What it's like to be a Campus Coordinator, and why you should be one too

During the fall of 2011, I started attending Western Washington University in Bellingham, Washington and became a member of the Western Libertarians. When the president graduated winter quarter of 2012, I stepped up to that position, and have been in place ever since. In the spring of 2013, I was elected to become the chapter president of WWU Students for Sensible Drug Policy. With those two groups, and then some, under my belt, I had to learn how to facilitate events and meetings, bring in prospects through tabling, and acquire general knowledge about certain topics in a short period of time (eh, college), amongst other things. When the Campus Coordinator position was brought to my attention, I didn't care to become involved.

With a lot of campus activism experience, I didn't think that becoming a Campus Coordinator would be highly beneficial for me. However, I decided to apply and commit to doing my best in the program, feeling that it would still be fun and beneficial in at least a few ways. While doing online training, a lot of material concerning activism was stuff I had come to learn from leading several groups. There were a few tips that I knew would be of use to me. Instead of reading up on all of this in a span of less than one week, I had to learn from months or even years of on-the-field experience. Looking at this information, I wished that someone had been there to guide me when I was learning the ropes.

Not only are Campus Coordinators taught how to be effective liberty advocates at their schools, but we learned about the history and certain tenants of libertarianism. As a student of anthropology and theater, I do not have much time to learning about different political ideologies and philosophies, but Students For Liberty is able to collect the most relevant pieces and help us expand our beliefs from there.

A big difference between being a leader for liberty on WWU's campus and being a Campus Coordinator is that I had to apply my experience on my own campus to others. No longer was I posting flyers at my school, but at others too. My work previously revolved around keeping my groups afloat, but now it's become part of a bigger cause.

Another huge aspect of becoming a Campus Coordinator is getting involved at the conferences. Conferences are a big part of Students For Liberty, and are probably the most rewarding part of being a part of the SFamiLy. Getting to know fellow CCs and SFL staff members increases the number of people you can meet at different events. Networking is a worthwhile means of finding people who may be able to help you find a job or cooperate to hold an event. I have attended both the Northwest Regional Conference and International Students For Liberty Conference as a normal libertarian student, then as a Campus Coordinator. While all of these experiences have become some of the best of my twenty-three-year-old life, I felt that being a CC definitely made the events so much richer. It's pretty worthwhile to have SFL pay for your travel and board for these conferences (as long as you're doing the required amount of work). Paying less out-of-pocket definitely makes such events even more fun.

What's another perk of becoming a Campus Coordinator? All. Of. The. Free Things. Students For Liberty has a lot of resources, including physical ones, such as books. As a CC, you can order quite a lot, which you then give out when tabling, etc. Not only do you get these things from SFL, but they will tell you about what resources other organizations are offering. Not only that, you will probably be emailed by more organizations who will want to send you more things. As a result, your bedroom, closet, and living room is swimming in hundreds of copies of libertarian literature.

Being showered in these gifts has me all like:




Maybe except for the part of being a manipulative con artist.

Even as a campus activist with about three years of experience, one thing that pulls at the back of my mind is finding capable leaders for my clubs. Despite the never-ending search for people to replace me and my fellow officers, not many are willing to step up to such demanding positions. With Students For Liberty, I have more confidence in finding these leaders because I now have access to the resources that can help me with this endeavor. Concerning the Campus Coordinator Program, it effectively trains a number of student libertarian activists each year, and I know it's more efficient than what any one individual can accomplish without the help from others.

If you are going to be a libertarian college student next year and want to join me in Denver this summer (or go to the other CC Retreats in DC or Texas), consider becoming a Campus Coordinator as well. It can be hard work, but you get out as much as you put into it. One of my goals for this year was to expand SFL's reach on the West Coast. It was a little overwhelming to be the only CC in the state of Washington, but I know that I am just one step in achieving the overarching goal of the organization, and if I (and others) can get more Washingtonians to apply, I can really see us persevering within the next year. You can email me at khaffner@studentsforliberty.org if you have any questions. I look forward to seeing the who makes the CC class of 2015-2016, and I hope that you will be joining us, or will recommend this to someone you know.

Apply before this Friday, May 1st!