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COLLEGIANS

Eagle Forum

Eagle Forum Collegians16th Annual Summit ReportFall 2009www.efcollegians.org

Who’s in control?

by Eric Norige

Michigan State UniversityWho runs your life? Americans arein charge of their circumstancesmore than any other culture. Wedrive ourselves wherever we want to,whenever we want to. We choosewhat to buy, what to sell, and forwhat price. And we need EagleForum Collegians to keep it this way.Americans have rejected Socialism.We don’t want some namelessbureaucrat deciding how much profitwe make in our business, or decidingthat certain medical treatments aren’tappropriate.Americans are starting to buy intothe idea that experts know the “rightway” to do things. In many fields,the “right way” leads to inventionsand technologies that enrich ourlives. In the social sciences (psychol-ogy, sociology, economics, environ-mental science) it leads to expertstaking away our choices to produce abetter society.Scientific models are always incom-plete simplifications of the realworld. The experts’ “right way” willnever lead to a perfect societybecause they will never be able toaccount for the little changes that arecritical for real world outcomes.How do we get off the slippery slopeleading to no freedom?We need a continuing stream of edu-cated, capable leaders safeguardingour freedoms from those who wantto centralize power for their ownbenefit, and to protect us from thosewho would take away our decisionsin order to run our lives the “rightway.” Eagle Forum Collegians worksto develop leaders by bringing stu-dents together with the best andbrightest conservative thinkers, bothof their generation and the previous.

Eagle Forum CollegiansEagle Forum Collegians16th Annual Leadership Summit – July 9-10, 200916th Annual Leadership Summit – July 9-10, 2009

Sirens fill the air and panic grips everyAmerican. It’s a nation’s worst night-mare. Iran has launched a nuclear missileand we have less than 33 minutes torespond. Thequestion is, “Canwe respond?”This may be anIranian dream, butit is closer thanmost people real-ize. Riki Ellison,founder of MissileDefenseAdvocacyAlliance, was acompelling speak-er at Eagle ForumCollegiansSummit.Ellison warned, “In this generation, Iranis our number-one threat.” The launchingof an intercontinental ballistic missilefrom anywhere in the world would giveAmerica no more than 33 minutes beforeobliteration. Even if detonated highabove the country, an electromagneticpulse would eradicate the nation’s electri-cal power causing utter chaos. To avoidcatastrophe, Americans must prioritizeinnovative defense technology.For 30 years, Americans were preventedfrom developing technology for nuclearwarfare because of the Anti-BallisticMissile (ABM)Treaty originallysigned by theNixon administra-tion. Ellison com-mended PresidentGeorge Bush forwithdrawing fromthe ABM Treaty,and thereby start-ing America’sexperimentationwith technologyto destroy missilesduring their flighttime outside theearth’s atmos-phere. Accordingto Gen. Henry Obering, “We’ve gottenbeyond being able to hit a bullet with abullet. We are now able to hit a spot on abullet with a bullet.” The United Statesperformed the most realistic operationaltest in December 2005, when a long-range ballistic missile was successfullyintercepted within seven minutes of launching.Ellison stressed how President Barack Obama’s new budget slashes missiledefense spending by more than one billondollars. According to Ellison, not untilAmericans choose to prioritize missiledefense will America be the home of thebrave.

Phyllis Schlafly with Riki Ellison

by Bethany Burrell

Verity Institute

A Nation at Risk

Deborah Garrett

Huntingdon College

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The Collegians Summit unitesideals with action andpassion. Young conservativesare treated as a crucial partof the movement. Leaders oftoday, not tomorrow.Students who believe in theprinciples of limitedgovernment and freedomcome away from the Summitinspired to continue fightingwith diligence and hope.

by Kevin Hoffman

Grove City College

Pro-life and Campus Challenges

by Eva Zitterkob

Southwestern Oklahoma State UniversityAbortion affects everyone associatedwith the act and changes them forever.Women who abort are six times morelikely to commit suicide and have a65% chance of chemical depression.Post-abortion trauma can impact anyoneinvolved. Trauma symptoms includenaming the abortedbaby, comparing theages of other childrento the one aborted,chemical depression,violence and evensuicide. Even theabortion process hasmajor risks, includingcardiac arrest, hemor-rhages that requiretransfusion, endotox-ic shock, cervical lac-eration, uterine rup-ture, and even death.Listening to KristanHawkins gave memore insight to strengthen my opposi-tion to abortion. Mrs. Hawkinsinformed us that within the first monthof the pregnancy, the baby starts show-ing arms, legs, and muscles. It has aregular heartbeat, and the foundationsof the brain, spinal cord, and nervoussystem are already established. Thatmeans that the baby is susceptible topain.In the second month of pregnancy, brainwaves start controlling 40 sets of the

EAGLE FORUM COLLEGIANS

baby’s muscles and organs. Its featuresbecome more defined, teeth and tastebuds form, and some babies have beenobserved hiccupping. By the thirdmonth the baby is very active. It cansleep, wake, and exercise its muscles.The sex can be visually determined andfamily resemblance can appear. All theorgans and systems of the body areworking.In the fourth month,the baby’s ears arefunctioning and itcan hear its mother’sheartbeat, as well asexternal sounds. Themother starts to feelher baby’s move-ment. By the fifthmonth, the baby may jump to loud sounds.In the sixth month,its skin and lungsbecome more devel-oped. During theseventh month, thebaby can recognizeits mother’s voice and use 4 of the 5senses. The baby’s skin thickens with alayer of fat in month eight. The lastmonth of the pregnancy, the baby growsone half pound per week.Abortion is not the answer to an unex-pected pregnancy, nor is it an easy out.Abortion is killing an innocent life. It isvery important for anyone consideringabortion to get all the facts before mak-ing a decision. Who are we to say whocan be born and who can’t?

Kristan Hawkinsof Students for LifeStudents enjoy lunch in between sessions

2009

Collegians Summit

Colleges and Universities Represented

Abilene Christian University • American University • Amherst College • AndersonUniversity • Arizona State • Auburn University • Ave Maria University • Ball StateUniversity • Baylor University • Binghamton University • Biola University •Birmingham-Southern College • Bob Jones University • Boston University • BrandeisUniversity • Brigham Young University • Brown University • Bucknell University •Burlington County Community College • Cal Poly State University • Case WesternReserve University • Cedarville University • Central Michigan University • ChristendomCollege • College of Southern Maryland • Colorado State University • Covenant College •DePaul University • Evangel University • Florida State University • Fordham College of Liberal Studies • Franciscan University of Steubenville • George Mason University •George Washington University • George Wythe College • Georgia Tech • Grand RapidsCommunity College • Grove City College • Harvard College • Hillsdale College •Huntingdon College • Institut Français de Journalisme • James Madison University •Kansas State University • Kent State University • Loyola University Chicago •Marymount University • Meredith College • Mesa State College • Miami University •Middle Tennessee State University • Motlow State Community College • Mount HolyokeCollege • New Jersey State • Northland International University • Northwestern College •Oklahoma Christian University • Oklahoma State University • Patrick Henry College •Pennsylvania State • Pensacola Christian College • Princeton University • ProvidenceCollege • Raritan Valley Community College • Regent University • Salisbury University •Samford University • Santa Rosa Junior College • Sciences Po Paris • Sonoma StateUniversity • Southern Methodist University • Southwestern Oklahoma State University •St. John’s University/ College of St. Benedict • St. Louis Community College •Swarthmore College • Texas Christian University • Texas State University • The CatholicUniversity of America • The King’s College • The Ohio State University • The Universityof Iowa • Thomas Aquinas College • Thomas Edison State College • Trinity/MarymountCollege • Tulane University • Université Paris II Assas • University of California, SantaBarbara • University of Bristol, UK • University of Dallas • University of Florida •University of Georgia • University of Houston • University of Idaho • University of Illinois College of Law • University of Kentucky • University of Louisville • Universityof Mary Washington • University of Massachusetts, Amherst • University of Michigan •University of Missouri-Columbia • University of Nevada-Reno • University of NotreDame • University of Oklahoma • University of Phoenix • University of South Carolina •University of Southern California • University of Southern Maine • University of Texas atAustin • University of Tulsa • University of Virginia • University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire• University of Wyoming • Ursuline Academy • Vanderbilt University • Verity Institute •Washburn University • Wheaton College • Willamette University • William and Mary

Senator Jim DeMint (SC) wants nothingmore than to save freedom. Governmentcannot be allowed tocontrol the lives of its citizens, and thepower of choice mustbe allowed to suc-ceed.Deregulation andcompetition must bea part of the solutionfor America.Our very own educa-tion system is anexample of why prin-ciples of free marketcapitalism are oftenavoided. Since the1970s, when the Department of Education was created, the quality of oureducation has declined in relation to therest of the world, even though we spend$10,000 on each student per year.In order to “save freedom,” according toSenator De Mint, we must return to thethings that work in America, things thathave their foundation in the basic princi-ples of freedom. It isnot principles of free-dom that have kept usdependent on foreignnations for our ener-gy supply, and wecan be certain thatgovernment-runhealth care will notbe based on thoseprinciples.DeMint’s proposedhealth care plan isbased entirely onfreedom. It givesfinancial tax incen-tives to everyAmerican who wants to buy personalhealth insurance. The real goal of conser-vatives should be to foster an environ-ment that produces the greatest amountof quality health care and education.

Saving Freedom For The Sake Of America

Senator Jim DeMint

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Very inspiring foryoung conservatives,and a place to sharegreat new ideas.

Bryan O’Neill

Tulane University

Phyllis & Collegians

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Missiles, terrorism, economic manipula-tion – those are external threats to theUnited States. However, there is a threat just as dangerous. It is an internal vicethat can destroy the fabric of our nation.Rep. Trent Franks (AZ) compared ournation to a ship. A ship will stay afloaton an ocean, but if water gets inside thecraft, the ship will sink. Rep. Frankssaid he believed the Supreme Court canbe the water that sinks our ship of state.Franks explained that the judiciary wasnever designed to have legislativepower. “The Judiciary was supposed tobe the weakest of all the branches of government, but now it may be the mostdangerous.”When judges create social policy or law,they are stepping beyond constitutionalbounds. He used as examples theSupreme Court decisions in

Roe v. Wade

and

Dred Scott v. Sanford

. When the judicial branch encroaches on the otherbranches, the delicate balance protect-ing us from tyrannical government getsthrown off.Franks asked, “How did we accept thisnotion of letting nine unelected officialsdictate social policies? Supreme Court justices seem to believe that movingtheir agenda through the judiciary is aright. When they do this, they become athreat to the Constitution they swore touphold, and in doing this, they threatenthe people’s freedom.”Rep. Franks quoted Abraham Lincoln:“We, the people, are the rightful mastersof both Congress and the courts – not tooverthrow the Constitution, but to over-throw men who pervert the constitu-tion.” Agreeing with Lincoln, Rep.Franks suggested that we, the people,have the right, and duty, to check judi-cial supremacy.Day one of the Eagle Forum CollegiansSummit opened with a motivatingspeech by Rep. Michele Bachmann of Minnesota. With asmuch energy asany of the 18-24-year-olds,Bachmann bound-ed up the stepswith a shiningsmile and eyesaglow with thepassion of awoman on fire forher country.Bachmann urgedthe students tobecome activeadvocates of indi-vidual freedomand sovereignty.This must beaccomplished with the cooperation of

Saving Our National Sovereignty

by Emmalee Mattern

Oklahoma Christian University

SIXteenth annual leadership summit

The New Case Against Immigration

by Deborah Garrett

Huntingdon CollegeThe immigration debate for the last sev-eral years has focused on the flood of illegal immigrants.Conservatives haverightly argued thatunless we enforce ournation’s laws on immi-gration, we are support-ing lawbreakers and thebreakdown of internalsecurity.From the left we hearrhetoric tying illegals tothe claim that they dothe jobs Americans willnot take. Conservativescontinue to emphasize the cost of pro-viding social benefits such as healthcare and education to illegals.Illegal immigrants add a greater threatto national security because they enterthe country undetected. Some have acriminal background.Mark Krikorian, the executive directorof Immigration Studies, argues that thereal issue is the number of immigrants,not just their status as illegals.The number of legalimmigrants has risenalarmingly. Krikorianstates, “Annual legalimmigration – the num-ber of people awardedpermanent residencypotentially leading tocitizenship – has risenfrom fewer than400,000 in 1970 tonearly 1.3 million in2006.”Krikorian explained that today’s immi-grants’ struggle with assimilation is dif-ferent from the past because technologyenables them to live in a sub-culture.Many immigrants today, illegal andlegal, never fully embrace Americanculture. While America would like tocure world poverty and welcome all of

Stop the ImperialJudiciary

by Cossette Haner

George Wythe College

the world’s refugees, we cannot containvast millions of people and remain pros-perous.Limiting immigration into the UnitedStates is beneficial to other nationssince it preserves the economic stabilityof the U.S., enabling it to lead inhumanitarian efforts. One of the mainreasons why so many want to come tothe U.S. is to achieve economic stabilityand enjoy the freedoms of Americansociety. Placing educational standardson immigrants would greatly reduce theinflux and allow low-skilled Americansto obtain desperately needed jobs.Massive immigration of any type,Krikorian argues in his book

The NewCase Against Immigration

, does notbenefit the United States economicallyas it once did. Immigration may havebrought us a rainbow of diversity, butthat is not what made America great.What made America great are the idealsand principles our nation was built on.These ideals, applied to society, allowfreedom to flourish, giving people theopportunity to succeed.

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The conference as a whole was well organized, sophisticat-ed and demanding of deep intellectual involvement,which I loved. It was so refreshing to be around so manylike-minded conservatives, and it provided me hope Ithought had faded last November 4.

Emmalee Mattern

Oklahoma Christian University

Mark Krikorian Emmalee Mattern with Rep. Trent Franks

the American people, and she warnedthat the trust involved in cooperationdoesn’t come from taxing citizens intopoverty.The foundations of freedom cannot becast aside toachieve bettermentfor the greatergood. The recentcall for a globalcurrency, govern-mental buyouts of private corpora-tions, and risingincome taxes arenot the kind of governmentalintrusion we need.Rep. Bachmanncontrasted the sov-ereignty designedby our FoundingFathers with thepower grab bythose holding government offices today.“Never before has one party been sodominated by such a power-grapplingagenda,” Rep. Bachmann said.An increase in laws, taxes and regula-tions is like a set of heavily restrictiveshackles. Each law is like another link in the chain; each tax increase is like apound of iron weighing us down. In aneffort to equalize, the federal govern-ment’s endeavors only enslave.Bachmann called for help from youngpatriots to stem the erosion of the tradi-tional American values of life, libertyand the pursuit of happiness. “The rugof freedom is being pulled out fromunder you,” she said. “We’re in a slowsurrender of our national sovereignty.”If we want to enjoy the freedoms ourgrandfathers fought for, we must speak our minds and share our beliefs. Savingour sovereignty demands no less.Personal freedom cannot exist withouteconomic freedom; the former cannotexist without the latter. “Our nation isaching for you,” Bachmann said. “Thisis your test of bravery.”

Collegian with Rep. Michele Bachmann

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I learned so much.Thank you!Makes me want to bebold and run for officesomeday!

Landon Cook

Brigham Young University

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