COVID in College: How Freedom Is Interpreted in A Christian Conservative College ~ YAF Edition

The word freedom derives from the old English word freodom, which means; “Power of self-determination, state of free will; emancipation from slavery [and] deliverance,” (https://www.etymonline.com/word/freedom).

Freedom not only requires effort but it also; “presupposes mental and moral qualities of a high order to be generally discussed in the society where it exists,” (https://www.etymonline.com/word/freedom).

Within the YAF (Young America’s Foundations) charter, YAF according to their Instagram Biography; “Inspires students to become bold advocates for freedom on campus,” (https://www.instagram.com/yaf_/?hl=en)

This is important in regards to the current ongoing dilemma — COVID— that is causing students to wear masks on campus, take online courses, and distance themselves from individuals during quarantine. This is not something that is occurring yet currently at my college yet it is something that is being discussed.

From a previous email sent to the student body on September 6th, 2021, our college President stated, in regards to COVID; “The significant number of cumulative total cases almost certainly reveals what the experts say about the contagiousness of the Delta variant. Until there are clear signs that this disease is mostly behind us, we need to be ready to pivot to some short-term preventative measures. [Including] a preliminary plan for switching to online classes for about one week.”

The President continues by stating; “I know opinions differ significantly on mask-wearing, but as you know they are required at healthcare facilities, airports, varsity athletic meetings, K-12 schools in ____, and other settings. This is another short-term measure we should be ready to accept as one component of our mitigation strategy.”

How can a university that is based on Freedom take away our freedoms of knowing what is right for our education, and our mental and physical health? Granted, there are clubs at most campus’ that support different political aspects that can help a community find their group of people in times of hardships like this.

For example, YAF (Young Americans For Freedom) is a chartered club that supports freedom and advocates for freedom on college campus’. Yet that was an incorrect understanding. What this club truly is, according to one of the club officers, is simply; “Dedicated to giving speakers, projects, and meetings that benefit the campus. Being a member of YAF is a privilege of being called to a higher purpose. [The] policy is that we want to work with administration to create change, not work against them. We want to create a civil environment on campus while bettering our student body. Our YAF does not make political decisions however,” (anonymous).

Yet, according to YAF’ on their website, https://www.yaf.org/; “Young America’s Foundation is committed to ensuring that increasing numbers of young Americans understand and are inspired by the ideas of individual freedom, a strong national defense, free enterprise, and traditional values.”

These conservative aspects are not truthfully being represented in terms of Freedom and Freedom of Expression and Speech in this charter. Sometimes, to create change, you have to challenge the administration. Not simply follow the ‘herd mentality,’ and silence yourself.

Also, the topic of Freedom does not necessarily involve political decisions yet due to the media and the world today, Freedom clashes with political discussion. According to Hannah Arendt in her Book Freedom and Politics: A Lecture; “Freedom as a demonstrable fact and politics coincide and are related to each other like two sides of the same matter,” (https://www.jstor.org/stable/25733551?seq=14#metadata_info_tab_contents) To ignore the issues of the world today or on your campus is the refusal of the Freedom to discuss, speak your truth, and express yourself.

The idea of Freedom also clashes with Faith and Christianity. Also according to Arendt; “The whole problem of freedom arises for us in the horizon of Christian traditions on one hand and of an originally anti-political philosophic tradition on the other, we find it difficult to realize that there may exist a freedom which is not an attribute of the will but an accessory of doing and acting.”

This is significant to the college’s YAF club as the officer continued by saying; “Being a member of YAF gets you privileges to club events. Just because we are for freedom, does not mean we will hop on any train that claims it’s for freedom while neglecting crucial details that is necessary to making decisions in power. Conservativism is about ordered freedom.”

This chartered club of YAF’ national organization does not fully support freedom or advocate for freedom on campus. Rather, it is purely based on providing events on campus and silencing those who would like to have discussion or simply try and create change on campus.

In regards of the statement conservatism is about ordered freedom, ordered freedom is defined as; “The desirable condition in which both public order and personal liberty are maintained.”

Yet, within this chartered club, if their focus was to maintain personal liberty why not take a stand and be liberated? According to APF (Association of Professional Futurists); “Our understanding of personal liberty depends so much on who’s worldview is being described, and in which society we are applying it. Personal liberty means the freedom to acquire success without boundaries or obstacles,” (https://www.apf.org/blogpost/1763106/318945/What-value-do-we-place-on-personal-liberty).

Personal freedom and liberty does not mean letting things happen to you and staying silent. Freedom does not mean sitting back and going to events about Freedom without understand what Freedom entails and means. Freedom does not mean having freedom of expression and freedom of speech to a certain extent until it offends someone.

No. Freedom is something we’ve been blessed with. We have been, as Ronald Reagan once said; “Blessed with the opportunity to stand for something — for liberty and freedom and fairness. And these things are worth fighting for. Worth devoting our lives to.”

Will you fight for your liberty and freedom? Or will you choose to take a stand in silence?