correcting the Lies Being Propagated by Progressives and Exposing Modern Liberalism For the Sham That it is

In my academic experience at Palm Beach State College I have witnessed an overwhelming liberal bias on the part of the faculty and administration. Blatant falsities and misleading generalizations are perpetuated in political science courses when young students are trying to find their place in the political spectrum. An example of this occurred when my instructor explained to my classmates that conservatives are simply “people who are resistant to change and want prayer in schools” while liberals are open to change and work to “provide for the unfortunate and keep a separation between church and state.” This deceptive misrepresentation of conservatism and unwarranted elevation of modern liberalism is rampant and very seldom countered in the classroom setting. I have even experienced this in my seemingly innocuous supervision and management courses. One would think that certain subjects are simply black and white, but it is remarkable how the toxic collectivist, anti-capitalist ideology inevitably seeps into every crevice of higher learning.

In light of the abhorrent liberal bias on my campus, coupled with my perception of a student body cloaked in a detrimental apathy, I felt that it was my duty as a young conservative to correct the lies being propagated by the progressives; and to expose modern liberalism for the sham that it is. I hoped to achieve this by bringing a youth conservative movement to my campus called ‘Young Americans for Freedom.’ This impressive organization which began in the 1960’s at the estate of William F. Buckley, Jr., would serve as my platform to advance the truth on my campus.

YAF has a rich history of fighting big government, supporting our troops, and educating America’s youth. Cynthia Toney of “The Bold Pursuit” succinctly communicates this history in her 2011 profile of Young Americans for Freedom: “[YAF] spearheaded the 1964 Presidential campaign of Barry Goldwater, each one helping to define the other. In the 1970’s, the organization started a number of projects to support Vietnam veterans and their causes and joined forces with the American Conservative Union to form the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC). During the Reagan years, Young Americans for Freedom mobilized to support the President’s agenda and defend the administration’s conservative officials and appointees who were targeted by the Left. Never a stranger to international issues, the organization battled Communism and promoted the cause of freedom on college campuses.”

In order to officially form a Young Americans for Freedom chapter at PBSC, at least five members were needed. In an effort to recruit these members, I attempted to set up a small YAF table on campus but the administration denied me my right to free speech. As soon as the liberal faculty noticed the group’s conservative message, we got shut down in the name of “safety.” Not only did they prevent us from tabling to recruit the required members, but they also stated that they would not allow us to simply hand out fliers to our peers on campus. Fox News, The Gateway Pundit, World Net Daily, The Heritage Foundation, and other prominent conservative news outlets picked up the story in an effort to expose this egregious violation. With the intention of protecting the rights of every student on campus, I filed suit against Palm Beach State College with the help of the Alliance Defense Fund and am now in the process of litigation.

In the wake of all the press related to the incident at PBSC, I was contacted by like-minded students and was finally able to meet the five member requirement. Shortly thereafter, I found a conservative faculty advisor (not an easy task on a state college campus) thanks to my involvement in the Republican Executive Committee. Professor Mary Ellen Vitrano, a fellow committee woman on the REC, agreed to help form YAF at PBSC and has been courageously fighting with us ever since.

The PBSC YAF Vice Chairman, U.S. Air Force veteran Mario Martinez, who is studying political science and history at Palm Beach State, has joined me in advancing YAF’s message on our campus. We have arranged talks on the Federal Reserve and Second Amendment rights. There are also plans to invite Representative Allen West who is on the Florida YAF Advisory Board to come speak at the college, which should be a fruitful experience for the students, faculty, and the entire community of Palm Beach County.

It is important to support all local conservative clubs, but this organization in particular has the potential to reach out to the youth of Palm Beach County, who is often told that America is evil and that capitalism is the cause of all of our problems. PBSC YAF is here to tell them the truth:

• America is the most charitable and free country on the planet.
• Capitalism has brought more people out of poverty than any other economic system in history.
• Personable responsibility, self-discipline, and entrepreneurial ingenuity bring about true freedom.

How can you support this up and coming youth conservative movement in your own county?

1.       Tell your friends about PBSC YAF.

2.       Direct all conservative youth to PBSC YAF.

3.       Donate money. It can be costly bringing speakers to campus, printing fliers, making signs, creating demonstrations, and hosting events.

4.       Offer the students connections to prominent local conservatives who might want to come speak on campus.

5.       Have your club form an alliance with PBSC YAF.

• Contact: Christina Beattie, the PBSC YAF Chair at christina.h.beattie@gmail.com.
• "Like" our Facebook page and follow us on Twitter @PBSC_YAF

'Young Americans' given free speech 5 days per month

PBSC YAF tabling during one of their 5 days per month

Students who are trying to build a base of conservative citizens on a Florida college campus have been given some First Amendment rights to hand out informtation and talk to others.

That's the result for the Palm Beach State chapter of the Young Americans for Freedom, who were granted a temporary injunction in their confrontation with the school over their rights to talk to others and recruit.


According to the Alliance Defense Fund, which is representing the students, the school has agreed to a court injunction that will allow two students to "disseminate leaflets and/or converse with the general public."


The injunction allows the group to give out literature four or five days each month while the full lawsuit is litigated. The injunction agreement also requires theschoolto do a full campus club policy review.



The YAF chapter filed the suit in November in response to a decision by campus authorities to escort two YAF members off campus for giving out a Heritage Foundation policy paper analyzing the impact of Barack Obama's stimulus bills.


The students said the school gave them permission to hand out the policy papers.
ADF attorney Casey Mattox is representing the YAF chapter and said the organization wants student groups to have their First Amendment rights.


"What YAF is pushing for is the ability to protect the First Amendment rights of not only the YAF, but for every student group whether they're on the conservative side or any other side. YAF is trying to protect the First Amendment rights of all students," Mattox said.
Mattox says there is a higher objective.


"The ultimate goal here is that the First Amendment will be respected at Palm Beach State. The First Amendment knows no ideology and so YAF certainly wants to make sure that not only YAF but groups that they disagree with are able to engage in debate on campus," Mattox said.


Mattox described Palm Beach State's policies as one of the most restrictive in the country.


"Palm Beach State has perhaps some of the worst speech policies of just about anyschoolin the country," Mattox said.

Mattox uses the school's rules regarding club activities as the example.
"Palm Beach State completely prohibits students from distributing any literature of any kind on campus. We have an injunction here now that requires them to at least allow YAF to distribute literature at few days a month," Mattox explained.

He said the regulations even attempt the difficult task of controlling a student organization's off-campus activities.


"It would certainly be difficult, but in fact the way the policy reads, it would seem to actually regulate them even if they were getting together as a student group at a social event to have pizza," Mattox said.

"They require them, any time that students are meeting, or any event that is off campus, they require them to get permission, at least a week or two weeks in advance of the scheduled activity," Mattox said.

The policy even includes a club's recreational activities.

"If you are going bowling with a group of students, if the YAF group was going bowling, they would have to get permission a couple of weeks in advance from the administration to do that," Mattox said.

Palm Beach State College spokeswoman Grace Truman says the college is not responding to questions because the litigation is still ongoing.

But Mattox also said the school has had some noticeable lapses in enforcing its policy.
"They're not even following their own policy at Palm Beach State. Their own policies say that if you want to distribute literature on campus, you have to request permission 48 hours in advance and they have the authority to permit you or not permit you to distribute literature, which is a problem on its own right,"

He said in practice, when the students went in to say they wanted to distribute literature, the administration responded, "Well we just don't allow that at all."

"At the same time … I know there was a blood drive on campus, and they were distributing literature to promote the blood drive. So certainly the school looks the other way to certain groups, but they would not look the other way when it came to YAF," Mattox said.

"For some they have permitted literature distribution and the university was well aware of it. But for YAF they were not willing to change and they strictly adhered to their 'No literature on campus' policy," Mattox said.

Now that an injunction is being implemented, and the school has promised a policy review, Mattox said the next step would be to expand the application of the First Amendment.

"We're waiting to find out if they're really going to come up with policies by the first of March that will in fact respect the First Amendment rights of all students on campus," he said.

"I'm certainly hopeful. This is a situation where the university's policies are so egregiously bad that you hope they immediately recognize the need to fix them. But we'll see. If they don't we'll certainly continue to litigate and make sure we ask the court to do what it has to do to protect the First Amendment right of the students," Mattox said.

WND reported earlier when Student Activities Administrator Olivia Ford-Morris "was visibly disturbed" by literature being distributed by YAF.




Read more:'Young Americans' given free speech 5 days/monthhttp://www.wnd.com/?pageId=253413#ixzz1Hxd9S3DM