UW College Republicans to Honor Victims of 9/11

Flag Memorial Part of Nationwide Effort to Remember the 2,977 People Murdered

The University of Wyoming College Republicans and Young America’s Foundation will cosponsor the 9/11: Never Forget Project, a massive flag display held on the University of Wyoming campus, specifically Prexy’s Pasture, on September 11, 2008 to remember each person killed in the attack. University of Wyoming College Republican’s president Liz LeSatz said, “The victims of the terrorist attack on September 11, 2001 should be honored. We have put together this memorial as a fitting tribute.”

The University of Wyoming College Republicans will place 2,977 American flags in the ground, one for each individual who was murdered in the attack. Thanks to the sponsorship and financial support by both Friends of John Barrasso and the Enzi for Senate Committee the College Republicans were able to purchase enough American flags to make this memorial a reality here in Wyoming.

LeSatz said, “We are proud to lead the effort to remember those lost on that day. While it was seven years ago, the memory should never fade from our nation. We call on all individuals within the campus community, and the community at large, to participate.”

Young America’s Foundation’s 9/11: Never Forget Project is part of a nationwide program on college and university campuses. This year, more than 180 campuses are participating and this program is the first and largest nationwide campus initiative to honor the victims of 9/11.

As the principal outreach organization of the Conservative Movement for 37 years, Young America’s Foundation introduces thousands of young people to conservative ideas through national conferences, campus lectures and activism programs, internships, and seminars at the Reagan Ranch and the Reagan Ranch Center. Young America’s Foundation preserves the Reagan Ranch as a premier presidential property and a tribute to Ronald Reagan’s life and ideas.

Please contact Laura Mengelkamp lmgolfer@uwyo.edu with any questions or concerns about this event!

CPAC 2008!!

Hey Everyone!

I just wanted to do a quick post to sum up my recent experience at the Conservative Political Action Conference. I was unfortunately the only CR from Wyoming that could attend the conference in Washington D.C. (Feb. 7-9), but I had an unbelievable time!

I want to first thank the Leadership Institute that let myself, as well as other conservative students attending CPAC stay in their dorms in Washington D.C. for the week. The very first speech I went to was Wyoming's very own Vice President Dick Cheney. However, to my surprise and delight, our very own Senator Barrasso introduced V.P. Cheney. I was so proud to be from the University of Wyoming after that speech!

Luckily I was able to catch up with Senator Barrasso after V.P. Cheney's speech and we were all excited to see Wyoming represented at CPAC. The College Republicans plan on helping Senator Barrasso with his election this summer and fall, so it was great to get to talk to the Senator in person.

That first day of the conference I was also able to witness history as I watched then GOP candidate, Mitt Romney, drop out of the race right in front of me. I was also able to watch John McCain deliver his speech to try to win over some conservatives who were not sure of his credentials.
Another highlight for me was the fact that I was able to attend a speech by President George Bush himself, and stood in line for hours (starting at 3:30 am!!) to get a great seat to take in a once in a lifetime opportunity.

Throughout the rest of the conference I was able to listen to speakers such as Newt Gingrich, Dinesh D'Souza, Ann Coulter, Ambassador Bolton, Tom DeLay, Star Parker, and Tony Snow to name a few!

Besides attending a training seminar put on by the Leadership Institute and attending four Young America's Foundation events at the conference, I also attended some events hosted by the College Republican National Committee, and that was a great opportunity to represent Wyoming.

I could go on and on about all of the wonderful experiences I had at the conference, but I know this is already a pretty long post haha. I encourage everyone to check out some more of my pictures that I took throughout the week and they can click Here.

I also videotaped V.P. Cheney, President Bush, Newt Gingrich, and Tony Snow's speeches and will post those on our YouTube account when they become available. Overall this was absolutely a great experience and I hope that more CR's can attend the conference next year and represent Wyoming well!

Recap of Fall Semester!

Hey Everyone!

First off I apologize for the long delay in posting! Since there is only less than an hour left in 2007 I thought this would be a great time to post some of successes the Wyoming CR's had this past Fall semester.


As I posted earlier, two of the CR's were fortunate enough to attend the Presidential Forum in Casper the end of September. We were able to meet and talk with Senator Brownback (who has since dropped out the Presidential race), Rep. Duncan Hunter, and Senator Fred Thompson.


Next the CR's participated in the University's "Safe Treat" program which involves student RSO's (Registered Student Organizations)
who volunteer to dress in costumes and hand out candy to children who come through the University Student Union on Halloween. The CR's did not miss a chance to give back to the Laramie community, and had a lot of fun in the process. Our costumes consisted of a Mad Scientist (Debby Sneed), Hillary Clinton (Michelle Camaione) and Bill Clinton (Laura Mengelkamp). Needless to say those were some pretty scary costumes and the kids had a great time!


Next the CR's hosted Freedom Week. As I explained in earlier posts, Freedom Week was created by Young America's Foundation and sets out to celebrate the birthday of Ronald Reagan, and of course the end of communism and the fall of the Berlin Wall. CR Members hosted a table in the Student Union all week with a lot of goodies including Ronald Reagan pins, CR stickers and pens, and large pick of posters that celebrate Freedom.
We were also able to recruit quite a few new members during Freedom Week as well. Finally, during Freedom Week we all handed out yellow ribbons to students and faculty passing by to pin on their clothing or bags in honor of the upcoming Veteran's Day.


Next the CR's hosted a Veteran's Day Celebration on Monday, Nov. 12th on campus. They brought in a speaker from the Department of Defense's Program, "Why We Serve", Major Cedric Burden to speak to students, faculty, the public, and local Veterans in the Laramie area. The event was a huge success and if you haven't watched the videos from the event yet, please click here to watch them! Major Burden was a great speaker, very informative, and answered questions for over thirty minutes. The event attracted a lot of media attention, including a front page article in the Laramie Boomerang and an article in the nationally syndicated USA Today. The CR's would like to give a special thanks to Wyoming State Auditor, Rita Meyer, a distinguished Veteran herself, for leading everyone at the ceremony in the pledge!



Next up on the agenda for the CR's was a trip to Las Vegas for two members (Debby Sneed and Laura Mengelkamp). They were fortunate enough to have been able to attend a Youth Leadership School put on by the Leadership Institute at UNLV. Debby and Laura were in class from 8 a.m. to 11 p.m. on the weekend learning how to strengthen our CR chapter on campus by learning from professionals brought in by the Leadership Institute and other CR members from across the country. It was a great time, and the girls even had a chance to see some of the exciting sights that Vegas has to offer in their free time! We would like to give a special thanks to the Leadership Institute for providing air travel and hotel reservations free of charge in order to make it feasible for students to attend the training seminar.


Lastly, the Wyoming CR's hosted a Christmas Card signing for deployed Wyoming troops and had students and faculty members sign the cards as they passed by through the Student Union. It was fun to make the huge cards, and the members put a lot of time and effort into creating
the Christmas Cards. The cards were signed to capacity and we sent them, along with a substantial amount of candy canes, to the respective Wyoming National Guard units stationed in Afghanistan this holiday. We hope that they received their cards and candy in time to enjoy for the holidays!


As you can see the Wyoming CR's have had a busy, successful, and exciting Fall semester. We want to thank everyone who helped to make all our events a success and hope that next semester is even better. Well, I find myself just past midnight right now on the East Coast, so I want to say Happy New Year to everyone! My New Year's resolution is to keep the site more up to date in 2008 and to help Republicans take back control of our country in the 2008 election!

CR's To Host Freedom Week on Campus!

The Wyoming College Republicans are gearing up to participate in promoting Freedom Week (A program created by Young America's Foundation-www.yaf.org) on campus the week of Nov. 5-10th. Freedom Week is a time for students to come together and celebrate the fall of the Berlin Wall and communism, as well as honoring our nations Veterans and military personnel everywhere.

One goal of Freedom Week, according to YAF, is to celebrate victory over communism by educating students on this historical event. Another important aspect is to remind young people about the horrors committed by socialist/communist governments and question why many leftist students and professors at your school still advocate these ideas.

Another important part of Freedom Week is Veterans' Day. Thousands of servicemen and women are proudly serving in Iraq and around the world helping to defend America and win the War on Terror.

The College Republicans will host a table in the Wyoming Union on Monday the 5th, and Wednesday the 7th, from 10:00 a.m. until 2:00 p.m. both days. At our table we will be handing out yellow support the troops ribbons (to wear all week as well as on Veteran's Day); Ronald Reagan pins; Posters, and more! Stop by our table on one of these days and show your support for our nation's military and celebrate victory over communism!

On a side note, we also want to notify everyone that we will also be hosting a speaker from the DoD Program, "Why We Serve", and having a Veteran's Day celebration starting at 1:30 p.m. on Monday, the 12th, in the Ag Auditorium. As the event becomes more finalized I will make a more formal post with specific details about the event, but everyone interested should spread the word and save the date!

Also, I have finally posted the videos of the Presidential Candidates' speeches at the Casper Presidential Debate. You can locate these videos under the "Important Chapter Links" to the right of this post. Thanks so much for your support, and please feel free to contact us about any of our upcoming events!

Casper Republican Presidential Forum

Wyoming just recently hosted two Republican Presidential forums yesterday with the first one being held in Casper, and the second one in Riverton. Fortunately two CR members were able to attend the forum in Casper and found it to be a rewarding experience that involved listening to speeches, meeting candidates personally, and having one-on-one interaction with the three candidates who made the trip to Wyoming.

The three candidates who came were Senator Fred Thompson, Senator Sam Brownback, and Rep. Duncan Hunter. All of the candidates gave 15 minute speeches (which I video-taped and will upload sometime soon-look for the link under "important chapter links"), and answered questions posed by precinct members for 15 minutes. It seemed as if all three candidates hit it off pretty well with the Wyoming audience, and all three were very charismatic and even had several standing ovations. Their major stance on the issues included protecting 2nd Amendment rights, preserving strong families, pro-life, energy independence, keeping faith in our government, supporting federalism, border fence to help solve immigration, etc.

After all three candidates had a chance to do so, they opened up a "meet and greet" session for the general public to participate in as well. This is where we got to talk to all of the candidates present and even pose for pictures. Overall this was a great experience for all those who attended, and is something that we are fortunate to live in such a small state because we were afforded these opportunities to talk to candidates directly. If you would like to see some of the pictures from the event please go to the "pictures" link under "important chapter links." I will also be adding the videos from the forum as soon as I can, so look for those shortly. If you have any questions about the forum and were not able to attend please feel free to comment or to e-mail us with any questions or concerns!

The websites of the three candidates who appeared at the forum:

www.brownback.com

www.fred08.com

www.gohunter08.com

First Meeting of Fall Semester

The College Republican's had their first meeting of the semester, on Thursday Sept. 13 in room 002 in the basement of the student union (6pm). During the meeting we elected a new Chairman, Vice-chairman, Secretary, and Treasurer. The officers have a link on the side of this website and you can read more about who those people are there.

We discussed a variety of events that we would like to participate in during the fall semester. Some of the ideas suggested that we agreed to seriously look into or consider were the following:

• Attend the Wyoming Republican Presidential Forum in Casper (Sept. 29)
• Participate in Freedom Week (sponsored by YAF.org)
• During the week we plan on hosting a speaker from the DoD's program "Why We Serve" and this speaker is an Iraq veteran speaking about some of the more positive things happening in the War on Terror (tentatively scheduled for Nov. 12th).
• We also plan on hosting a table in the union displaying freedom week activities, as well as support the troops ribbons in honor of Veteran's Day.

• Help with Senator Barrasso's special election bid to retain his seat in the U.S. Senate.
• Team up with the Islamic student group on campus and host a talk or debate on "Moderate Islam".
  

These are all just some of the ideas that we have put out there right now, but will hopefully be able to follow through with. Keep posted for details as they arrive!