If you aren't familiar with the Leadership Institute, you should be. Their Campus Leadership Program (CLP) has been providing invaluable training to young conservatives for years and helps students take much needed action on their campus. Their newsletter, the Dispatch, hit my email box last night and I wanted to share with you all what students are doing to fight the good fight.
From the CLP Dispatch:
Keeping V-Day Valentines Day
Are you tired of radical feminists dominating your campus every spring? This February the vulgar Vagina Monologues will be performed on over 600 campuses. It is up to conservatives such as you to provide a healthy alternative on campus.Protest the play. Educate students about the evils of V-Day through letters to the editors, flyers, and editorials in your local paper. Organize a firearms safety course for female students. There are so many options, pick an event which is a good fit for your organization and run with it.
For more activism ideas, check CLP’s online guide (link to http://www.campusleadership.org/resources/archives/000385.html) or request a full V-Day info packet for your group (link to http://www.leadershipinstitute.org/clp/contact.cfm).
Creative Fundraising:
Matt Foushee and the Louisville Cardinals for Life wished to take part in the American Collegians for Life and March for Life events in Washington D.C. this January. As they planned out their activities, they ran into one major snag: MONEY. Sound familiar? Of course it does – every conservative group needs money.While traditional methods of fundraising such as direct mail and personal solicitation are the foundation of any fundraising effort, make sure to evaluate other options which advance your cause! The Cardinals for Life manufactured and sold “Pro Life” wristbands through their members and on their websites. Through this effort the Cardinals for Life raised $7,000 and sent 33 members to Washington!
Anti-abortion Activism:
Pro-lifers at the University of Minnesota – Duluth organized an amazing string of events for “Question Abortion Week,” the week following Roe v. Wade. Led by CLP student Christina Wilson, the group called Survivors set up informational tables every day, participated in a local pro-life march, and plastered campus with pro-life flyers. Survivors also hosted a speaker who talked about her abortions, held a prayer vigil, a “Stump the Pro-Lifer” Q&A session, hosted a “Why We are Pro-Life” student panel, and created a “Face of Choice” room featuring posters of live and aborted fetuses. They even made shirts for a “Pro-Life T-Shirt Day.” Survivors UMD was founded in 2004 by Kris Miller to promote pro-life values on the UMD campus. They have quickly become one of the most active pro-life groups in the country. For more information, email survivors@charter.net.
Taking over the media on campus:
Several independent conservative papers published for the first time in recent weeks. Congratulations to The Georgetown Federalist (Georgetown University), The Maverick Underground (Minnesota State University – Mankato), The Republic (University of Minnesota – Twin Cities), and The Pennsylvania Independent (University of Pennsylvania) who covered issues ranging from border security to misappropriation of student activity fees. To start an independent, conservative publication at your school, contact Ben Wetmore (link to bwetmore@limail.us). Don’t complain about the liberal media; be the media!
It's important these groups are encouraged and supported by people outside the university "bubble." Many student activists will be in town this weekend for CPAC and it's a great opportunity to congratulate them for their efforts and recruit more to fight campus battles. I can personally vouch for Leadership Institute's great staff and training and I would strongly recommend any students looking to promote conservativism on campus make a beeline for their booth this weekend.
