2012 Students For Liberty Awards

One of the highlights of the International Students For Liberty Conference is the Annual Awards Presentation.  In 2009, Students For Liberty began to recognize outstanding students and student groups that have distinguished themselves in the battle for liberty on campus. That tradition has continued with the awards becoming more competitive every year as more and more students demonstrate their outstanding accomplishments for liberty.  Award recipients are chosen based on their hard work, organizational skills, value creation, innovation, and entrepreneurship.  You can find information on past winners here, here, and here.

2012 Students For Liberty Award Finalists

This year, SFL will present awards for Student of the Year, Event of the Year, and Student Group of the Year.  The awards presented at the International Conference on Friday, February 17th.

You can find more information on all the finalists and vote for the winner below. You can vote once per day.  The final decision will be made by a combination of the public vote and the SFL Executive Board.

Online voting is now closed

Student of the Year

Chelsea Krafve – Chelsea is the President of the Pepperdine Libertarians and has dedicated her academic career to the liberty movement. She was the primary organizer of the 2011 Regional Conference in Southern California, and her efforts increased attendance at the conference to over 133; a nearly 40% increase from the year before.  Characterized by her ability to communicate the message of liberty, Chelsea has traveled to a number of events and successfully spread the ideas of libertarianism. She was a speaker at Libertopia, a Student Representative and Generation Liberty Fellow at the State Policy’s Network Annual Convention, a Student Representative at the Cato Club 200 Retreat, and a participant of the Students For Liberty First Annual Charity Poker Tournament in September.  While presenting at Libertopia, she was named the “Queen” of the conference and assigned to be the 2012 Student Coordinator.

Chelsea is an SFL Campus Coordinator and has recently been working to establish more pro-liberty groups on college campuses in Southern California. She has also organized a number of events on Pepperdine’s campus, including a Free Speech Wall last December. Her main focus as President this semester is to partner with Pepperdine’s Reach OUT group to advocate for equal recognition for LGBT groups on campus. In addition to student organizing, she interned for the Cato Institute as a Koch Summer Fellow this past summer and is currently working on an Op-Ed to be co-published with the Cato Institute’s Dr. Richard Rahn as well as working on an article for the Association of Libertarian Feminists. She is also scheduled to speak about the student movement at the California Libertarian Party’s Southern California Regional Conference later this January.

Zach Wahls – Zach, a 20-year-old engineering student at the University of Iowa, became an internet and equal rights sensation this past spring when he delivered a speech in the Iowa State Legislature against a proposed constitutional amendment to ban gay marriage that was then posted to YouTube.  The proposed constitutional amendment passed in the Iowa House of Representatives, but was never reached a vote in the Iowa Senate.   By the end of 2011, the video of Zach’s speech had been viewed more than 18 million times to become the most watched political video on YouTube of the year, beating the current president and other candidates.   With his courageous and eloquent speech in the Iowa state legislature, Zach represents the best in what pro-liberty students can do when they speak-up.  Media outlets such as the Washington Post, ABC News, the Huffington Post, MSNBC, the Economist, and hundreds of others picked up Zach’s speech and spread his ideas worldwide.   Zach’s powerful message raised significant awareness for marriage equality and brought us one step closer to fight over a free society.  Now, Zach is building on the momentum he has gained by writing a book titled, My Two Moms.  The son of two mothers, Zach is an Eagle Scout and Iowa Champion debater, he is the recipient of the Paul Mann Youth Activist Award and the “Ally for Equality Award” from the Human Rights Campaign.

Casey Given – Casey has distinguished himself as a top-notch writer for liberty.  In his prominent role as the political columnist for UC-Berkeley’s student paper, The Daily Californian, Casey regularly tackles major issues like foreign policy, free speech, and police brutality from an unapologetically libertarian perspective and frequently mentions pro-liberty thinkers like Milton Friedman and Frederic Bastiat to perhaps one of the most liberty-hostile universities in the United States.  His talents have earned him numerous awards; in fact, Casey won more awards than other staff member on the newspaper this semester.   Earlier this year, Casey wrote an Op-Ed about the national debt, “When Raising the Roof Goes Wrong.”  The Op-Ed was picked up by Fox Nation and received over 500 comments on the website.  His prolific writing has earned him the spot of Blog Content Manager for Students For Liberty, and he helped contribute to a record increase of opinion posts and blog hits on the website.

Casey is also an SFL Campus Coordinator and was the key organizer of the 2011 Students For Liberty Conference in Northern California. Casey is the Founder of the UC Berkeley Students For Liberty and under his presidency, the UC Berkeley group was named SFL’s “Group of the Year” in 2011.  Last year, Casey organized a 4/20 Rally and Brownie Sale on his campus, which was featured by Bureaucrash in their “Profiles of Activism” Series.   This upcoming year, he again will be helping to organize the club’s annual 4/20 Brownie Sale as well as the Abolish the Student Government campaign.  Casey has been an immeasurable organizer and advocate for liberty, and his writing talents will continue to reach thousands of non-libertarian students campus and nation-wide.

Stephanie Cifuentes – Stephanie is the President of the Florida Gulf Coast University Eagles for Liberty. Since taking over as president in the Fall of 2011, Stephanie organized multiple speaking events, including presentations on introducing libertarianism, FairTax, environmentalism, socialism, constitutionalism, “2081″ movie screenings, and more. Past speakers include Dr. Nikolai Wenzel, Dr. J.R. Clark, lawyer Michael Yashko, and others. Stephanie was the primary coordinator for the campus-wide BB&T Free Enterprise Speaker Series in the spring and fall semesters. She is also responsible for bringing 16 FGCU students to the 2011 FL Regional Conference at the University of Florida, and currently has a whopping 24 FGCU students registered for the 2012 ISFLC. Extending beyond student organizing, Stephanie is a student worker and researcher for Dr. Bradley K. Hobbs as well as a participant of the FCGU reading colloquium on Mises’ Liberalism and Anti-Capitalist Mentality.

Stephanie volunteers her time with the Freedom and Virtue Institute to help instill non-statist values to the underprivileged children in the Southwest Florida region.  She was recently accepted into the BB&T Management Trainee Program in Raleigh, NC. Stephanie’s diligence, dedication, and hard work are prevalent through her activities as she continues to share her talents for the movement.

James Padilioni – James is known for his remarkable ability to organize events as well as successfully mastering the art of marketing. As the Founder and President of the West Chester University Students For Liberty, James organized the club’s 4/20 Bake Sale, the Drug War Vigil, the 9/11 Peace Rally, Columbus Day Anti-Colonialism Event, the Legalization Debate, and the Police Science Radicalism Forum.  Needless to say, James’ efforts have made the WCU Students For Liberty one of the most active groups on the East Coast.  As an SFL Campus Coordinator, James co-organized the 2011 Philadelphia Regional Conference, the Philadelphia Forum for Freedom, and has diligently worked to help SFL groups in the area.

James went above and beyond his role as a CC in the region, and initiated the creation of web ads for the New York Regional Conference and helped to grow SFL’s presence on twitter.  For this upcoming semester, James is planning a Hayek vs. Keynes debate, a Raw Milk Freedom Event, and a Free Speech Wall event. For the Free Speech Wall, James is co-sponsoring the event to unite the campus around free expression by reaching out to the Political Science Club, SSDP, Think.Act, College Republicans, Contemporary Issues, and the History Club.  In addition to being the top student organizer, James is highly active in spreading the ideas of liberty by frequently blogging for SFL, discussing the ideas of classical liberalism in class presentations, and submitting his academic papers to journals and conferences.  James’ energy, commitment, and talents have been an invaluable asset to the liberty movement.

Event of the Year

Texas Forum for Freedom Zombie Crawl - On October 21st, 2011 the students of the Texas Forum For Freedom gathered on the West Mall of University of Texas to march to the Texas Capital as founding fathers zombies. The students marched to bring awareness of the politicians taking away our civil liberties. The zombies had come to eat the politicians “BRAINZZ!”, because the politicians were obviously not using them. Preparation for this event started weeks before as event organizers helped attendees learn how to put together their makeup and costume to be the best 18th century zombie they could be. Campus Coordinators Morgan Freeman, Adam Fletcher, Riley Inks, and K.J. Herr made films to show students how to put together their costume.

On the day of the walk around 50 students showed up at UT to start marching. They students marched across streets, in front of local businesses and even caught the attention of some students standing outside a frat house. The event drew in media outlets like The Daily Texan. Many people surrounding the walk were able to hear the message and ask the zombies questions.  Check out this video of the Zombie Crawl!

Michigan State College Libertarians & MSU YAL - The Afghanistan/Iraq War Protest - On March 21st, the Michigan State College Libertarians (MSCL) and MSU Young Americans for Liberty (MSU YAL) used a Students For Liberty Protest Grant to protest the Iraq and Afghanistan Wars. Disappointed in the disappearance of anti-war activism following President Obama’s election, MSCL and MSU YAL wanted to remind students of the continued presence of the American military in the Middle East.

The groups painted “4,758+ BRING ‘EM HOME” on ‘the rock’ in the center of campus, spent most of the day listing off the names of fallen soldiers over a megaphone, handed out literature and flags to students, and collected donations for the National Military Family Association. A petition to end the wars was circulated throughout the day and a video surveying students’ opinions was filmed. This event was successful in drawing student interest to libertarian critiques of modern American foreign policy and was covered by a variety of media outlets, including a local news station and the student newspaper.

2011 Free Minds Film Festival: Hosted by Young Americans for Liberty- University of Colorado at Colorado Springs - Estonians peacefully gaining their independence, a dystopian future where everyone is equal, a philosophy realized through a man that stopped the engine of the world, a warning of the next financial crisis, parents struggling to get their kids out of failing schools, a brutal alliance between Nazis and Soviets, and an Australian family struggling to save their home from an expanding airport… all in one weekend. This was all experienced at the 2011 Free Minds Film Festival.

The event brought together over 90 students and members of the community for 2 ½ days of films, lectures, and discussions. The Free Minds Film Festival LLC was created by UCCS student Todd Hollenbeck to promote liberty to new audiences through the medium of film. With the help of the Young Americans for Liberty- UCCS Chapter and numerous sponsors including: Moving Picture Institute,  The Institute for Justice, Young Americans for Liberty, Americans for Prosperity- Colorado, Front Range Objectivism, and the Rocky Mountain Women’s Film Festival the event was a great success. The audience was challenged and engaged by the films and speakers, and enjoyed lively discussions at the evening social events. The film festival will be an annual event at UCCS with plans to franchise the events to other campuses.

Slippery Rock University YAL – The Free Market vs Government Intervention 

The Slippery Rock University Young Americans for Liberty dreamt big their first semester as a new organization on campus and on November 21st, 2011, hosted an economic panel discussion on the topic, “The Free Market vs. Government Intervention.”  Two Austrian economists from Grove City College visited Slippery Rock University to debate two business professors on the topic of the free market.  Amazingly, attendance reached well over 300 students and surrounding community members, with many cramming into the isles!

The event was organized to educate students and the community on the less-known Austrian School of economics and to answer tough questions about tuition and healthcare costs, inflation, bailouts, the stimulus, the Federal Reserve, the 2008 crises, and taxes. Brandon Cestrone, the President of the SRU Young Americans for Liberty, moderated the panel discussion.

The Butler Eagle, Sharon Herald, and Allied News covered the event. The SRU Young Americans for Liberty also set up a recruiting table outside the event with literature, sign-up sheets, and other liberty swag. After the event, pizza and drinks were available to facilitate dialogue.  The two participating professors from Grove City College were Dr. Jeffrey Herbener and Dr. Shawn Ritenour. Dr. David Culp and Dr. Frederick Tannery were the participating professors from Slippery Rock University. CLICK HERE FOR MORE PICTURES! CLICKHERE FOR THE VIDEO!

University of Florida Libertarians –  ”End 10 Years of War” - UF Libertarians used an SFL Protest Grant to construct a 16-foot long death count for the War on Terror, commemorating the tenth anniversary of the invasion of Afghanistan. The students wanted to remind the University of Florida campus that its country was still at war and that people were still dying needlessly in that war. Modifying YAL’s debt clock plans, they built the death count from panels of plywood painted with a white background and black numbers. On the day of the event, October 7, the panels were erected in one of the busiest places on campus. Over the course of the day, the UF Libertarians distributed more than 1,000 palm-cards filled with facts about the costs, both human and financial, of war.

To promote the event, the students used the excess paint to cover a large section of “The 34th Street Wall” (a long wall along a busy Gainesville road, used as a graffito message board), announcing the event and the anniversary of the war. In conjunction with the usual flyering and press releases, they also reached out to the local chapter of Students for a Democratic Society. With SDS on board, the event transcended ideological boundaries, and the media picked up on the unlikely pairing. Local outlets, including the campus and local papers, the local NPR station, and the university television station, covered the event. It even drew out what may have been the sole remaining member of Gainesville-area Code Pink.

Group of the Year

Arizona State University Students For Liberty - ASU Students For Liberty promotes the ideas of liberty, equality and free-markets through weekly meetings and events. They also work closely with other groups on the ASU campus, promoting the idea that liberty isn’t just for one group or political party. They maintain a very active facebook group with over 200 members and new contributions daily.

Some of the past events ASUSFL has put on include co-sponsoring a 4/20 Fest with NORML, where students participated in a cigarette rolling contest, “Know Your Rights” with guest Attorney Marc Victor, also co-sponsored with NORML. ASUSFL also hosted the Arizona Regional Conference on October 24, 2011, which had over 145 attendees. With the help of Alumni, ASUSFL also was able to provide free housing and travel for eight members to attend the Southern California Regional Conference. Other fall events include a lecture on School Choice by Lisa Keegan, CEO of Education Breakthrough Network, a round table discussion on “The Morality of Capitalism” with the Student Economics Association at ASU, and a Free Speech Wall, which was covered by the college newspaper.

ASUSFL members have also reached out to Occupy Phoenix protesters, handing out copies of “The Morality of Capitalism” while discussing the message of peace and prosperity through a free-market.

LVSV Leuven -The LVSV (Classical liberal Flemish Students Organization) is a non-partisan organization run by and for students founded in 1930, making it the oldest pro-liberty student group in existence. It aims to spread the ideas of liberty at several Belgian universities by organizing events, publishing magazines and weighing on public opinion. The LVSV is comprised of five chapters active at the major Universities of Dutch speaking Belgium (Antwerp, Brussels, Ghent, Hasselt and Leuven).

The LVSV Leuven chapter was founded in 1972 and has obtained a reputation as the largest and most active ideological organization in the city with its many activities including lecture evenings and debates. Over the years many generations of students have been exposed to the ideas of liberty through the LVSV and have gone to spread these ideas themselves as entrepreneurs, intellectuals and politicians.

Every week they invite influential speakers from academia, politics, business and non-profit sectors to exchange ideas and debate various topics. In November 2011 they hosted the first European Students For Liberty (ESFL) Conference that brought together more than 200 students, a spectacular start for the ESFL. The LVSV Leuven also publishes a magazine called ‘Blueprint’ with texts written by members. As a point of principle they refuse every form of university and government subsidies and rely solely on voluntary contributions as a source of income.

The Ohio University Students For Liberty - The Ohio University Students For Liberty group marks its fourth year as its most active on the Athens campus. Membership for OUSFL has more than doubled. Last spring, to protest the drug war, they held a 4/20 bake sale and hosted a former police captain from the Cincinnati PD, now a speaker for Law Enforcement Against Prohibition, that attracted more than 80 students. They’ve also: held a debate with the Young Democratic Socialists on campus, erected a free speech wall leading up to a speaker on Constitution Day, screened a “Know Your Rights” film educating students about their rights when engaged in police encounters, and held a discussion about the intersection of libertarianism and gay rights with a campus LGBT group, and protested policy solutions advocated by Jesse Jackson when he visited OU, among other events.

In addition, they table often to spread awareness about the ideas of liberty, distribute SFL’s Morality of Capitalism book, and try to engage the student body in various ways. Member activities range from writing a weekly column in the independent student newspaper to running for local office, to create a stronghold for liberty in the Buckeye State.

University of North Texas Young Americans for Liberty - Since April of 2010, the UNT Young Americans for Liberty have been waging the war of ideas and fighting to defend the principles of individual liberty, free markets, private property and peace. Last November, UNT YAL made tides on campus by handing out hundreds free cigarettes to students who were fed up with the university‘s attempt to impose an unreasonable campus-wide smoking ban. Garnering the attention of major media outlets throughout the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex, this event was able to push student senators to defeat the measure and ensure that smokers on campus would still have access to designated smoking areas.

UNT YAL has also been host to the 2011 Dallas Students For Liberty regional conference where over 130 students descended from four states and 20+ universities to hear from some of liberty’s best minds, including FEE’s Larry Reed and Sheldon Richman to keynote the conference. UNT YAL now holds the distinguished accomplishment of hosting the largest first time regional conference in Students For Liberty’s history. In addition to the focus on advancing ideas, the other component the group has been a focus on effective student organizing. To that end, UNT YAL has been an essential component in the success of the newly founded Texas Forum for Freedom. Last spring, UNT YAL hosted the Dallas Forum for Freedom where 30+ student leaders from 10 different schools attended a two day, student-led, grassroots leadership forum which allowed student leaders of liberty to organize, network and share best practices.

Finally, UNT YAL has been host to a distinguished lecture series. Top speakers in the area have visited the group including Dr. Robert Paul (son of Rep. Ron Paul), free market environmentalist expert Dr. H. Sterling Burnett, notable Austrian economist Dr. Leo Krasnozhon, as well as spontaneous order expert Dr. Troy Camplin. Dr. Camplin’s event filled an entire lecture hall of students who were interested in the ideas of F. A. Hayek. And like Hayek, the UNT Young Americans for Liberty will continue to place high importance on making “the philosophic foundations of a free society once more a living intellectual issue.”

GMU Economics Society - The GMU Economics Society is a student organization dedicated to promoting the economic way of thinking for both advanced students and introductory students new to the ideas. The Econ Society not only hosts advanced reading discussions, but also a more introductory session called EconSquawk, where students have a great chance to look at current events from the perspective of economics.  Past EconSquawk topics included: “Mind Your Own Business: The Political Economy of the Egyptian Road to Recovery”, “Bastards in, Bastards Out– A Commentary on the Electoral Process”, and “Do As I say, Not As I do: The Logic of Fiscal Stimulus.”

The Econ Society has recently started a monthly Law & Economics Seminar and continued the Economic Liberty Lecture Series (ELLS) co-hosted by the Future of Freedom Foundation (FFF). Students this year had a chance to discuss the Legal Tender cases with FFF’s Jacob Hornberger, a former law professor. Additionally, this part year, they hosted lectures by David Friedman, Jeffrey Miron, Donald Boudreaux, Bryan Caplan, Larry White, Tom Palmer, Dan Klein, and David Schmidtz on economic topics related to liberty.

In response to the revolutions in Egypt, the Econ Society co-hosted with the Mercatus Center a campus-wide discussion on “Political and Economic Change in Egypt and the Middle East,” which included panelists Christopher Coyne and a former World Bank and IMF economist, among many others.  One of the Econ Society’s most successful events this year was hosting Deirdre McCloskey, which had over 100 students in attendance and was picked-up by their student newspaper.  Another prominent event to introduce new students to the economic way of thinking was a lecture by Daniel J. D’Amico on “Man, Economy, and State meets Gym, Tan, Laundry: The Political Economy in and of the Jersey Shore.”

A typical month for the Econ Society is to hold two big events, a discussion group, an EconSquawk, and a Law & Economics Seminar– needless to say, with over 375 members on Facebook, it is one of the most active groups at George Mason University.

Online Voting is Now Closed

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We will also be presenting the inaugural Alumnus of the Year award to an individual who has displayed a lifetime of commitment and notable accomplishments for the cause of liberty.

If you have any questions about the Students For Liberty awards, nomination process, or online voting please contact SFL Vice President Clark Ruper at cruper@studentsforliberty.org.