Young Americans for Liberty, a new group on campus this semester, is seeking to get student more involved in politics and issues facing America, junior political science and economics double major Jack Enright said. The group is a nonpartisan organization that accepts anyone who believes in the value of liberty and wants to educate individuals on current issues, Enright said.

Enright, the founder and president of the university’s chapter of YAL, said one of the main goals of the organization is to promote the ideals of liberty on campus. A recent poll by the organization showed people want to know what their YAL’s beliefs are and want to gain more knowledge on certain issues, he said.

Senior communication studies major Elyse Menger said YAL trains young people to stand up for what they believe in while promoting a liberty-based agenda.

“We are hoping to change how young people think about elections and liberty,” she said. “Many people think that being young, you have no voice, but that is totally false,”.

With the presidential election occurring next fall, YAL will be making sure students become more involved on campus, Enright said. Although it will not endorse any candidate, it will continue to educate students on the election.

He said YAL is planning on having some sort of activism on campus in the future to make students aware of certain issues.

“One example is the National Debt Clock where one person holds up a number, comma or dollar sign, and it spells out the current national debt,” he said. “It gets a lot of attention, so I hope to do something like this soon.”

According to the Young Americans for Liberty website, YAL will host 10 campaign boot camps in states around the country to educate students of the impact they can make. TCU’s YAL chapter will be attending the boot camp in Austin and other conferences to prepare for the election, he said.

Menger said students are organizing campaigns of their own on campuses around the country. The YAL chapter on campus currently has ideas in the works, and they have weekly discussions at meetings about topics that affect Americans.

Although YAL has had only two meetings this semester, both Enright and Menger urge students to attend meetings and become involved.

“I think the biggest misconception is that everything fits into the left/right paradigm,” he said. “We will accept members regardless of their political beliefs, party or candidates they support.”