Students For Liberty

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

1. When is the conference?

2. Where is the conference?

3. Who can participate in the conference?

4. Is there an application process?

5. Can international students attend the conference?

6. Can I attend if I am not an actively enrolled student?

7. What kinds of students are accepted to the conference?

8. How many students will be in attendance?

9. Is there a specific ideology behind the conference?

10. Is there a fee for attending the conference?

11. Is financial aid available?

12. Who will be speaking at the conference?

13. Does the conference provide housing?

14. Does the conference provide meals?

15. What if I can only attend part of the conference?

16. I am involved with a liberty-oriented organization interested in participating in the Liberty Fair. How can I sign up?

17. I am interested in sponsoring the International SFL Conference. How can I do so?

1. When is the conference?

The conference will take place from Friday, February 20^th to Sunday, February 22^nd, 2008.

2. Where is the conference?

The conference is being held at George Washington University in Washington, D.C..

3. Who can participate in the conference?

Any currently enrolled undergraduate or graduate student may attend the conference.

4. Is there an application process?

Yes. Due to limited space, we are not able to accept every student who applies to participate in the conference. Last year, we received 140 applications and could only accept 100 students. Applications are available online at www.studentsforliberty.org/college/conferences/international/.

5. Can international students attend the conference?

Yes! Last year, we had one student from Ukraine attend and hope for more international students this year. As well, the 2009 Keynote Speaker, Yon Goicoechea, is from Venezuela himself. If you are an international student interested in attending, please email Alexander McCobin at amccobin@studentsforliberty.org for possible discounts and additional support to be able to attend the conference.

6. Can I attend if I am not an actively enrolled student?

Yes. We have a separate, non-student attendance option available for a limited number of individuals. Non-students who wish to participate in the conference must complete an online application on the same page as the student application.

7. What kinds of students are accepted to the conference?

Because only a limited number of students can be accepted and all students and SFL covers a portion of the actual costs for each student to keep registration fees low, SFL seeks to accept students who will best utilize what they learn at the conference. We look for students who have an understanding of the principles of liberty, an interest in learning more about liberty, and a desire to make a difference in the world to become a freer place.

8. How many students will be in attendance?

In 2008, 100 students from 42 schools in the U.S. and abroad were accepted to participate in the conference. We anticipate an even larger crowd of students to attend this year!

9. Is there a specific ideology behind this conference?

Other than an ideology that supports liberty, no. Students For Liberty Conference is open to all individuals interested in liberty but does not represent any single voice. Organizers span political party lines, student organizations represented consist of a wide diversity of ideological backgrounds, and non-university organizations involved in the conference have varying beliefs. This is meant to be a forum for discourse and debate on the meaning of liberty and the effective means of promoting liberty on campus. As such, not all organizations and speakers agree with one another on every issue, but we have brought them together to promote the common cause of liberty.

10. Is there a fee for attending the Conference?

Yes. There is a registration fee for students. Any student who is accepted and submitted an application by December 31, 2008 will only have a registration fee of $25. Students who submit their applications on January 1, 2009 or later will be charged $50. Once paid, registration fees are non-refundable, and non-transferable.

11. Is financial aid available?

Under limited circumstances we are willing to consider financial aid for students who have been accepted to the conference. Please make a note of this request in your online application and SFL will follow up with you if you are accepted.

12. Who will be speaking at the conference?

The list of speakers is constantly being developed. We have confirmed our first Keynote Speaker will be Yon Goicoechea, the recipient of the Cato Institute’s 2008 Milton Friedman Prize for Liberty. As a 23 year old law student in Venezuela, Yon Goicoechea became the leader of the student movement for democracy and human rights in Goicoechea.

As an indication of the caliber you can expect, though, you can find the full schedule and list of speakers at last year’s conference here.

13. Does the conference provide housing?

The Conference is unable to provide free housing to participants. There are a limited number of emergency housing slots available where participants may be housed by students at George Washington University. If you need housing, please indicate so on your application and SFL will get back to you. We recommend that students attending the Conference stay with a friend in Washington D.C. for the duration of the weekend if at all possible. If this is not possible, we recommend the following low-cost hostels for the weekend:

1. Hostelling Hotel Lombardy, 2019 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W., Washington, D.C. 20008, http://www.hotellombardy.co,/, (202) 828-2600. Rate: $109-209 per night.

2. Westin Grand Hotel, 2350 M Street N.W., Washington, DC 20037, http://www.starwoodhotels.com/westin/property/overview/index.html?propertyID=1013, (202) 429-0100. Rate: $129-209 per night.

3. The Melrose Hotel, 2430 Pennsylvania Ave NW, Washington, D.C. 20037, http://www.melrosehoteldc.con/, (202) 955-6400‎. Rate: $129-209 per night.

4. Best Western Georgetown, 1121 New Hampshire Avenue NW, Washington, District Of Columbia, 20037, http://www.bestwesterndc.com/hotels/best-western-georgetown-hotel-and-suites/, (202) 457-0565. Rate: $159-199.

14. Does the conference provide meals?

Yes. The conference will provide meals from dinner on Friday through lunch on Sunday.

15. What if I can only attend part of the conference?

All conference participants are required to attend for the entirety of the conference. Because we have a limited capacity and significant funding is going towards each student’s attendance at the conference, we ask that all participants be at the conference from the beginning to the end. Your attendance precludes the acceptance of another student to the conference, so we ask that you be fair to all those who were not accepted by utilizing the experience to its fullest.

16. I am involved with a liberty-oriented organization interested in participating in the Liberty Fair. How can I sign up?

You may sign up by completing the online registration form and paying the registration fee at www.studentsforliberty.org/college/conferences/international/2009/faq/. If you have any questions, please contact Sloane Frost, who is in charge of Liberty Fair registration, at sfrost@studentsforliberty.org.

17. I am interested in sponsoring the International SFL Conference. How can I do so?

We are always looking for additional support for the conference and Students For Liberty as an organization. Please contact the Executive Director, Alexander McCobin, at amccobin@studentsforliberty.org who can provide you with information on how to become a conference sponsor.