Shyannah Burns, president and founder of Washburn’s Young Americans for Liberty (YAL), is hard at work preparing for this Fall semester.

Despite her efforts, Burns said “This year is not looking too good…starting a new organization, especially one that not many people know about in the first place, is rough and rocky.”

Burns has made an impact on campus by providing yet another outlet for students to learn and discuss their diverse political views on Washburn’s campus. Burns discussed the introduction of the chapter as “a spur of the moment decision” wherein she was convinced to start the organization to help “give the students their constitutional rights back and educate students on those rights and how they can fight for them too.”

With 309 chapters, the Young Americans for Liberty is the largest, most active and fastest-growing pro-liberty organization on America’s college campuses. Thousands of college students nationwide seek to educate and be educated on the Libertarian movement. Washburn hosts one of the four chapters in Kansas, along with KU, KSU and WSU. 

Some may ask, “What even is a Libertarian?” The Miriam-Webster’s dictionary defines it as “an advocate of the doctrine ofhaving a free will; a person who upholds the principles of liberty especially of thought and action.” Who doesn’t like that? The idea of desire for free will is something most of us can agree on. Everyone wants to be able to do as they please. We begin to waver when we understand that free will means anyone can make a choice as to whether to commit a crime or not. Murder is a choice and that can be scary to think about. But it is an issue that we should think about.

Political chapters on campuses can often be seen as a tool to divide the student body. But, if the function of a student organization is to bring like minded individuals together in search of the truth, then I would be an advocate of any organzation that does so, political or not. 

Burns said “YAL is a wonderful middleground between republican and democrat, many students believe there is either red or blue, but don’t know there is a third choice.”

YAL is technically a non-partizan organization focused on “educating Americans on their rights, the laws of the nation, the effects of those laws and more,” Burns said. “YAL has changed me and changed many of the ways I think about what is going on around me, it may do the same for you.”

Shayannah Burns and the Young Americans for Liberty want to invite anyone who is interested to sign the Freedom of Speech Ball that might make more than one appearance this semester. If anyone has questions, they can email Shyannah Burns at [email protected].