John Kerry v. George W. Bush: Giving to 2004 Presidential Campaigns from Employees at U.S. News & World Report's Top-Ranked National UniversitiesUSN&WR's 2004School RankingsKerry/BushDollar RatioKerry/BushDollar %Number ofDonations Harvard31 to 198% to 2%406 to 13Princeton114 to 199% to 1%114 to 1Yale50 to 198% to 2%150 to 3Penn19 to 195% to 5%93 to 5Duke14 to 193% to 7%98 to 7 MIT61 to 198% to 2%121 to 2Stanford9 to 190% to 10%257 to 28CIT11 to 192% to 8%22 to 2Columbia14 to 193% to 7%197 to 14DartmouthInfinity100% to 0%39 to 0 Northwestern17 to 194% to 6%100 to 6Washington U.4 to 180% to 20%56 to 14Brown11 to 192% to 8%43 to 4Cornell20 to 195% to 5%142 to 7Johns Hopkins7 to 187% to 13%125 to 19 Chicago5 to 184% to 16%77 to 15Rice4 to 178% to 22%21 to 6Notre Dame2 to 169% to 31%18 to 8Vanderbilt3 to 175% to 25%76 to 26Emory16 to 194% to 6%80 to 5 Univ. of California25 to 196% to 4%694 to 28Carnegie Mellon18 to 195% to 5%55 to 3Michigan23 to 196% to 4%159 to 7UVA7 to 188% to 12%72 to 10Georgetown22 to 196% to 4%132 to 6 American colleges and universities are very different from the nation that surrounds them.The differences are especially profound when it comes to politics. The United States is closely divided between the two major parties, but no such division exists on any major college campus. Federal Election Commission records from 2004 show a wide disparity in donations to the two major presidential candidates from college and university employees.Employees at Harvard University gave John Kerry $31 for every $1 they gave George W. Bush. At Duke University, the ratio stood at $14 to $1. At Princeton University, a $114 to $1 ratio prevails.The Kerry/Bush split in the number of donations is even more extreme. John Kerry received 257 donations of $200 or more from Stanford, while his opponent got just 28. At Northwestern, Kerry received 100 such contributions and Bush six. Georgetown University donations swung 132 to six in Kerry's favor.Deep Blue Campuses examines the political donations of employees at the top twenty-five national universities listed in U.S. News and World Report's 2004 college issue. Specifically, this booklet compares donations in the 2004 election cycle to the two major presidential candidates, George W. Bush and John Kerry.Although George Bush claimed a bare majority of votes in the actual election, John Kerry trounced him in donations received from colleges and universities. In fact, John Kerry received the lion's share of donations from workers at all twenty-five schools featured in U.S. News and World Report's annual survey. At one school (Dartmouth), Kerry posted an infinite advantage: FEC records show 39 donations to Kerry but not a single Dartmouth employee donating to George W. Bush's campaign.According to Federal Election Commission records, five of the top twenty institutions of all types from which donors made contributions to John Kerry's campaign – the University of California, Harvard, Stanford, the University of Michigan, and Columbia – were universities.[1] The UC system and Harvard actually gave more than Viacom, JP Morgan, CitiGroup, and other corporate behemoths. In contrast, no university ranked in George W. Bush's top twenty contributors.The buzzword on campus is diversity. The reality on campus is conformity.Ward Churchill: Case Study In the spring of 2005, Ward Churchill, a heretofore obscure professor of ethnic studies at the University of Colorado, became the subject of op-eds, cable news debates, blog posts, and angry talk-radio calls. Several schools, including Hamilton College, ignited controversy by inviting Churchill to speak. Churchill had penned a response to 9/11 entitled “Some People Push Back,” which characterized Osama bin Laden's followers as acting with “patience and restraint” and compared the victims of 9/11 to Nazis.[2]America considers Ward Churchill a mental case. Academia considers Ward Churchill a scholar.Churchill holds a masters degree in communications from Sangamon State University yet somehow managed to get tenure at one of the nation's more prestigious state universities. A committee of his peers even made him the chairman of an academic department. Outside the University of Colorado, universities officially invite him to address their students. Standing ovations interrupted Churchill's post-controversy speeches at the Universities of Hawaii and Colorado, for instance, and overflow audiences packed the rooms.[3] The Martin Luther King Jr. Collegium of Scholars at Morehouse College even inducted Churchill into its group.The Churchill scandal illustrates the perils of campus conformity. The University of Colorado hires extremists such as Ward Churchill, but excludes mainstream conservatives. When the Rocky Mountain News surveyed thirteen departments on the Boulder campus in 1997, they found a 31-1 Democrat/Republican party-registration imbalance among the faculty.[4]If a conservative relied on as underwhelming a resume as Ward Churchill and similarly exposed himself as a sloppy thinker in the way Churchill has, would he have received tenure, a department chair, and the support of the University of Colorado faculty? No.Churchill's radicalism, rather than his resume, landed him the job. Just as his politics were his qualifications, the politics of conservatives often disqualify them from academic positions.Consequences of GroupthinkAmerican college campuses are tiny blue islands engulfed in a giant red sea. The political alienation of the professoriate results in a tendency among academics to lash out at the surrounding society, to react immaturely to views contrary to their own, and to cultivate extremism among students. A more politically diverse faculty would alleviate these problems.The controversy over Ward Churchill's words coincided with a controversy over the words of a more famous academic.[5] Harvard President Larry Summers's speech exploring possible genetic differences in the cognitive abilities of the sexes sparked controversy on campus, whereas Churchill's words sparked controversy off campus.In response to the uproar over Churchill, hundreds of CU faculty purchased an ad in a Boulder newspaper expressing their support for their embattled colleague.[6] In Summers's case, the Harvard faculty of arts and sciences voted to call on Summers to resign.[7]Campus conformity makes freedom of speech a relative concept, subject to the political outlook of the speaker. If your words offend liberals, like Summers's words did, it is deemed a firing offense. If your words offend everybody else, like Churchill's words did, academics will defend you and label criticism “censorship.” On campus, what unfortunately matters is whose ox is being gored. This overwhelming political bias characterizes the faculties of all top colleges.The campus is the place where speech should be the most free. The campus is the place where speech is the most restricted.Offended by a politically incorrect campus newspaper, students in a women's studies class at Rutgers fulfilled a required assignment to “construct a feminist action project” by collecting signatures demanding the university ban the publication. When the censorship campaign went nowhere, students took action into their own hands by confiscating and destroying an entire press-run of the paper in the fall of 2004.[8]Ball State University student Amanda Carpenter penned exposés on BSU faculty and its summer reading program in her campus publication, www.bsyou.net. In response, a BSU teaching assistant doctored images of her – superimposing her face over pornographic pictures – and posted them on a local message board.[9]Left-wing activists assaulted Ann Coulter, David Horowitz, Richard Perle, William Kristol, and Pat Buchanan as they spoke on campuses during the 2004-2005 school year.Over 2004's Thanksgiving weekend, Yale University thieves confiscated an entire press run of the Yale Free Press, a conservative student publication. The school's Dean of Student Affairs refused to look into the matter, brushing off the student journalists. To have their complaint investigated, they had to individually contact each of the school's eleven residential colleges, the Dean told them.[10]Why does a healthy exchange of ideas matter in an academic setting? The search for truth is the longstanding mission of higher education. When one side of the debate is silenced, finding the truth becomes more difficult. If institutions embraced intellectual diversity in the way they have embraced racial diversity they would be much more likely to foster debate and thus aid the search for truth.Consequences of Groupthink, Part IIWard Churchill merely defends terrorists. Other professors once were terrorists.Bill Ayers bombed the Pentagon in 1972. Now he's the Distinguished Professor of Education at the University of Illinois-Chicago.Bernadine Dohrn, a terrorist who romanticized the Manson Family, reacted to the 1969 Helter Skelter slayings by remarking: “Dig it. First they killed those pigs, then they ate dinner in the same room with them, they even shoved a fork into a victim's stomach! Wild!”[11] Dohrn is now a professor at Northwestern University and gave the 2004 commencement address at Pitzer College.Like Ayers and Dohrn, Mark Rudd helped lead the Weather Underground, which bombed banks, police stations, and university buildings in the 1970s. Today he teaches at a college in New Mexico.However, what is taught is more important than who is teaching.While their lecture halls host scores of politicized courses such as “Women, Race, Gender, Sexuality” (Yale) and “Feminist Biblical Interpretation” (Harvard), Yale and Harvard prohibit the Reserve Officers Training Corps from using their classroom space.A sample of ideologically-loaded courses elsewhere include the University of Michigan's “How to Be Gay: Male Homosexuality and Initiation,” Amherst College's “Taking Marx Seriously,” and the University of North Carolina's “Environmental Advocacy.” Grading on an ideological curve, assigning activism for credit, and transforming lecterns into soap-boxes are among the pitfalls of a hyper-politicized faculty.Campus BiasFor years, the left dismissed such anecdotes as cherry-picked examples that distort the reality of the campuses as repositories of debate, intellectual diversity, and free speech. In response, conservatives began to undertake empirical surveys demonstrating the political imbalance on college campuses.Numerous studies have demonstrated just how politically slanted the campuses are. The findings of Deep Blue Campuses are consistent with the existing body of data that shows that those entrusted with imparting knowledge to the rising generation are outside of the mainstream.

Download the PDF version here.IntroductionOf the many ways students raise funds for campus public policy activities and organizations, only the following method, personal solicitation, has proved to be universally successful. That's why it's known as foolproof. And why it is famous.I developed, practiced, and refined this technique in the early 1960s while a student at Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge.If properly asked, many people will gladly give contributions to support conservative student activities. Such people can be found in every community and in every state, including yours.Having taught the formula to students since 1962, I am confident of its success. I maintain an open-door policy with my students. Each student is invited to contact me if the formula doesn't work. No one using it has ever reported anything but success.The First Stage -- Your BudgetThe first step in the Famous Foolproof Fundraising Formula is to make a complete annual budget for your program or organization. This system works for funding single projects, but you'll raise a lot more money if you don't have to repeat the process for each project.The budget should be reasonably detailed and easy to understand. Briefly and simply outline your budget so a person not affiliated with your organization can understand each entry. For example, don't put down an item as “LI SCHOOL.” Instead, write “Leadership Institute's Youth Leadership School training” or “Leadership Institute's Student Publications School registration.”The budget should be organized by category with a final total at the bottom. The budget should not be more than one typed page.Brainstorm with others to list all the appropriate expenditures for the coming year.In the Appendix are sample budgets for an independent newspaper, a campus political club, and a speakers program. Your specific budget requirements will vary, but these provide a good base from which to start.The Second Stage -- Identifying the Most Likely DonorsNext, make a list of people, both in and out of the local community, whom you believe are most likely to make substantial contributions to your cause. Convene a few students who will be working closely with you. Have another brainstorming session. Start by listing the best fundraising prospects already known to students in your group. Then think of other sources of potential donors who may be willing to contribute to conservative, campus-related activities.Some wealthy conservatives may already be members of your college or university board of trustees or board of supervisors. Others may already be well known as donors to the university or to the alumni association.Look around. Perhaps the recently built Picklesimer Hall is named for the Picklesimer family, generous donors to your university. Are members of this family strongly conservative? If so, make them a priority for your fundraising visits.Other potential donors would be those who have contributed to conservative candidates for public office.Note: It is contrary to federal law to use the names and addresses of donors to federal candidates or federal political action committees for any commercial purpose if those names and addresses are obtained from the Federal Election Commission.“Commercial” includes fundraising! You may not legally use FEC lists for fundraising purposes. You'd break federal law and be subject to fines and criminal penalties if you did.However, at the state level, the required funding reports for candidates, political action committees, and political party organizations are not under any such prohibition in most states.Find out which office in your state capital receives the reports filed by candidates, political action committees, and political parties. (Often it's the Secretary of State's office or the State Election Board). Then ascertain if it is legitimate in your state to use information from this source for fundraising purposes.If it's legal in your state, you may go to the appropriate state agency and copy the names and addresses of each donor who has given substantial amounts of money to conservative candidate, political action committees, and party committees.Even in the case of federal elections, the candidates and the campaign organizations have their own copies of lists they previously submitted to the Federal Election Commission in their periodic reporting records. A friendly former candidate, winner or not, may legally allow you to use his list and to select from it the names and addresses of likely donors. Another ready source of potential donors are conservative leaders in your local community. Ask them who likely donors are and how they can be contacted.Conservative professors at your school may suggest some local business contacts, whom you may add to your prospective donor base.Even if you don't have many of the above sources, you can probably find enough good prospective donors to launch this program. With just a handful of conservative students at your brainstorming session, you should be able to come up with many good prospects.Do not spend more than a day or so creating your initial list of prospects. You should pick out the top half dozen or so, those you think most likely to give substantial contributions to your organization.Next, designate teams of two, preferably a guy and a gal, to make an appointment with each person on the list.The Third Stage -- Meeting With Potential DonorsMany of your potential donors will have secretaries. A secretary can be a strong ally if treated with respect. The secretary of a potential donor will probably ask, “Well, what is it you want to come talk about?” You should be reasonably frank with them.Respond with something to the effect of: “We are very concerned about outrageous left wing activity on our campus. We'd like to talk with you about the problems we are currently having with liberals at our school. We would like to show you some of the things we are trying to do to correct this imbalance. And we would very much appreciate having your thoughts on the matter.”The team of two should arrive slightly ahead of time for the appointment. Dress better than average for the students on your campus. This will vary from area to area and from campus to campus.At New College in Sarasota, Florida, a little better than average means that you wear shoes. On a few other campuses, a little better than average would mean that you would wear a suit and tie.However, don't go overdressed to meet a potential donor. A student who solicits funds in a three piece, heavy wool suit with a big gold-link watch chain looped across his vest may not be a credible student leader.Talented people are highly successful in personal solicitation. You should not send out utter klutzes who have not brushed their teeth since 1997. Donors respond best to intelligent students who have a pleasant demeanor and a solid plan of action.When you arrive, introduce yourselves. Take some time to discuss with him where you're coming from philosophically. Describe the problems you are fighting on campus. Ask him about his philosophy. Most people like to talk about their ideas. And, this will alert you to issues which motivate him to act.If the student government has recently paid $5,000 or $10,000 apiece to bring speakers, such as, say, communist activist Angela Davis or an environmental wacko to your campus, express your outrage about this.If your school newspaper has written some particularly outrageous left wing articles, cite them or, better still, take them along with you and show them at this time. Or mention any unfair, leftist professors or college administrators who persecute students who stand up for free enterprise or traditional values.You'll be surprised how many business people and conservative donors are knowledgeable about what's happening on your campus.Then take out your one page budget. Hand it to him. Let him examine it carefully.Prospects are usually people of substantial means. They quickly understand a clearly written budget. They'll be able to judge whether or not it's realistic. Be sure not to include items for all-expense-paid trips to the Bahamas for sun and fun. Present a realistic and sensible budget like the examples presented in the appendix.Ask him, “Does the budget contain any items which aren't clear? May we clarify any entries for you?” The prospect may well come up with one or two things which he doesn't understand.Be prepared to defend the various budget items, showing why each is a responsible use of money. If you're getting a cheap rate on something, point it out.Once you're sure he understands the budget, look him directly in the eye and, with a pleasant expression on your face, say this important sentence:“We were hoping you'd be able to help us financially to meet this budget.”After you've said this, keep your pleasant facial expression and wait. You wait. And you wait silently.If you have to wait thirty long seconds, wait. Silence is your ally. At some point, the prospect will eventually respond to what you've said.His reply will fall into one of these three categories:1) He may remark, “Well, I think it's a good idea, here's a contribution.” And he'll make a contribution or pledge right there.2) Or he may say some version of: “I'm sorry, I can't help you. I've got cancer, my wife is divorcing me, business is terrible, and my children are now being prosecuted for various crimes.” If a prospect says he just can't give you any money, thank him for his time and input, then leave.3) However, by far the most frequent response you will receive is something like: “How much are you asking me to contribute?” or “What are we talking about in terms of money?” In other words, the person will ask you how much to give.Don't bother to solicit anyone for a student activity whom you couldn't ask for at least $100. Some people should be in the $500 to $1,000 range or even higher. Always have a figure in mind before you meet with a prospective donor.Most students have never asked a perfect stranger for $500 or $1,000. But you shouldn't feel reluctant or awkward about this. Well-known donors are often asked personally to make contributions. Major donors are not ashamed or embarrassed to be asked for $1,000. So you shouldn't be ashamed or embarrassed to ask them for $1,000.If you're in doubt as to whether to ask a person for $100 or $500, ask for $500. If in doubt between asking for $1,000 or $2,000, ask for $2,000. Always ask for the higher amount in the range you think reasonable.My experience has shown that rarely do donors give more than they are asked for; however, they often give less.You may happen to misjudge a person's ability to give. You may ask him for $2,000 although he's never given more than $100 to anybody in his life. This won't grossly offend him.In fact, he may even chuckle, saying, “I don't know where you got the idea I could give $2,000. I've never given more than $100.” Then ask for the $100.In the overwhelming majority of cases, when a donor prospect asks you, “What are we talking about in terms of money?” the dynamics of the Famous Foolproof Fundraising Formula make it inevitable that you will leave with some donation or a pledge.Sometimes a donor will say “I'm sorry. I'm happy to give you the money, but I can't give you anything until my stock dividend check comes in on the fifteenth of the month.” Offer to come back at his convenience to pick up his donation.In any case, whether donors give you a check, cash, or a pledge, you should thank them genuinely. “We really appreciate what you've done for us. Because of you, we'll make a great impact on campus.”The Fourth Stage -- Expanding Your Base of Good ProspectsNow you have the check in hand or a good pledge. And you've expressed thanks. The next step is to say, “Sir, there is another thing you can do to help us. We'd greatly appreciate it if you would suggest others whom we might go see who might be willing to help us meet our goal.”The donor has already made an investment in your program, actually or with a pledge. He made that donation because he wants you to succeed. If you don't get enough money to succeed, his $100 or $500 or $2,000 may be wasted.When you ask new donors for additional names, the great majority will give some to you. They will know many potential donors whom you do not know.We all have different friends. Your new donor may know, among others, a conservative little old lady who lives at the edge of town in that ramshackle house with the broken down fence who happens to own 10,000 acres of Colorado timber on which they have just opened a big gold mine.Your new donor will provide you with names. He'll say, “Well there's Dr. Johnson and Mrs. Picklesimer.” Make sure you carefully write down everything about the new prospects. “This is Dr. Jack Johnson, the orthopedic surgeon. This is Mrs. Elvira Picklesimer, a widow, who lives out on Green Hollow Road near the corner of Hammond Highway.”Make sure you have each new donor identified very clearly. You don't want to go back to your new donor and ask, “Who is this person again? I can't find him.”A new donor will give you a few names, ordinarily a handful. When he has finished listing names, ask him, “Can you think of any more?” Very often that first extra name will be the best prospect of all. When the new donor finally runs out of names after you've prodded him a couple of times, you will have, on average, six or seven new names.Almost everyone who gives you a donation will come up with additional names.There is some other psychology involved in this. The donor thinks, “Well, these kids just hit me up; I'm going to send them down to hit up my old buddy Charlie, too.” Your new donor will have friends with whom he does business or plays bridge or golf. Perhaps the donor will smile and send you to a friend of his who has recently raised money from him.Once you have the names, look through the list and say, “Well, I know Dr. Johnson because he's the one I went to last winter when I had a broken leg. And we know Mr. Kelly because Susie's father buys a car every year from Mr. Kelly's Chevrolet dealership. But I don't know Mrs. Picklesimer and I don't know this one or that one.”Ask if your donor would be willing to call the ones you don't know and give you an introduction over the phone. Say, “That way, when we go to see them we won't be complete strangers.”Again, in the overwhelming majority of cases, because the donor already has an investment in your project, he will be willing to makes these calls for you.Sometimes a donor will tell you he'll write a letter to introduce you. However, writing a letter is a big effort for most people. They delay writing letters, and many times, despite good intentions, never send the letters.A telephone call is much easier than a letter. But, if your new donor says he's going to write letters, say, “Thank you very much. Would you please send me a copy of each letter so I'll know when to follow up?” You can then be sure when and if the letters are sent.You will probably walk away from that first successful meeting with a contribution or a pledge and a list of other prospects.Immediately after this meeting, take a moment to write down anything personal you observed about the contributor: his key interests, his wife's name, number of children, hobbies, secretary's name, award certificates on the wall, etc. Write and keep a short summary of what was said. Refer to these notes before any subsequent communications with the donor.Within 24 or no more than 48 hours, write a warm letter of thanks to your new donor. It's been my experience that any conservative student group which sets out on this kind of program soon has more good prospects for giving money than they have time to go out and ask.The three requirements for achieving any project are time, talent, and money.It doesn't cost much to raise funds by personal solicitation. Because you are volunteers, gasoline may be your only expenditure.You're limited only by the amount of time and talent you can put into this project. Within those limitations, the sky's the limit.You will find there's a lot of money out there. Conservatives are genuinely concerned about what's happening on campus. They're concerned about what's wrong in our country. They want to help you make changes.As you use this process, you will find that many people are delighted to see you.You may make friendships and political alliances with some which will last a lifetime.The Fifth Stage -- Re-prioritizeChoose the next prospect from your list, the one you now think most likely to make a generous donation. Make an appointment and repeat the third and fourth stages.The Sixth Stage -- Building Strong Ties With Your DonorsThe majority of your subsequent communications with your donor should not be about money.Invite your donors to meetings and any functions you organize.Introduce them to prominent guests or visiting campus speakers. Send them your publications and news clippings about your activities. Help them feel linked to your organization. When you make a donor a part of what you do, you make it easy for him to contribute again.My very first personal solicitation of this kind was when I was a junior at rural Woodlawn High School near Baton Rouge, Louisiana. We had a very small class of twenty-eight. Our school had never had a football team.We students decided to raise money to pay for equipment in order to field a football team our senior year.Some of us began to raise money through projects such as cake sales. I worked hard on a scrap metal drive, driving a truck to local farms, asking farmers if they had any scrap metal to donate for us to sell.The biggest contribution we received was a check for $500 from a very nice lady over 80 years old. We were astonished at the size of the contribution, since it was not a rich area. And $500 was worth a lot in 1955-56.Before long, we raised enough money to buy the uniforms and equipment necessary for the football team. We scheduled a fried chicken banquet to celebrate.We decided to honor the wonderful little old lady who had given us $500. One of the students created a neatly drawn lifetime pass to the Woodlawn High School football games. We gave the pass, framed, to this lady at the celebration banquet. She was tickled pink.We did not risk a great sum of money by awarding her a lifetime, free pass. But she loved it.Just a couple of years later, this lady gave the school five acres of land adjacent to the school, on which the stadium was built the Woodlawn High School Purple Panther football team played their home games.And the reason she gave that land? Very simple. She felt a strong personal tie with this football team.People will strongly identify with your project if you thank them, involve them, inform them, and credit them with the good results they make possible.On the other hand, if you ask them for money at every meeting, then soon they will dread to hear from you. They will not give you appointments. You will not raise any more money from them.But, if you operate on the basis I have outlined, you will almost surely be successful.When you get each contribution or pledge, you should immediately write a strong thank you letter. If you then give donors a great deal of attention and respect, they will give you, or your campus successors, more money and other help.Quite frankly, most organizations, whether conservative, liberal, charitable, or non-philosophical do a poor job of thanking their donors.Donors motivated by charitable impulses or by philosophical causes, seldom expect to get any personal return or benefit. They give money to improve society, to help their country, or just to assist nice young people.Donors feel put upon when people to whom they give money perpetually pester them for more money. Donors lose interest if an organization's entire communication with them is always the same: gimme, gimme, gimme.Some friends of mine who head conservative organizations claim it's harder to raise money now, which may be true. However, it's not true that there's less money being given for conservative causes.I probably have as wide a view of what's going on across the country in conservative organizations as anybody. I can assure you there isn't a decline in the amount of money being given.There are more people giving more money to conservative causes than ever. But they necessarily give to a smaller percentage of the growing number of organizations which solicit them. More groups mean more competition.Organizations fail financially if they do not persuade their donors they are doing a good job.Consider all the party organizations and the focused-issue organizations like right to work, right to life, or right to keep and bear arms. Add in the traditional values groups, including the religious ministries which focus on conservative, traditional values. Billions of dollars are given each year to conservative causes.There's money out there you can find. All you have to do is follow the systematic, step-by-step approach I've outlined for you.You'll discover the amount of money you can raise is limited only by the amount of time you have to go out and persuasively ask.There's an old saying in the insurance industry that the most successful insurance agent is not the one who sells to the highest percentage of people he asks, but the agent who persuasively asks the greatest number of good prospects to buy insurance.So don't be distressed if you go to 2 or 3 people who do not give you money. Not everybody will. But if you've developed a good list from the outset, by the time you've met with four or five potential donors, one of them will have given you both money and new names.If you ever meet with failure after having followed the steps outlined above, please call or write me at the Leadership Institute. As I wrote at the start of this guide, no one who has followed this formula has ever told me it did not work.Appendix 1Independent Student Newspaper: Annual BudgetREVENUE AMOUNTGrants $1,600.00Contributions 3,200.00Advertising 1,500.00Direct Mail 2,000.00Subscriptions 370.00TOTAL $8,670.00EXPENSES AMOUNTLeadership Institute's Student Publication School registration $350.00Printing 3,760.00Typesetting/Layout 550.00Postage 150.00Office Supplies 80.00Travel 270.00Photocopying 275.00Photography 205.00Telephone 280.00Direct Mail

Because education tends to lead to success in life, you are here at Liberty University to get an education -- or at least that's what your family and Dr. Falwell believe.What you really learn and how much you really learn are largely up to you, of course.It helps a lot if you already have a thirst for knowledge. Some people seem born to learn and happy to learn.Others want to learn no more than is absolutely necessary just to get by in the world. For them, all study is boring, and study is even aggravating, because to study amounts to an admission of ignorance. And how many people do you know who are naturally happy to admit their lack of knowledge?Even a poor teacher can do well with students who already have a thirst for knowledge. But the best teachers are those who somehow can inspire in students that thirst for knowledge which will lead their students to success for the rest of their lives.Education involves learning facts, of course. But it also includes learning how to study, how to think, and how to make things happen.Someone once said there are three types of people in the world: Those who make things happen; those who watch what happens; and those who never know what happened.I hope that you are among the many at this large and growing university who already have or soon will develop that thirst for knowledge which will enable you to become one of those people who will make things happen.Liberty University has right now, in this hall, a great many people who will be future leaders of our country. Graduates of Liberty are likely to be better leaders than students now at most other colleges because, in addition to academic learning, your college experience reinforces your moral foundation for a God-centered life.Let us presume for a moment that you, personally, have become well-educated, that your thirst for knowledge has enabled you to learn how to make things happen, that you have already achieved a number of remarkable successes, that many people recognize you as a rising leader.Are you home free? Are your problems over? Not hardly.You see, success brings its own, unique set of problems. The Bible often gives examples of how pride goeth before a fall. A run of success, like power, tends to corrupt.That is not to suggest that you shouldn't strive to be successful. Far from it. You have an obligation to put your God-given talents to their best use.In college, you should strive to be the type of student your professors find it a thrill to teach. In business, you should become someone with whom it is a pleasure to work. In politics, you should act effectively for your deeply held principles.Back in 1982, I asked Dr. Falwell to comment on a saying I was teaching to young conservatives. It goes like this: "Pray as if it all depended on God. Work as if it all depended on you."Dr. Falwell immediately replied that the saying is theologically sound. To that same question, several other prominent religious leaders gave me the same answer.So there's no question that intelligent, moral people should strive for success. And striving prudently for success quite often actually does bring success. But when you strive for success, as you should, you should always keep in your mind that success brings with it its own, new set of problems. Be prepared in advance to deal with the problems of success.Foremost among the problems of success is the temptation, once you're really successful, to believe that you are so special that the rules no longer apply to you, that you're so important you can do as you please, without regard to the standards, ethics, and morality which contributed to your success.For a year now, the news media have heavily covered the troubles of a prominent national lobbyist named Jack Abramoff. You've probably heard a lot about him, almost all of it bad, very bad.Jack Abramoff made tens of millions of dollars. On the other hand, he has pled guilty to numerous felonies and is almost certainly going to jail for a number of years.The scandals surrounding him may destroy the careers of a number of politicians and could have a major effect in next November's elections.You probably have heard nothing good at all about Jack Abramoff. But I'm here to tell you the whole story, which is not to be found in the headlines. His entire story should be highly educational to you and to any other young conservative who strives for success.Jack Abramoff had a sterling reputation. Yes, a sterling reputation.I met and trained Jack Abramoff during the 1980 Youth For Reagan effort, which I oversaw as a volunteer. My faculty and I trained young men and women in five Reagan Youth Staff Schools that year and hired 30 of the best for campus organizing in the 1980 fall campaign.Jack Abramoff, then a student at Brandeis University and College Republican state chairman of Massachusetts, was clearly one of the most outstanding of the 300 graduates of those two-day training schools.I personally offered Jack one of our 30 field staff jobs. Jack graciously declined and told me, "I'm going back to Massachusetts and organize enough students there to carry Massachusetts for Reagan."I laughed and replied, "Jack, if you carry Massachusetts for Reagan, we'll win in a national landslide."He did, and we did. Governor Reagan beat President Jimmy Carter in Massachusetts by 2,421 votes. Jack's campus effort garnered many more than that number of student absentee ballots for Reagan there.The next year, partly on the strength of his remarkable success in winning Massachusetts for Reagan, Jack was elected chairman of the College Republican National Committee. There again he succeeded spectacularly.In 1980, the number of College Republican (CR) clubs on the nation's campuses had grown from 250 to 1,002. In 1981, Jack's campus organizing efforts increased the number of CR clubs to 1,100 -- a new record which remained unsurpassed until very recent years.While a national CR officer, Jack widened his network of friends among conservative Republicans, impressing everyone. Jack was courageously conservative on all the issues: limited government, free enterprise, strong national defense, and traditional moral values.Moreover, Jack obviously took his Orthodox Jewish faith seriously. He kept kosher. He would not travel on the sabbath. He deplored profanity and vulgarity.Jack dropped out of politics for some years to make movies, including at least one which had some worldwide success, an anti-Communist action drama titled "Red Scorpion."Then he returned to political activity and explained he had found that, without major financial resources, he couldn't control his movies' content because the industry inserted into them, against his will, gratuitous profanity and vulgarity.Back in the political arena, Jack benefited greatly from the magnificent reputation he had earned. He had proved himself highly intelligent, highly principled, and highly competent. Clearly he was a hard worker and a talented leader.He joined one of the best known and most successful legal and lobbying firms in the Washington, D.C., area. Because Jack had built a very wide circle of friends in the political process, those of us who had known him since the early 1980s expected him to be successful as a lobbyist. He started up an Orthodox Jewish school and spent a lot of his own time and money on it. His reputation continued as clean as a hound's tooth. Fast forward to today. His reputation lies in tatters. The wealth he reportedly gained as a lobbyist may be eaten up entirely as a result of his legal problems.He'll soon be broke -- and in jail.Many who relied on the sterling reputation Jack built from his youth stand now accused as guilty of consorting with this sleazy character, Jack Abramoff.That's a bum rap against some conservatives who relied on his good reputation. He may have betrayed and damaged them, but they should not be dragged down by the guilt-by-association method.Fortunately for me, I never had any business relations with him or any contact with his lobbying activities. But before allegations regarding his business and lobbying activities arose, I and everyone I know who knew Jack since he was a college student 26 years ago would have given him a highly favorable recommendation.Those who knowingly consort with sleazy people are culpable. Those who associate with people whom they know have good reputations are not. That does not, however, prevent the unfair use of the guilt-by-association technique by the opponents of even the most scrupulous people.Political activists and leaders have no secure defense against the possibility that some associate who has a fine reputation will somehow succumb to disgraceful temptations.Politicians and news media usually hostile to everything conservative revel in the disasters which now surround Jack Abramoff. Clearly, the left intends to use Abramoff to damage or destroy as many effective conservatives as they can, most notably former House Majority Leader Tom Delay.No surprise in that. Piranhas reveal themselves through their feeding frenzies.When the newspapers began to publish and re-publish excerpts from Jack's emails regarding his lobbying business, I could not believe he had written them. Surely, I thought, someone has made up those emails to smear Jack.Sadly, over time it has become clear that he has behaved in ways highly disappointing to those, like me, who knew and admired him from his youth.A principled person does not discuss his clients with contempt. A careful person does not send out personally damning emails into the immortal cyberworld. A moral person does not support opposing sides in order to profit from each. An ethical person does not defraud his associates in business. A loyal person does not set up his friends for embarrassment.Jack Abramoff's fall from grace is not unique.Sadly, I know too many examples of people who built good reputations and extensive political networks who changed dramatically and for the worse when they decided to earn their livings through lobbying or political consulting.A great many people can't resist temptations to increase their income. They hire themselves out to people or causes they would have spurned in the days when they built their reputations by consistent adherence to well-defined political and moral principles. Some sink mighty low.Jack has proven again the wisdom often taught me by my mother and my grandmother, "A good reputation is the hardest thing to build and the easiest thing to destroy."In political activity, when one abandons long-held principles and starts measuring success only by revenue, one should have the decency not to drag down one's formerly trusting friends.Those whose trust is betrayed are the victims. The victims deserve our sympathy and understanding, not condemnation.In his statement after pleading guilty, Jack Abramoff said that his greatest regret was the damage he had done to those who trusted him. Right. But when he was raking in those millions of dollars, while privately showering his clients with contempt, he didn't give much thought to the consequences.Blinded by his own success, Jack succumbed to some very human and very common temptations -- temptations which should be fought and resisted by any highly successful person.Think about this. What if Jack Abramoff had resisted all the temptations spread before him? What if he had decided to work only for clients and causes in accord with his previously long-held conservative principles?Would he have made as much money as rapidly? Probably not.On the other hand, had Jack stuck to his principles, he would certainly have achieved some financial success. He would have kept his sterling reputation. He would not now be headed to jail. And he would not have brought scandal to his friends or disaster to his family.I know of only three ways to learn the lessons of life.1) You can carefully study the experience of others. You can't observe everything, but you can, by wide reading and formal education, learn from the experiences of your contemporaries as well as those who lived ages ago. You can learn from them all.2) By observation, by paying attention to what goes on around you, you can learn from the experience of others. Careful observation benefits anyone in any field, from sports to science to politics. Lessons from the lives of Jack Abramoff and many others are unfolding before your eyes. Keep those eyes open, and you can learn useful lessons of life every day.3) Finally, you can learn though your personal experience. That's learning by trial and error, better known as the school of hard knocks.Personal trial and error is usually the hardest way to learn anything, though I can't deny that that school teaches its lessons well. Its drawback, however, is that by the time you graduate from the school of hard knocks you may be too old to go to work.No matter how diligent a student you are of the school of hard knocks, you cannot learn by first-hand experience everything you should know.So if you leave this thriving Liberty University and have the success which your family, Dr. Falwell, your professors, and I all hope you will have, please keep in mind that you will then have to face a new set of problems, the problems of success.

Download the PDF version here.IntroductionThis manual is written especially for leaders of independent conservative student organizations or student divisions of campaigns who use public programs as a part of an overall strategy to advance a cause or a candidate of their choice.However, most techniques are equally applicable by anyone organizing public programs such as student government, speakers committees, professional clubs, educational groups, and entertainment programs, to name a few.Purposes and Types of Public ProgramsA campus political organization should schedule about one program a month and two or three major public program presentations a year in addition to your regular meetings. 1. Simple open programsThese smaller, monthly programs educate and keep group members involved and interested in the group. Such programs may help to recruit new members. No special effort has to be made to bring in non-students, although each program should be announced in the campus paper, on bulletin boards, in a Facebook group or page, as well as emailed out to members.Ideas for smaller programs include:A school officialA local newspaper editor or wire service reporterA panel of club members from an affiliate club on another campusA movie or documentaryA local business or professional leaderA local political party leader speaking on party mattersAn authorA debate watch partyMany groups have considerable success with informal discussion meetings. The group might meet in the student union building or at a local restaurant and invite a speaker with some special knowledge about a topic of current interest.The speaker gives a fifteen- or twenty-minute presentation and then leads an open-ended question-and-answer period with club members.The club should welcome speakers on different topics to expose the club members to a useful and interesting array of opinions.2. Major public programsMajor public programs should draw an audience well beyond a group's membership. They can convince undecided students and build enthusiasm among your group's members. Many major political leaders first got involved in politics after personal contact with a policy expert, candidate, or an important government official during a public program on campus.An important function of these public programs is their use as media events. This allows you to affect those who didn't attend the event itself as well as raise your group's profile on campus.You probably won't change many minds among the people who come. Most people who take the time to go to a political rally or publicized speech already have their minds made up. Therefore, pay particular attention to attracting media coverage with this event. Some examples of events where you want to maximize attendance and publicity are:A nationally-known conservative speakerA governor, senator, congressman, or other major office holderCandidates or potential candidatesState or national party leadersNational leaders of political organizationsVisiting columnistsVisiting economists or stock market expertsForeign policy expertsForeign diplomatsDebates between Republican and Democratic officialsPolitical ralliesFilms shown for educational purposes, for public relations, or for profit.Be sure to choose your major public program speakers carefully. Select those who will effectively promote your club's philosophy. You're not in business to provide audiences for your opposition.Your major event can feature a single speaker, or several who engage in a panel discussion. Seminars of half- a-day or full-day duration, while requiring greater effort and organization, can also draw a crowd.Major events require considerable time for planning and preparation. So you will probably not want to host more than two or three such major events per year.Planning the Event1. Location and facilitiesBefore any event takes place, your club should inventory the potential meeting locations. Most colleges have a list of locations available and will give it to you upon request.You can eliminate a lot of last minute headaches and be prepared to make quick decisions if you already have a sheet which lists the capacity, audio/visual capabilities, the cost, and scheduling authority's contact information for every potential site.Always underestimate crowds for a public program. It is far better to have an audience of 175 packed into a room which seats only 150 than to have an audience of 200 in a 300 seat auditorium.In one case, the newspaper headline would read, “Conservative speaks to overflow crowd,” and in the other case, even with greater turnout, the story might read: “Sparse turnout for conservative speaker at the university.”If you have to apologize, you'd rather apologize to an overflow crowd about a room a little too small than to your speaker for all the empty seats in a larger hall.The ideal situation is to have an expandable room. Many rooms have dividers which can easily be slid back. If you can reserve such a room, do so.When Ronald Reagan was scheduled to speak in the Assembly Center (which seats 7,000 when set up for a speaker) at Louisiana State University during his 1980 presidential campaign, his youth coordinator set up curtains to shrink the auditorium to seat only 2,000. On three occasions, the curtains had to be moved and more chairs brought in.If you have to apologize, you'd rather apologize to an overflow crowd about a room a little too small than to your speaker for all the empty seats in a larger hall.The ideal situation is to have an expandable room. Many rooms have dividers which can easily be slid back. If you can reserve such a room, do so.When Ronald Reagan was scheduled to speak in the Assembly Center (which seats 7,000 when set up for a speaker) at Louisiana State University during his 1980 presidential campaign, his youth coordinator set up curtains to shrink the auditorium to seat only 2,000. On three occasions, the curtains had to be moved and more chairs brought in.The event started nearly half an hour late.The constant increases in the seating area and requests for people to make more room because far more people had arrived than were expected created enormous expectation and excitement. Ronald Reagan himself dubbed it the “most successful event in my campaign to date.”Other options include providing a large screen TV and loudspeakers in another room for those who are not able to fit in the main hall. Since some reporters may arrive late, make sure you reserve enough good space for them. Place them near the back of the room to ensure they are capturing the crowd in their photos. Mark it off as the “media section.” Television cameras may require a raised platform in the middle of the room.Other considerations in choosing a meeting room include central location, easy walking distance from parking and dormitories, a well-known location, good acoustics, and availability of a good sound system. For major events, have a portable emergency sound system available just in case the built-in system suffers an attack of the gremlins.If your speaker is particularly effective in a question and answer period, another type of public program presentation which can be successful is an open-air speech at mid-day in a campus area with much foot traffic. A good portable public address system and a slightly raised platform can draw a good crowd.2. InvitationsWhen trying to obtain a “big name” speaker for a major public program, the three most important factors are advance notice, flexibility in dates, and solid guarantees of a well-organized, well-attended event.Invite speakers well ahead of time. Advance planning gives you time to draw a big crowd and fire up your troops for the event. Major speakers often require booking months in advance.Be clear about what dates and times are not good. Avoid weekends, especially on commuter campuses. Events the week before mid-terms and final exams could also be problematic. Check the calendar of campus activities and give an invitee as many alternative dates as you can.Avoid scheduling your event on dates that conflict with:Large sporting eventsFinals or midterms (or surrounding)School breaksMajor campus eventsLocal campus evetsHolidaysYour speaker will want to know this is a serious invitation which, if accepted, will result in a successful event. You should carefully type on club letterhead (if you don't have it, make it) all the details, including:The name of the sponsoring organizationThe appromimate size of the expected crowdNature of the meeting (rally, dinner, debate, panel, or featured speaker)The suggested topics of the event (You can leave the speaker some freedom to choose topics if you wish, but it's still a good idea to suggest a few.)Wheather there will be a question and answer period following the speechYour intention to pay travel expenses and accommodationsThe payment you can offer, if anyOpportunities for news media coveragePossible auxiliary activities, if your speaker has timeIf your group and the speaker share the same cause, and your program will advance this cause, let the speaker know that, too.Prominent people who know you and are known to the speaker might serve as references for your group. Ask these people to endorse your invitation with letters, emails, or phone calls to your invitee.A short history of other successful major programs your group has sponsored will help persuade a speaker to accept your invitation.If you don't know how to get in touch with the speaker you desire, the Leadership Institute may be able to help.The Leadership Institute (LI) helps independent conservative groups bring speakers to campus. If you have a specific person in mind, LI may be able to help you get in touch with the speaker to arrange the details of the visit.After you invite the speaker, it is a good idea to phone his or her office a week after mailing the invitation to be sure it was received and to ask if the speaker's staff have any questions you can answer.Once the speaker accepts, ask him to send you photos, biographical information, and useful information about the topic he will cover. After the event is set, maintain regular contact with the scheduler. Phone the speaker's office a week in advance and again a day in advance of the event to be sure everything is still scheduled.3. Filling the Speaker's ScheduleAfter a speaker has accepted your invitation, find out how much of his time will be available for other activities. Then try to schedule his time in order to get the maximum benefit from his visit.If the invited speaker has the time, you can expand his visit into a full day of events.Do not commit the speaker to any additional activities until he or his staff has approved them.Typical extra activities can include:??An exclusive interview with the campus radio station or newspaperA lecture to a class Informal talks with students in the Student Union or wherever students congregateMeetings and interviews with student government and campus leaders to learn of their concernsDiscussions, receptions, or meals with club members (very important to build enthusiasm)Interviews with local newspapers and appearances on local TV programs or talk radio shows.Operation Hometown – Arrange to have photographs taken of the speaker with club activists. Separate club members by hometown. When the speaker has a free moment, take casual photos of each group with the speaker and mail or email them, with appropriate identifying captions, to each group's hometown papers. Photos of local people with important public officials are almost irresistible to many local newspaper editors.Many opportunities for creative activity surround public appearances. Advance men for the late President John F. Kennedy's 1960 campaign regularly set up flimsy barricades at airports, ostensibly to hold back the crowds.Crowds assembled behind the barricades. Aides posing as members of the crowd would push over the flimsy barriers at the moment the candidate arrived, allowing the crowd in a “spontaneous demonstration of enthusiasm” to surge forward and greet the candidate. All the while, TV cameras were recording the dramatic scene for the evening news.These ideas may be applied to other campus programs and not just your major events. Give every event you host an air of excitement.4. Physical arrangementsEven though you may wisely have reserved an undersized room, it is a good idea to set up fewer chairs than there is space for. Store extra chairs in an adjacent room or in the back of the meeting room. As the room begins to fill, set up additional chairs as necessary. This assures that every seat will be filled, starting with the front rows.When appropriate, decorate the room brightly with crepe paper, balloons, and posters.Ask your speaker if they have any Audio/ Visual requirements. Common AV requirements include:ProjectorScreenLaptop for flashdrive plug-inInternet access for videos or emailsMicrophonesAudio speakersExtra microphone for Q & AFind out if he prefers to speak at a lectern and if he wants a lectern microphone (if a sound system is necessary). Wireless microphones are nice for speakers who like more freedom to walk around.Reserve a section in the back for the media, and make sure someone responsible gets the names of the reporters who do come.Live or recorded music helps to build spirit and enthusiasm, particularly as the crowd files in.Make arrangements for an American flag on stage. You should also provide a pitcher of ice water and a glass for the speaker. For a major event, or even a smaller, formal event, have someone offer an invocation and someone else lead the Pledge of Allegiance. Drawing a CrowdYou can do many specific things to attract a crowd, but remember the most important fundamentals: Select an interesting program and spread the information regarding the event.1. Advertising1. Write and print up a flyer and send a campus-wide email inviting all students to attend, with bullet points explaining why they will benefit from attending. Place this flyer under every dormitory door the night before the meeting. Distribute this flyer by hand in student parking areas as commuter students arrive on campus.2. Write a “Dear Faculty Member” letter announcing the meeting and explaining why it is important and why students ought to attend. Ask the faculty member to announce the time and place of the meeting in class. Place these letters, signed by a faculty member or student leader, in every faculty member's campus mailbox.3. Avoid paid advertising. Take advantage of every possibility of public service announcements and earned publicity. Usually paid advertising is not cost effective and should be used only by campus speakers committees which are not on tight budgets.4. Handmade posters are much more effective on campus than printed posters. Once a person reads one printed poster, he may ignore all the others. Handmade posters or memes, if clever, will each be read.2. Personal Outreach1. Many students will come if asked by a fellow student as a personal favor. If your club has developed a canvass system to identify and mobilize supportive students, every floor leader should invite every supporter and uncommitted student on his floor.2. Make personal visits to professors in departments such as speech, economics, and government, and ask them to announce your program in class. Tailor your presentation to the particular interest of the professor. Sometimes teachers give extra credit to students who write analyses of the content or style of the speech. You should suggest this.3. Certainly the supportive local party organizations should be invited. This would include party committees and their affiliated groups such as auxiliaries for high school students, women, and ethnic groups.3. Media Outreach1. Notify local journalists on and off campus, including broadcast and print media, about the event. Be sure your story is submitted well in advance of any press deadline. Personally follow-up your press releases with a phone call.2. Personally invite local print and broadcast media with a phone call a few days before your program. Similarly, invite any non-hostile, local political bloggers. This is a helpful way to remind them of the event. Even if they are unable to send personnel to cover the event, if made aware of the program, they will be more receptive to subsequent news releases.3. A show of interest among the public may also spark media interest if citizens call them asking for details of the event. To help show this interest, have friends call media outlets and ask for information.4. Many media outlets will not report on the event, but they may print an announcement of the event in their paper if it is open to the public. Many universities and colleges now cater to local residents and non-students and encourage them to attend public forums or seminars featuring guest speakers on campus.4. Coalition Outreach1. Many other clubs may be interested in the topic. For instance, if the program will include a discussion of agricultural policy, the Future Farmers of America would be interested. If the commercialization of space will be addressed, the Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers and other engineering groups should be contacted, etc. Make sure other clubs know early enough to put notices in their newsletters and on their bulletin boards.2. Co-sponsoring a program with one or more organizations can sometimes help swell a crowd. But this should be done only if having co-sponsors will actually increase the crowd or media coverage. Be wary of having a bunch of do-nothings share your credit while providing nothing in return. Don't forget to invite allied groups from other campuses.5. Social Media Outreach1. Create a Facebook event page and ask everyone involved to invite their online network to attend. You can share the link to the event page on other student group Facebook pages and local conservative pages inviting them to attend and spread the word.2. Share the link to the event page on Twitter using hashtags that will reach your local target demographic.3. Consider sharing your event on Snapchat. Although this won't get you national attention, Snapchat may share it locally.6. Concluding thoughts on outreach 1. Controversy draws a crowd. Don't worry if your opponents chalk up the sidewalks denouncing your speaker; open opposition creates student interest.2. Some who disagree with your speaker can be specially invited too, unless they are likely to be truly disruptive.Managing the Public Program1. Before the program beginsLighting is often a big problem at public programs.Your speaker should stand in the best-lit place in the room. Sometimes you will have to rent a spotlight which will beam at him over the heads of the audience.Always hang a group banner behind speaker to maximize group exposure and to get good photos.Never place a speaker in front of a window through which light is shining behind him.Never place a speaker in front of a mirror which will reflect back lights from elsewhere in the room.Never place a speaker in front of a turned-on light affixed to the wall behind him.Designate some people as ushers to oversee seating, answer questions, and distribute program or campaign flyers (if any). The ushers should also be on the lookout for hostile elements which might try to disrupt your public program.Where hecklers are likely, have many of your own group members arrive early, slip in, and seat themselves among the hecklers. This is not to confront or argue with them. Your people's presence prevents the formation of solid blocks of hecklers and dampens their group spirit.Regardless of your ultimate hopes for the event, don't call it a “rally” in your publicity materials. The word “rally” creates the expectation of a highly charged, packed event which is difficult to create. If a speech turns into a rally, so much the better, but raising expectations beforehand is not a good idea. Under-promise and over-perform.An old audience organization technique which is universally successful and not widely known is the diamond seating pattern. Four sharp people should be briefed beforehand to seat themselves in a diamond pattern in the audience. That is, one in the middle of the front row, one half way back on the extreme right, one halfway back on the extreme left, and one in the middle of the back row.In most speeches, there are pauses where applause is appropriate. The job of these four people is to look for these places and to applaud vigorously at the appropriate times. People seated in the audience are thus caught up in the obvious enthusiasm of the people around them. This technique can make even an average presentation into an outstanding success. The red dots indicate the placement of people in the audience for the diamond seating pattern. Another person should be designated to photograph the event. The photos may be useful for your publicity. And the frequent flashing of a camera strobe lends an air of drama and importance to the arrival, departure, and presentation of the speaker. Bright video camera lights turned on the moment the speaker enters heightens this effect.Another person should be appointed to manage the social media for the event. This person should tweet important lines from the speech and post pictures of the event. This will help create a buzz about the event.2. Introducing the SpeakerDo not be casual with your choice of who is to introduce your speaker. Have some competent person prepare a formal, lively introduction.The introducer must understand the audience has come to hear the speaker and not the introducer. Therefore the introduction itself should almost never be more than three minutes long. A good formula to use for a lively short introduction is the T.I.P.:Topic – what is the theme of this program?Importance – why should you be interested in this theme?Person – who is our speaker and why should you care what he has to say on this topic?The master of ceremonies should start the program only a little late. If you wait for late arrivals, those people who arrived on time will lose their enthusiasm. Usually, when programs are delayed in hope of drawing a larger crowd, no one else shows up. This devastating occurrence can be prevented by starting not more than 10 minutes later than the advertised time.Be sure the master of ceremonies encourages the audience to interact with the event via social media. Remind them of the event's hashtag.3. The ProgramHave one or two group leaders brief your speaker on local “hot topics” among the students. A brief comment in the speaker's opening remarks about “your exciting victory in last Saturday's football game” will go a long way toward creating a bond with the student audience.For the convenience of the speaker, you should reserve a nearby room with a bathroom and give him 15-20 minutes before the presentation to freshen up and work on his notes.For a student audience, 20 to 40 minutes is a good length for the principal presentation.4. QuestionsAt most public programs, students expect to be able to ask questions. If the speaker is really good, this will be his chance to shine and to win many converts. You'll probably want to allocate another 30 minutes or so for questions. This should be announced at the beginning of the question period.There is no one best way to handle questions. It depends on many factors: the topic, the student interest, and the local circumstances. If the questioning is likely to be very lively, a firm, tough moderator should be named to keep the program orderly and save the invited speaker or candidate from having to be the “heavy” with any rude people in the audience.Possible ways to handle questions are:Audience asks questions by standing where they are (moderator should repeat questions so everyone can hear)Audience goes to fixed location(s) to ask their questions at a microphone(s)Roving moderator(s) with wireless microphones select questioners from the audience (Phil Donahue style)Audience submits written questions to moderator (less spontaneity)A panel of experts or reporters asks the questions (Better on technical topics. Can be mixed with audience questions also.)Be sure to be respectful of the opposition, especially while holding the microphone.Always prepare for the potential of a hostile crowd during the Q & A. Prepare in advance to have audience members with predetermined questions. To identify these friendly audience members to the moderator, provide them with, say, a red pen.Some thought should be given before the program as to which questions may or should be asked of the speaker. You should never try to limit the discussion to only planted questions, but there are a few reasons why you would want to at least have some planted questions:It helps direct the discussion to areas of importance, especially when the questions have strayed down irrelevant paths.It prevents the speaker from coincidentally taking only hostile questions and thereby appearing to have no support in the audience.In the opposite extreme, if the audience is largely favorable, it gives him a chance to show his stuff by giving good answers to tough questions, especially if you already know he has a good answer to a question. 5. The Recruitment OpportunityOne of the world's most common and most serious political blunders is to spend hundreds of hours preparing a huge political rally only to let it come and go without ever getting the names and contact information (phone number, email address, and mailing address) of those in attendance.You may not be able to do extensive recruiting at all public programs, but you should almost always make some attempt to do so.You should also have a membership table clearly visible before and after the program so that students who want more information may talk with your club members. You'll find this a great way to recruit new members. The table should be located just outside or next to the door.Pass around sign-up sheets or ask people to sign in at the front door.If the event is a political rally, it can be expected that most of those present are supporters. The list from such a rally will be an extremely valuable source of new members or volunteers for future activities.Of course, if the speaker is willing to endorse your group and its activities at some point in the program, that will encourage interest.Even programs which are not yours can be a source of new members. Note the questions asked, and speak with the sympathetic questioners after the program.As soon as the event has ended, wrap up by informing the audience they have the option to take a photo with the speaker on stage, in front of your strategically placed banner. If possible, be sure to use a professional camera. Ask the audience not to use their phone cameras to save time. After the Event - Capitalizing Through PublicityDuring the event, note which reporters came and which media outlets are represented so you can get publicity to the others after the event.For the newspapers, post-event releases summarizing the event and the speaker's points can be helpful. Have people write letters-to-the-editor about the event to increase the exposure. An especially good writer could author an opinion piece on some aspect of the event and ask that it be printed in either the school or a local newspaper.Radio stations are actually the easiest to interest. Use a simple, cheap digital recorder to capture the speech and extract a 15-30 second segment of a forceful statement by the speaker (preferably followed by vigorous applause). You may also interview the speaker after the event and take a clip from there. Then call the radio station and offer them a “radio actuality.”Most radio station news rooms have the ability to record audio segments directly off the phone and replay them in their hourly news summaries. By using a segment you give them over the phone or by email, they can appear to have covered the event without ever sending a reporter.If the speaker has a few extra moments, many stations will record a short interview over the phone. A group member can screen stations in advance to find out who is interested in one of the above options.Be sure to keep all clippings and a record of whatever broadcast publicity you do receive from the media

Download the PDF version here.Leftist Control on CampusOverwhelmingly leftist faculty.Overwhelmingly leftist administrators who actively suppress conservative activities and refuse to address grievances from students who suffer persecution for their conservative beliefs.Leftist domination of most student government associations.Leftist domination of "student courts" which decide issues regarding student government actions and persecute students for activities in behalf of conservative principles.Leftist Indoctrination on CampusLarge numbers of courses presented that explicitly in their catalog descriptions push leftist ideology, but no balance of conservative principles offered in the curriculum.Indoctrination of students in class by faculty who promote socialist ideas and other leftist priorities.Leftist faculty using their class time to preach politics instead of teaching the topic at hand.Faculty who express in class blatant contempt of conservative ideas.Assignment by faculty of one-sided textbooks and readings which systematically push leftist ideas and denigrate or ignore conservative ideas. Leftist domination of almost all official campus newspapers, which are funded by taxpayers, compulsory student fees, or unwitting donors to the colleges and universities.Large numbers of leftist student organizations, supported by major, national leftist organizations.Leftist monopolies of most journalism faculties.Programs which present overwhelmingly leftist off-campus speakers to the students.Overwhelmingly leftist speakers provided to speak to graduates and their families at graduation ceremonies. College and university libraries packed with leftist books and magazines but few if any books or publications which promote conservative principles.Compulsory freshman orientation programs and "sensitivity training" designed by leftists to undermine traditional values.Mandatory seminars for students on how to have "safe sex" with little or no mention of the possibility or merits of abstinence or marriage.Enforced diversity in every area except for the adherence to or the teaching of conservative principles.Systematic Exclusion of ConservativesStudent admission procedures which deliberately weed out applicants who appear to be conservative.Known conservatives excluded from positions as dormitory Resident Assistants (who get free rooms) and all RAs subjected to training programs biased against traditional values.Graduate school practices which make it difficult or impossible for conservative graduate students to get advanced degrees which would lead to college teaching positions.Faculty hiring procedures which make it difficult or impossible for conservatives who manage to get advanced degrees to get teaching positions. Denial of salary increases to conservative faculty.Exclusion of conservative faculty from teaching courses that are requirements for graduation.Denial of tenure to faculty members because they are discovered to be conservatives.Tenure rules which give lifetime salaries to even the most incompetent leftist professors.Persecution of Conservative Students and OrganizationsFaculty who discourage or prohibit the expression of conservative thought by students in class.Faculty who urge students in their classes to vote for specific leftist candidates.Exams that assume a leftist agenda to be correct.Faculty who penalize in their grades students who reveal themselves to be conservative, which sometimes delays or even prevents those students' graduation.Speech codes and campus rules which facilitate leftist indoctrination and clamp down on any expression of conservative opinions. Faculty who shout down speakers and even organize walkouts if conservatives speak at public programs on campus.Refusal or long delays in granting conservative student groups recognition as official campus groups, despite the presence of many officially recognized leftist student groups.Official student organization allotting student activity fee money overwhelmingly to leftist student groups.Refusal of administration to allow student groups to present conservative speakers on campus, on the basis of assumed security risk.Discrimination against conservative student groups which ask to reserve rooms or other campus facilities for meetings and public programs -- denying them rooms, unreasonably delaying the assignment of rooms, changing the room at the last moment, or giving them the worst locations. Destruction or theft of any conservative publications on campus.Vandalization of campus offices of conservative student groups.Proliferation of leftist signs, posters, and flyers posted on bulletin boards all over campus but the immediate defacement or tearing down of comparable conservative materials.Toleration of leftist slogans and advertising posted on dorm room doors but restriction and destruction of comparable conservative communications.Persecution of students and student organizations who are motivated by religious faith.Ridicule of students who appear on campus in their military uniforms.Political Correctness Gone MadProhibitions of U.S. military recruiters on campus.Prohibitions of ROTC programs on campus.Violation of freedom of association through persecution or prohibition of fraternities and sororities.Elimination of single-sex bathrooms in dormitories or establishment of special bathrooms for the "transgendered."College rules which authorize overnight guests in dorm rooms with people of either sex -- rules which force offended roommates either to witness these sexual couplings or to find somewhere else to spend the night. -Morton C. Blackwell