The Next Conservative Generation

Esther Clark of Brenau University, Eric Shive of Cornell and Travis Barham of Washington & Lee spoke of their exploits as conservative student leaders on campus at the recent Eagle Forum Collegians (EFC) Annual Leadership Summit.

Coming into Brenau, a private women’s liberal arts college in Georgia, Clark focused on her career aspirations. She threw the idea of children and being a mother to the side, almost scoffing at her mother who had given up her career to take care of the children. But then she realized through reflection, a career didn’t matter to her. Seeing her classmates and people around her focused on everything but family, Clark saw family mattered to her. She saw her real purpose.

“It should be the men complaining about why they can’t bring life into the world,” she said. “Who cares about a career? I want to go out there and be a mom. That’s the next generation.”

Before changing her focus, Clark wanted to affect the next generation. With her new outlook, she realized she already had that power.

“Being a mom is the most amazing thing you can be,” Clark said to EFC. “One of my classmates said to me, ‘Esther, you would really give up your career to have kids?’ and I was like, “Psssh, yeah.’”

Clark’s views don’t always mesh with some of her fellow students at Brenau, but she changed a few opinions. While working on a class project, she said she was paired with the most liberal, feminist student in her class. Their project centered on relationships between mothers and daughters. They found daughters of both stay-at-home moms and career-oriented moms were proud of their mothers. But stronger bonds were found with the stay-at-home moms. Daughters of career-oriented moms felt they didn’t really know their mothers. Clark said this assignment changed her partner’s views on a career. She told Clark that when the time came, she would become the stay-at-home mom her mother hadn’t been.

In another feminist uprising, Clark fought the arguments with logic. Controversy about the men-only rule at Augusta National set off feminists around campus. Clark simply pointed out the irony that women were complaining about Augusta National when they were sitting in a women’s college.

“We have to find ways to stand up for conservative values and don’t back down in the face of these feminists.”

Shive, editor of the Cornell American, has been fighting since he joined the staff. Shive isn’t sure how he managed it, but half-way through just his sophomore year, he found himself in the editor’s chair facing losing funding for the paper. He urged his staff and other conservatives on campus to fight. Eventually the American won, mostly. Shive said they still suffered a small cut in the paper’s funds which he considered their “10 percent tax on conservatism.”

“Why did we win this funding battle?” he asked EFC. “Because we won the war of words.”

Shive pointed to several other controversies which have raged at Cornell during his tenure ranging from the battle over the Redbud woods being cleared for a parking lot to noted alumna Ann Coulter speaking there last May. Shive urged conservatives to continue to stand up, citing four keys to success.

“Do not back down, do not apologize,” he said. “Grow tough skin. Take what you do seriously but not yourselves and have fun.”

Barham, a law student, spoke specifically on how to win what he dubbed the “War of Ideas.” Relating the War of Ideas between conservatives and liberals to the War on Terror, Barham told his audience the War of Ideas and the War on Terror have many similarities. Both have two opposing sides, the conservative versus the liberal and the insurgent versus the American Special Forces.

“On America’s college campuses, the conservatives like the insurgent forces, may score small victories,” he said. “But in the long run, we must act like the American Special forces.”

In order to do this, Barham said, conservatives need to think strategically, think tactically, develop and work with allies and call in assistance and support.

“Liberals live in echo-chambers, where all their friends share the same views,” he said. “They think conservatives are mean or stupid. The phrase ‘intelligent conservative’ means ‘former conservative.’ That is the enemy we are up against.”

Barham spoke to EFC about the ways to carry out the War of Ideas, by pooling resources with similarly opinioned groups, like Christian groups; asking pointed questions in classes of predominately liberals; bringing in speakers; organizing debates; and finding allies within the staffs of their colleges. Barham said it will not be easy, but as long as distractions are minimized, they can start to turn the tide.

“As you return to school in the fall,” he told EFC, “think and act like the American Special Forces.”

Trevor Hayes is an intern at Accuracy in Media, Accuracy in Academia’s parent group.