CFACT and the Young Americans for Liberty (YAL) chapter at the University of Nevada, Reno held a strategy meeting to discuss how best to bring the fight for liberty and free markets to campus going forward.
Students pose during the strategy meeting held on campus.
“I think between CFACT and YAL we could combine to do something awesome,” explained Patrick Shields, a junior and CFACT president at the University. “These guys would absolutely love to get a guest speaker to campus.”
Those being discussed were Ramona Hage Morrison, an avid property rights advocate in the Southwest and Stephen Crowder, a conservative commentator and advocate for free speech.
“We’re also planning some recruitment efforts to build our chapters,” explained Patrick. “I’ve done some outreach on the phony 97% consensus on climate change on campus, but we could also reach out on saving endangered species through free markets or a property rights day.”
The issue of property rights is especially important to Nevada and the western United States, as the federal government owns an incredible 84.5% of the land in Nevada, according to the U.S. General Services Administration. Across the west, the story is very similar: the feds own 57.4% in Utah, 69.1% in Alaska, and 48.1% in Arizona. In the eastern United States, that figure is much lower: the State with highest federal ownership is North Carolina, at 11.8% of land owned by the government.
Map showing percentage of federal lands inside each state.
This makes it harder for property owners to start businesses, it drives up the costs of owning land, and is a severe limitation on personal freedom. CFACT and its’ student allies will look for ways to bring attention to this disturbing trend in the coming months.
