It’s Time to End the Time Change and Switch to Texas Time

We all hate feeling jetlagged. That groggy, tired feeling is the unpleasant result of long-distance travel.

The concept of social jetlag works in a very similar manner. The term refers to the reactions observed in people’s bodies that are similar to travel-related jetlag, which stems from a person’s circadian rhythm (or internal clock) being thrown off. Social jetlag can also lead to a higher risk of obesity, cardiac issues, and strokes.

Twice a year we are forced to change the times on our clocks, causing not only the annoyance of a day of social jetlag and sleep-deprived work, but also engendering a host of small-but-noticeable negative economic, psychological, and health effects.

Some scholars also estimate that the U.S. economy suffers an annual economic loss approximating 2% of GDP due to productivity declines. A whole day of fatigue every March not only feels awful, but is costing our economy. In addition, fatal traffic incidents have been observed to increase by around 6%, and vehicle collisions with wildlife also go up by around 8–11% because of the transition.

Negative effects aside, people agree that something should be done, with 71% of Americans supporting putting an end to changing between daylight saving time (DST) and standard time. But they disagree on what we should have instead. The National Opinion Research Center at the University of Chicago determined that Americans are split, with 40% in support of standard time while 31% support permanent DST.

In 2022 Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) introduced the Sunshine Protection Act. The Sunshine Protection Act, which passed quickly through the Senate without debate but then died in the House, would have set daylight saving time as the year-round default starting in autumn 2023. Under current law, clocks change twice each year, with daylight saving time beginning in March and ending in November. The Senate bill would end an 80-year tradition of seasonal clock switching. States could remain on standard time instead, like Arizona and Hawaii do currently, but they would have to stick with it all year.

Rubio and Representative Vern Buchanan (R-Longboat-Key) have reintroduced the Sunshine Protection act, to once again make permanent DST an option for states. But neither the Senate or the House have acted upon it as of yet.

Florida, where Rubio hails from, was the first state in 2018 to pass a bill that would apply year-round DST once the Sunshine Protection Act is passed. Seventeen other states — Alabama, California, Delaware, Georgia, Idaho, Louisiana, Maine, Minnesota, Mississippi, Montana, Ohio, Oregon, South Carolina, Tennessee, Utah, Washington, and Wyoming — have passed similar laws, resolutions or voter initiatives.

Texas is missing from that list currently, but it’s not for a lack of effort. Numerous attempts have been made in previous sessions to try and end Washington D.C.’s time change mandate, but none have made it further than a committee hearing. Disagreement over which time zone Texas should adopt is often what holds these bills up.

The Texas legislature introduced two bills in 2021, House Bill 1405 and Senate Bill 471, proposing the Lone Star State permanently observe either DST or standard time. Neither passed.

This session has already seen 15 bills introduced to end the time change, 8 giving the choice to voters, 6 to make DST permanent, and one to make standard time permanent. This shows there is growing political will behind ending the time change, but what we have lacked is pressure on the legislature to act on these matters, as the effects and anger caused by the time change are effervescent, despite their magnitude. 

For too long we have had to deal with the biannual time adjustment and endure the consequences that come along with it. A yearly day where we all have to deal with social jetlag is not only a personal headache but has far reaching consequences for the economy and society. It’s time for the Texas Legislature to stop the clock change and give Texans some consistency. Call your legislator or your senator, and tell them to hand the choice to the Texan people so they can decide what time they want to stick with year round. Let’s establish “Texas Time” for the whole year and end the archaic and detrimental policy of changing the time.

The Tower Receives Journalism Award at 43rd Annual YCT State Convention.

The Young Conservatives of Texas held their 43rd annual state convention in Austin over the weekend of February 24-26. Bringing together chapters from all over the state, YCTers celebrated another year of hard work and dedication to the Conservative movement. 

Senator Bryan Hughes kicked the convention off with an eloquent talk, followed by a casino night as YCTers loosened up and got to test their luck in the games of chance. 

The Saturday schedule started early at 9am with a panel of seasoned legislators Senator Brian Birdwell and State Representative Matt Shaheen talking about their priorities in the 88th Session. School choice was next, as a trio of women with lots of experience in the fight for school choice explained the importance of the issue. The Higher Education panel hit close to home for college students, with Cherise Trump reminding students of the importance of protecting free speech on the campuses. 

The career panel gave YCTers a look at the career options available for them, and the desperate need for more true conservatives in DC, Austin and beyond. Mark Morgan delivered a passionate critique of the Biden administration’s handling of the immigration crisis on our Southern border during the lunch keynote. 

Former State Senator and founder of the Texan political news organization Koni Burton gave the keynote speech during the Gala on Saturday night to a packed audience. Newly elected Chairman Nate Dunning handed out awards recognizing the chapters and individuals for the accomplishments over the preceding year. 

Your very own Tower received the John Parker Award for Journalism, an award given to “a YCT publication that showed outstanding dedication to their craft.” This award was only possible thanks to the hard work of our staff, and due to the support of readers like you. Our editorial board wants to thank each and every person who contributed to this award by writing, editing, or just reading articles here at the Tower. 

Trinity Alum Elected Chair at 42nd YCT State Convention

The Young Conservatives of Texas (YCT) held its 42nd annual State Convention in Richardson, Texas on April 9-10, 2022. Over a hundred students from 27 chapters all over the state gathered to learn from a variety of conservative figures about current policy issues and how they get more involved in the conservative political movement. 

The convention started during the evening on Friday, April 9 with remarks from State Senators Angela Paxton (R-08) and Kelly Hancock (R-09). They talked about the worrying state of today’s education system, since both come from educational backgrounds themselves before entering politics. 

A networking event allowed students to check out the vendors from all sorts of conservative organizations that had booths set up in the hallway outside of the main room. Groups like the Leadership Institute, the Heritage Academy, Texas Right to Life, and many others helped get students in contact with internship opportunities for the summer. 

Sat. April 10 started off with a pro-life panel discussing the current cases heading to the Surpreme Court, their chances of succeeding, and what would change if Roe v. Wade is overturned. Conversation on the Supreme Court continued into the next panel, as Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson had just been confirmed.

Noted conservative historian Dr. George H. Nash gave an in-depth lunch discussion sponsored by the Intercollegiate Studies Institute on the different factions in Conservatism and how their influence in Conservatism has shifted over time. He noted that the Conservative Movement has never been a stranger to disagreement and factions, but that it has remained remarkably resilient. 

The keynote speaker at the April 10 gala was Texas Railroad Commissioner Wayne Christian, who gave a lively and anecdote-filled speech in defense of natural gas in his signature East Texas drawl. Casino night provided evening entertainment after the Gala, as a weekend of informative panels and speeches was capped with a fun-filled Saturday night. 

Vaughan Schulte, Trinity University Class of 2024 Computer Science major, was one of the Trinity students who attended the convention and felt it was a positive experience. “My favorite part was probably hearing the Texas Railroad Commissioner and the President of the Heritage Foundation speak. I definitely feel more motivated to get out and better the world. It was energizing to meet many people on the same bandwidth. I hope to return to a convention–I’ll probably grab a few more business cards next time!”

Julia Crusius, in the red dress

While the convention was over, the state board still had work to do. At the Young Conservatives of Texas Association state board meeting in the morning on April 11, Trinity alumna Julia Crusius was elected unanimously as the 27th State Chair of the Young Conservatives of Texas Association. Crusius has worked as a Legislative Fellow at the Texas Public Policy Foundation, where she focused on education and healthcare policy. She also has worked for Congressman Chip Roy and State Representative Mayes Middleton and served as chair of the Trinity YCT chapter during the 2019-2020 school year. 

University of North Texas Protesters Cancel Event on Child Gender Transitioning

Far left activists disrupted an event put on by the Young Conservatives of Texas (YCT) at the University of North Texas last week on Wednesday, March 2nd. YCT invited Jeff Younger to speak on the medical gender transition of children in an event titled “Criminalize Child Transitions,” but he could barely get any words in edgewise. 

Younger, a candidate running for Texas House District 63, has attracted nationwide attention after he lost custody of his 9-year-old twins because he opposed the medical transition of one of them. His ex-wife has been pushing for the child’s gender transition since the child was 3-years-old.

The room was filled with the chants, screams, and yells of the left wing protesters who refused to let Younger speak. In attendance was about 30 supporters along with some 90 protesters, but there were hundreds more protesters outside. 

Younger tried to speak for about 45 minutes, but he was eventually escorted through mobs of protesters to a waiting vehicle outside. The left wing protesters reportedly harassed the leaving conservative students, but the protesters biggest target was Kelly Neidert. 

Kelly Neidert, the former Chairman of the Young Conservatives of Texas chapter at UNT, organized the event and invited Younger to come. She was forced to hide in a closet with a police officer due to the aggressive protesters preventing her from getting into a vehicle to leave.

“Before the event, the police assessed the situation and decided that if things seemed to be getting dangerous, Jeff and I would be evacuated. When police took us out, I was separated from the police escort because some of the protestors blocked me with their signs. I missed the car that was waiting for me, so two other officers ended up helping me and tried to get me in another car. That didn’t work, so they put me in the closest building. Protestors breached that building so I was put in a janitors closet while protestors looked around for me.”

This isn’t something new for Kelly though; she has been subject to threats, doxxing, and a petition to have her expelled from the school over the past year.

UNT President Smatresk issued a statement after the event stating it was “particularly difficult for the transgender members of our community” because of “the intolerant views of a handful of campus members.” About a hundred leftist students didn’t think this was good enough, and demanded he go further in denouncing the event by protesting outside the administration building.

Trinity Groups Rally for Life in Austin

Memorializing the 49th anniversary of the landmark Supreme Court case Roe v. Wade, thousands of pro-lifers from all over the state of Texas gathered Saturday, January 22nd, for the Rally for Life at the State Capitol. Governor Abbott, Bishop Joe Vásquez, and State Representative Giovanni Capriglione were among the speakers who energized the passionate crowd. 

Trinity was represented by its own Pro-Life group, Tigers for Life, and its Conservative group, the Young Conservatives of Texas. Other YCT groups from all over the state came to the Rally as well.  

President of Tigers for Life Karina Treviño, Class of 23’, explained the group’s reason for attending the Rally. 

“We went to the Texas Rally for Life because we want to publicly demonstrate our belief that all human life has dignity and is worth protecting. By peacefully marching alongside hundreds of Texans, we showed those watching that we will not remain silent to the greatest injustice of our time: abortion, an injustice that ends the lives of the most innocent and the most vulnerable in our society, the pre-born.”

Treviño also noted the lack of counter-protesters at the Rally.

 “From the conversations with the other members of Tigers for Life and other pro-life groups attending the march, I’d say the overall feeling of the rally was positive, inspiring, charitable, and peaceful. Unlike other events I’ve attended, there was almost no counter-protesting from the pro-abortion side nor any crazy pro-lifers with triggering signs. In my view, the rally was an opportunity for pro-lifers to peacefully speak up for the right to life of the pre-born and unite in our efforts to make abortion unnecessary and unimaginable.” 

Trinity’s Pro-Life Club Tigers for Life

One main focus of the speakers was the victory of getting the Texas Heart Act through the Legislature and signed into law by Governor Abbott. The Act prohibits abortions after a heartbeat is detected in an unborn child, which can be heard as early as six weeks. 

The Texas Heartbeat Act has been in effect since September; despite numerous failed attempts to have it struck down or enjoined, it has saved an estimated 10,000-13,000 lives, according to Texas Right to Life. Already states like Alabama, Florida, Missouri, and Ohio are working to replicate the Texas Heartbeat Act. 

Just last month, The U.S. Supreme Court declined to send a case dealing with the act, Whole Woman’s Health v. Jackson, back to a judge who was hostile to the Act. Additionally, the 5th Circuit Court of the United States sent the case back to the Texas Supreme Court, which is not required to act on it immediately. 

Another case, Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, also has invigorated the pro-life movement as we get ever close to the 50th anniversary of Roe. Dobbs deals with Mississippi’s 15-week abortion ban and firmly attacks Roe in its argument for the ban. A decision will likely come from the US Supreme Court in the Summer, but until then, the whole pro-life movement will hold its breath. 

Protesters Attack Pro-Life Conference

Protesters stormed into the Austin Marriott South, where the Texas Right to Life’s annual Boots on the Ground Conference was being held. Texas Right to Life is non-profit advocacy and educational organization that opposes abortion, and its annual conference educates pro-life Texans and college students about various aspects of the pro-life movement such as abortion, medical ethics, and how to build a diverse pro-life community..

Texas Right to Life held its Boots on the Ground Conference on the same weekend as the Rally for Life at the State Capitol. This year marked the 49th anniversary of the landmark abortion case Roe v. Wade. The conference hosted numerous speakers who spoke about topics including abortion, human trafficing, and in vitro fertilization (IVF). Attendees were there to get trained in the Pro-Life movement and energized for the rally, but they would find that those on the other side of the abortion have been energized as well. 

Protestors entered the hotel lobby just before noon, shouting, “Working women, give them hell; it is right to rebel. We will defend abortion rights; working women, rise and fight!”

The dozen protesters carried a sign reading: “Working women lead the fight; safe abortions are our right!”

One woman lit a smoke bomb and threw it down the hallway towards the rooms holding the conference. Outside, a portion of hotel property was vandalized by the protesters as well. Luckily no one was injured on either side. Austin Police Department responded quickly to the protest, but there were no additional problems after the attack on Saturday, and no arrests have been made yet. 

This is not the first protest at a Texas Right to Life event. In 2017, communist protesters attempted to disrupt a Texas Right to Life event, but they did not physically attack attendees like they did on this occasion. 

The attack happened as thousands of Texans were marching in support of life at the State Capitol and in celebration of the victory that the Texas Heartbeat Act has been for the pro-life cause. Texas Right to Life spearheaded the effort to pass the Texas Heartbeat Act. 

The Texas Heartbeat Act has angered many abortion advocates. It bans abortions after a heartbeat is detected in the unborn child and thus prevents many abortions in Texas from legally occurring. Since it came into effect on Sept. 1, despite numerous failed attempts to have it struck down or enjoined, the Texas Heartbeat Act has saved an estimated 10,000-13,000 lives, according to Texas Right to Life. Already states like Alabama, Florida, Missouri, and Ohio are working to replicate the Texas Heartbeat Act. 

Footage taken by Texas Right to Life and used in this article with the organization’s permission.

Chinese Infiltration of the Lone Star State

China’s growing influence in the US is noticeable to anyone who doesn’t ignore it, but what is even more concerning is China’s growing influence in our very own state of Texas.

Sun Guangxin, a Chinese billionaire connected to the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), planned to build a wind farm on the 15,000 acres he owns in Val Verde County. In total Sun owns more than 144,000 acres of land, all of which is not only near the Texas border, but also Laughlin air force base. 

In June 2021, Governor Abbott signed the Lone Star Infrastructure Protection Act which prevented Sun, and anyone else connected to countries like China, Russia, Iran, or North Korea, from building critical infrastructure in Texas. However, the law does not do enough to protect Texas from foreign adversaries who use their financial resources to infiltrate Texas’ borders. Despite Abbot blocking Sun from building his wind farm, he still owns the land and could use it for other malignant purposes. 

Texas leads the nation in foreign-owned land with 4.4 million acres, which is more by far than any other state. Six states actually ban foreign ownership of farmland, but Texas still allows it. In Houston, Chinese investors are buying up homes not to live in the US, but to make money off Americans by renting out the properties.

Sun is not the only businessman or business connected to the CCP who is currently operating in Texas. There are many, and each one represents a potential national security risk to not only the Lone Star state, but to the country. 

DJI Technology Co. Ltd, a Hong Kong-based drone manufacturing company, has been under heavy scrutiny recently for the security risks its drones pose due to the company’s closeness to the CCP. China Chengtong Holdings Group Ltd, a state-owned enterprise, described DJI as China’s leading company that “adheres to the standard of Xi Jinping’s socialism with Chinese characteristics in the new era.”

DJI has sold its wares to many companies, local agencies, and even Federal agencies. During the tail-end of the Trump Administration, Washington made it a priority to mitigate the dangers that Chinese drones pose in the US. The U.S. Commerce Department added DJI to the U.S. government’s economic blacklist in December 2020, and in January 2021 Trump signed an executive order prioritizing their removal from service. 

The Bexar County Sheriff’s Office operates four DJI drones as of 2018, according to data compiled by the Center for the Study of the Drone at Bard College. Across Texas 42 police departments use a total of 73 DJI drones.  

In addition to the business sector in Texas, the CCP has also tried to infiltrate our education system. In one of the CCP’s boldest moves in Texas, it attempted to use a Hong Kong foundation to fund the University of Texas’ China Public Policy Center (CPPC). 

The Center opened in Aug. 2018 and was tasked with making “fresh and enduring contributions to the study of China-related policy topics while advancing U.S.-China relations and Texas-China relations.” Former foreign service officer David Firestein, who proposed that the Hong Kong-based foundation China United States Exchange Foundation (CUSEF) funds the Center, currently leads the CPPC. The CUSEF’s leader is Tung Chee-hwa who is vice chairman of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference, a united front organisation. United front groups are the primary agents used by the CCP for foreign influence operations, with hundreds of United Front and United Front linked groups operating in the US.

Luckily Senator Ted Cruz and the White House pressured UT not to accept the funding, but the fact that a major state university was about to fund a Chinese research institution using a CCP front organization’s money shows how much influence China has already seized in the US and in Texas.

Some dramatic acts were taken by the Trump administration to combat Chinese intelligence operations in the US. The Chinese consulate in Houston was a hotbed for spies and the theft of intellectual property by CCP agents before Trump closed it down in July 2020. This action led to frenzied scenes of consulate workers burning huge amounts of classified documents to prevent the US from getting access to them. 

Policymakers in Austin and Washington, DC must make combatting Chinese influence in America a priority, especially as China continues to increase its aggressive threats towards Taiwan, and continues to oppress Tibet, Xinjiang, and Hong Kong. Congressman Chip Roy has been vocal about this issue, and his Securing America’s Land from Foreign Interference Act would have prevented members of the CCP from buying US farmland. Even these efforts, had they been successful, would not be enough. Most of the influence China has gained in the US has been indirect through front organizations. The CCP now has allies in every layer of the US echelons of power. We must remain vigilant and on the offensive against the influence they have accrued. 

We welcomed Chinese capital into the US for decades for cheaper and cheaper trinkets made with Chinese labor, all in the hope that as a developed nation it would have to democratize. We bet wrong, and it is time to face that fact and reverse course before it is too late. We must begin decoupling, limiting Chinese investments coming into America, and bring manufacturing back from China to the US. China is now a threat to the US and we must treat it as such. Hopefully the current administration will have the backbone to do so, and we must call on our government to protect American citizens and infrastructure from foreign dangers. 

CCP Delenda Est

UTSA is Not Just Trying to Erase Texas History

UTSA announced on Sep. 7 2021 that it would end the tradition of unfurling a large “Come and Take It” flag before home football games and would remove any trace of the phrase from the school’s campus and website. This comes after an online petition that garnered less than 1,000 signatures argued that the flag was racist, pro-slavery and “anti-Mexican.”

When those without backbones, who either sympathize with or openly support anti-historicists, control institutions like universities in our society, they eventually wage war against history and tradition in the name of “wokeness” and “inclusivity.”

This is the most recent of a long war against our history and traditions that has been waged by the left, and shows that they are showing no signs of letting up. When those without backbones, who either sympathize with or openly support anti-historicists, control institutions like universities in our society, they eventually wage war against history and tradition in the name of “wokeness” and “inclusivity.” Some, like Kevin P. Eltife, chairman of the UT System Board of Regents, have stood up against UTSA’s decision by calling it the “abandoning [of our] traditions and history.”

Ian De Koster, Class of 2024 at Trinity University, doesn’t see any problems with the flag. “As a Mexican-American and a Texan I can attest on my own account that it is not a point of grievance for the Mexican-American community. I don’t know anyone in the Mexican-American community who has felt attacked by the flag. Mexican-Americans today who understand what the flag means, are not provoked by it. I understand it can be used in negative contexts, but strictly in regards to the present day Mexican-American community, I don’t see the open wound they refer to.”

The [“Come and Take It”] flag was created in support of a cause, the cause of freedom and liberty.

But in this specific situation, what makes the “Come and Take It” flag so offensive? What makes it politically incorrect in this day and age? According to the left-wing activists it has anti-Mexican connotations. Yet what it was originally created for and what it still stands for are not in any way related to racist, anti-Mexican sentiments. Texas was about to launch a revolution against Mexican dictatorship and used the flag as a rallying cry against the tyrannical government of Santa Anna. The flag was created in support of a cause, the cause of freedom and liberty. It was not created to target a specific group. This is as ridiculous as if someone accused the Gadsen flag or the Betsy Ross flag of being insulting to British people today. These banners stand for something far greater than the narrow definitions that the Left uses to try and take them down. Or tries to “Come and Take It” down, if you will. 

The “Come and Take It” flag represents a direct challenge to tyranny. The words “come and take it” are eternal from when they were uttered by Spartan King Leonidas I as “molon labe” at Thermopylae, to when Texans flew them on that white flag over the battlefield at Gonzales. They represent far more than a single battle, war, or cause. They stand for every patriot who stands against a tyrannical government trying to infringe upon his life, liberty, or the pursuit of his happiness. Throughout history, the heroes we celebrate today like William Wallace, William Tell, and Spartacus refused to bend the knee to a tyrant. Instead they proudly cried the words “come and take it.” We can not allow such an important phrase to be ripped from public display by those who do not understand, or are actually against, what it symbolizes.

The “Come and Take It” flag denounces tyranny, and only tyrants want to be rid of this important symbol.

Texas Heartbeat Bill Is Here to Stay

In a victory for Pro-Life groups, the Supreme Court of the United States did not strike down Texas’ Heartbeat Act (SB 8) last week. The law limits abortions to before the first heartbeat is detected, which can occur as early as six weeks. While the law allows for abortion in cases when the mother’s life is in danger, it bans nearly all abortions, since 85-90% of abortions in Texas happen after the sixth week of pregnancy.

13 other states have tried to pass similar laws, but all were struck down. The new Texas law is unique because instead of putting the enforcement mechanism in the hands of the state, it instead hands it to private citizens. Anyone can now sue abortition providers if they perform an aborition after a heartbeat is detected. The woman who elects abortion is never under the danger of a lawsuit, only the abortion provider, as the law states “this … may not be construed to authorize the initiation of a cause of action against or the prosecution of a woman on whom an abortion is performed.”

The vote in the Supreme Court was 5 to 4, with Chief Justice Roberts joining the court’s three liberal members in dissent. The majority opinion was unsigned, and stated that an injunction would not be issued for the law due to the abortion providers who challenged the law not answering the “complex and novel antecedent procedural questions” the law raised. The majority states that their decision “is not based on any conclusion about the constitutionality of Texas’s law, and in no way limits other procedurally proper challenges to the Texas law.”

Each dissenting justice filed his or her own opinion, either asking for a return to status quo ante (before the law went into effect) and to kick it back down to the lower courts to decide in the case of Roberts, or rejecting the majority’s view on the germaness of the unique procedural mechanism in the law. 

In Texas SB 8 has already caused a reaction from abortion providers. Three of the four major aborbition clinics in San Antonio have ceased providing aborbitions, and across the state others are following suit rather than risk lawsuits. 

The Court’s decision will likely lead other Republican-controlled states to try to pass similar laws, though the Biden Administration is trying to make sure that doesn’t happen. President Biden called the law an “unprecedented assault on a woman’s constitutional rights,” and that the decision required an “immediate response.” The Justice Department launched a lawsuit against Texas on Thurs.,  in an attempt to try and strike down the law, but it remains to be seen how successful it will be after the Supreme Court’s first ruling. 

Young America’s Foundation Holds 43rd National Conservative Student Conference in Houston

Over 500 college students at the Marquis Marriott in Downtown Houston, TX enjoyed a week filled with a star-studded list of speakers and interaction with like-minded peers at the Young America’s Foundation’s (YAF) 43rd National Conservative Student Conference. The conference was held from Aug. 2 to Aug. 7, 2021.

The conference was held in Houston as opposed to its usual location in Washington, D.C., due to the mask mandate in the Nation’s capital. Houston was ideal because it served as a central location that allowed students from all over the country to attend.

The event began with Ben Shapiro, who gave his first in-person speech since the pandemic began, and then spanned a whole five days of speakers and socializing. The list of speakers included Vice President Mike Pence, Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX), Rep. Chip Roy (TX-21), Rep. Byron Donalds (FL-19), Rep. Dan Crenshaw (TX-02), Rep. Kevin Brady (TX-08), and Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton among many others.  

Students were also able to listen to in-depth lectures on hot button issues from experts like James Lindsey on Critical Race Theory, Dr. Ryan Anderson on the Transgender Movement, Veronica Arnold Smither on Abortion, Declan Ganley on Crony Corporatism, and Dr. Burt Folsom on Free Markets and Race. 

Jules Accomazzo, a freshman at Grand Canyon University who attended the conference, thought that the conference was a positive experience. 

“My first YAF conference was very different than I imagined. It was more intense than I thought it would be, but overall it was a good experience that pushed me out of my comfort zone. My favorite part of YAF was “networking” with other students. I enjoyed connecting with people and making friends with like-minded views across the country!” 

On Tuesday night, more than a hundred students walked through Downtown Houston on a sightseeing tour of the many prominent monuments and buildings Downtown Houston has in store. 

Former Governor of Wisconsin Scott Walker, now President of YAF, was a constant presence at the event, taking pictures with students, eating meals with them, and running a 5K on Friday morning with a small but determined group of students. 

José Quijada, an immigrant from Venezuela who now attends Lone Star College, also enjoyed his time at the conference. 

 “It was an amazing experience! Like nothing I have ever done before. People were professional and friendly, which made it super easy to make new friends. Seeing Ben Shapiro for the first time was great! But I will say being able to be with like-minded people for a week was AWESOME. Love[ed] the experience and will do it again.”

YAF’s next conference is September 24th at their headquarters in Reston, Virginia. Titled “Road to Freedom Seminar: Secrets to Advancing Free Markets Over Wokeness,” speakers will include Rachel Bovard, Andrew F. Puzder, and Governor Walker. 

Cover image used with permission of Young America’s Foundation.