how can i start a conservative club at my school

Hi Jandel,

I hope all is well! The answer to your question should be pretty straight forward. I would swing by the principles office and just ask what steps you need to take to start a club at your school. This probably entails filling out a simple form that states the purpose of the club and what times it will meet. I would treat it like you were starting a chess club. A chess club is for students who enjoy getting together to play chess. A conservative club would be for students that enjoy getting together to discuss conservative values. Pretty simple. Unfortunately, I have a feeling you posted this question because it's not that simple due to the current political climate in the U.S.. So, if my assumptions are correct, here's how I would proceed.

First and foremost, be respectful of the faculty and staff at the school, and of your fellow students. They may not agree with you starting a conservative club, and that's their right. There seems to be a lack of decorum when it comes to all things political these days, and debate seems to be from a bygone era. However, if you want people to respect your right to your conservative values, you have to respect other peoples rights to have different opinions. That being said, if a faculty member won't allow you to start a conservative club because they don't agree with conservative viewpoints, that would be unconstitutional and would infringe upon your First Amendment right to the freedom of assembly. If other clubs exist and are allowed to meet on school property after school hours, than you absolutely have the right to start a conservative club.

Once the school grants you the permission to start this club, it will be your responsibility to ensure that the conduct and content of your meetings are held in good faith. That is, let it be known to all who want to join, that no opinion will be silenced and no hate speech will be tolerated. If the conversation starts to spin out of control, it will be your responsibility to reign it in. There's a big difference between standing up for what you believe in and being intolerant of others.

Chances are you're not even old enough to vote yet, but your desire for civic engagement is encouraging. We're lucky enough to live in a society where our Constitution protects certain inalienable rights. When it comes to these rights, remember you have the Constitution on your side, but so does every other American. The best way to change minds is not by force or shouting down someone else's opinion, but by engaging in meaningful debate and sharing your opinions and reasoning. It takes courage to do what you're doing! Good luck with everything and I hope this helps.

Best Regards,

Paul

Hi Jandel. Great question.

I would agree with everything Paul said and add the following.

It can be hard to start any kind of club at a school where no club of that type currently exists. However, I think luck is probably on your side. You likely need a faculty advisor of some type, and conservative teachers are rather rare in my experience. However, you're in Florida which likely has at least a few conservatives or libertarians on staff. Seek them out. Ask them if they would be willing to help.

You are also lucky in that now, much more so than when I was your age, the number and diversity of conservative resources is really remarkable. On the internet, Youtube, in the library, on radio and on TV, the volume of good quality conservative material is enormous. Soak yourself in it.

One thing that most conservatives share is a belief that the "free marketplace of ideas" is the best way to determine what ideas about government, economics and public policy work and what ideas don't. The best way for ideas to compete is to have debates, discussions and speakers from all different political view points.

Chances are, most of your classmates are pretty clueless about politics. Or maybe 99% of them are just knee-jerk liberals because it's "cool." As the leader of a conservative club, you have a responsibility to help expose them, if they're willing, to other viewpoints. You should make every effort to showcase multiple viewpoints by inviting liberals, communists, socialists, anarchists, libertarians, green party types, and people representing any other political persuasion to debate their positions with you and your conservative friends. Chances are it will be up to you and your club to create an atmosphere where debate can happen.

But, to effectively perform this role, you need to understand a lot about the other sides' position and also what the conservative positions are all about. Read everything you can get your hands on. Some good conservatives to learn from are:

• Mark Levin - Great books on the Constitution and freedom
• Ann Coulter - Excellent, thoughtful conservative writer
• Ben Shapiro - Great Youtube videos and I think a podcast. Incredibly smart. Great debater.
• Victor Davis Hanson - Fellow at the Hoover Institution at Stanford. Very smart, thoughtful guy.
• Thomas Sowell - Great writer, conservative economist.
• Senator Ted Cruz - The leading conservative in government and probably the smartest guy to ever graduate from Harvard Law School.
• Rush Limbaugh - The radio host makes everything understandable and has a convenient podcast.

You should also learn the U.S. Constitution backwards and forwards, especially the Bill of Rights. A great resource for this is Hillsdale College. They have have terrific free courses on the Constitution and a great (free) print publication called "Imprimis" which is a collection of conservative speeches by great thinkers (comes out monthly or quarterly). Good stuff.

Two other good sources of conservative thought are the Heritage Foundation and the Federalist Society. The Federalist Society has lots of local chapters in different cities and at many colleges and law schools. This would be a good source for you to get conservative speakers to come in and to find conservative speakers appearing at local colleges and other venues.

There are a number of great magazines that are also excellent sources to help you understand conservative thought. National Review, The American Spectator and The Weekly Standard are all good.

See if you can get the chance to write a column or the occasional story for the school newspaper on politics.

This should get you started. First and foremost, conservatism is about learning. Read good books, listen to smart people, know the facts and statistics. It's up to you to protect the rights of people to say and believe what they want. Don't let people who hold a different political point of view shout you down and don't you shout them down. When we can't hear what the other side is saying, we can't have a discussion. And without a civilized discussion where all ideas are heard, we can't hope to get anyone to see our point of view. There is a reason the First Amendment protects freedom of speech and there is a reason it's the first amendment listed. Protect it.

Pick a good name for your club. "The Federalist Society" or something like that. If the administration objects, it will help lend credibility. Emphasize the fact that you want to discuss ideas, bring in interesting speakers and encourage lively, but civil debate. There is an old saying attributed to Anselme Polycarpe Batbie (a French lawyer from the 19th Century), which goes, "If you're not a liberal by the time you're 18, you have no heart; and if you're not a conservative by the time you're 35, you have no brain." Liberals are just conservatives in training. Be kind to them. They're not the enemy, just misguided.

Good luck!