September Activism Concludes with Sweatshop Economics

YAL@VU hosted a webinar watching party on Sept. 27th, streaming a presentation by Prof. Ben Powell on “No Sweat: How Sweatshops Improve Lives and Economic Growth.”

The presentation explained how sweatshops provide a superior opportunity for the workers who work in them compared to other alternatives available to those workers and the role sweatshops play in the process of economic development that ultimately leads to the disappearance of sweatshops.

The webinar was part of the SFL Webinar Series.

A short version of the lecture can be watched below:



We also recieved two more mentions on local television this week related to the recent controversy over the implementation of a non-discrimination policy threatening the freedom of association rights of student groups. WZTV-TV, WSMV-TV

Dr. John R. Lott Jr. on Concealed Carry on Campus

YAL@VU got the following front page feature in The Hustler on Thursday, Sept. 22nd.:

Full video below:

Additional media: http://issuu.com/vanderbilthustler/docs/09-22-11_vandy_hustler
http://www.insidevandy.com/drupal/node/17822

Celebrating Constitution Day 2011

Sept. 17th, 2011, marked the 224th anniversary of the signing of the U.S. Constitution. To commemorate the signing, we held our 2nd Annual Constitution Day Celebration at Vanderbilt.

Distributing 1,200 pocket Constitutions over three days, Friday Sept. 16th through Sunday Sept. 19th, YAL members educated students on the Constitution while providing insight on the need for limitations on power and responsible use of power in order to achieve good governance in both public and private matters.

In each pocket Constitution, we included a short quiz to test the recipient's knowledge of the Constitution. We also displayed a replica of the U.S. Constitution and encouraged students to sign it!

Participation in these activities aided students in becoming ethical, responsible, and self-disciplined leaders; challenged them to develop an appreciation for civility and diversity; prepared them for community leadership and citizenship; and supported an environment that embraces discourse and the exchange of ideas.

Since it was also family weekend at Vanderbilt, there were many students showing the campus to their parents. We noticed that parents were often very receptive to our message, and their responses were quite encouraging; a few personally told us that they appreciated the good work we were doing.

Some parents sat at the nearby tables and skimmed the Constitution as they waited to meet up with their children. Several reacted to the event by asking their students why they were not already involved in our organization. As a result, we even had a few students walk up and ask how to get more involved!

Overall, we put a smile on many faces, educated a lot of students, and recruited members and potential leaders into our organization.

Vanderbilt YAL: Fantastic First Meeting

Vanderbilt YAL's first official meeting this semester was a HUGE success as we hosted our faculty advisor, Dr. John Lachs, Centennial Professor of Philosophy, who spoke on the "The Significance of Individuals." Prof. Lachs delivered a wonderful speech interlaced with humor and optimism. The video of our meeting can be seen below.

We had a great turnout at the event and many freshmen in attendence. Best of all, we had THREE TV news stations covering our meeting: WSMV-TV Channel 4, Nashville, NewsChannel5.com, and WKRN-TV Nashville.

Our meeting concluded with a Presidential Debate Watching Party and several students were interviewed by the media during the breaks. One of the news clips can be found here: