Fascinating and Indomitable

At the 13th Annual Eagle Forum Summit on Capitol Hill, students from across the country heard well-known speakers, mostly congressmen, talk about current issues and what they can do for the future. In one of the first talks, entitled “How To Fascinate and Dominate In DC,” Jessica Echard, Executive Director of Eagle Forum, focused on “the things you need to do to be successful” in Washington D.C.

Eagle Forum and other conservative organizations counter-protested the “angry radical feminists” at the Justice Roberts and Alito hearings, Ms. Echard remembered. “We need to combat that,” Ms. Echard said.

She displayed some of the homemade signs that they made, which included: “Real Women Don’t Cry Over Title IX,” “Women Athletes Against Title IX”and“We [Heart] Men’s Sports.” She also told the students that the media was surprised that there were women who would not “bow down to the liberal ideals.”

Title IX is a federal law that requires colleges and universities that receive government funding to offer as many educational and sports opportunities to women as to men. In practice, this has led to colleges and universities cancelling sports such as wrestling in order to offer more arcane athletic opportunities to women.

Ms. Echard noted that homemade signs are an excellent way to get your message heard. She pointed out that not only does it show that you are passionate and dedicated to the cause you standing for or against, but it also grabs the media’s attention.

She went on to explain how manufactured signs are just as equally important, especially when it comes to unifying a group. “It is very important to be unified,” Ms. Echard said.

Ms. Echard then gave the students a list of four things to ensure they would be successful in DC:

• “Know you are a conservative first,” she said. Ms. Echard pointed out that being a Republican and being a conservative are not the same.

• Second, “never start out with a compromise position.” Ms. Echard observed that by doing so, “you’re already advancing the ball for the other team.”

• Third, “know your facts and always speak up.”

• Finally, “be persistent.” Ms. Echard told students, “This is a town where if you are a go-getter, you can get what you want.” She added, “One of the biggest challenges has been the reluctance of some conservatives to speak up.

Ms. Echard closed her remarks by citing 1 Timothy, “Don’t let the world look down on you because you’re young.”

Matthew Murphy is an intern at Accuracy in Academia.