IT HAS BEGUN!

Marketing for the event has officially began. Emails were sent out nationally, and internationally. Now is the time to press for other people to join, and to organize your own event. PLEASE keep me updated on your progress so I can keep tabs on how this operation is going, and post it on the blog. And let me know if you need ANY help at all.

Event Planning Information

Thank you for your interest in the National Day of Capitalism. This letter is intended to give you more of a background of what the event is, its purpose, and how you can become a part of what is to be the biggest event of conservative activism ever in the United States. With cooperation from schools across the nation, the potential impact of this event upon the minds and hearts of all citizens is limitless. This opportunity to be apart of something so prolific and monumental cannot be missed.

The National Day of Capitalism is a celebration of the economic structure that best protects and serves the natural right of mankind: the right to life. It is because of this system that America has become the superpower that it is today, and it is why we have as much freedom as we do. This day of capitalism is a way for college students to remind our fellow Americans of what we have gained because of capitalism, and to encourage them to protect and promote it in the way they think and live.

This event will be nationally coordinated among student organizations at university campuses across the entire United States operating under one common theme: the celebration of capitalism. The importance of this type of organization is that it shows cohesion among all participating groups while allowing individual groups to organize and host an event that is with their abilities. So far, we have three universities in three different states on board, and we haven't even begun marketing it yet. Groups at Clemson University in South Carolina, CSU Fullerton in California, and the University of Nebraska Omaha in Nebraska have all said they want to be a part of this historic and influential event.

In the next few paragraphs, I'll outline the proposed event for Clemson University, as well as models and ideas that you might want to incorporate into your event for your own campus. They range from very complex to very simple; however, no matter what size or magnitude your event at your campus is, you still contribute to the making of a prodigious national event, and your effort is appreciated.

At Clemson University, we expect to have funding support from the Clemson Institute for the Study of Capitalism, so our business model will reflect expected monetary support from them. We're very fortunate to have an institute such as the Clemson Institute on our campus, so that events like we plan to host here can be put on.

For Clemson's event, we plan to put on a symposium on the multiple levels of capitalism; highlighting the moral and pragmatic benefits of capitalism, with a third scholar to lecture on a specific topic such as business applications, or a topic more controversial regarding the theory of capitalism (one example that comes to mind was Fred Smith, President of The Competitive Enterprise Institute, who spoke on the 'Irresponsibility of Corporate Social Responsibility'). For each of the three facets we want to discuss, we would like a scholar on each to be present to make a short presentation, no more than 15 min., and then switch over to a panel format to take questions from the audience since engaging and educating students and guests will be the primary objective of this event. Question and Answer sessions allow for a more intimate atmosphere, and allow the visiting lecturers the opportunity to address concerns from the audience that wasn't covered in the lecture portion of the symposium.

To supplement the symposium, we would also like to assemble a small composition of articles on the objectivist view of capitalism and the world, as well as an assortment of other scholarly articles (although either abridged or those with brevity to ensure the reader's attention is maintained throughout the whole piece) done on the moral foundations of capitalism. This would be made available to guests of the symposium. This is an extremely effective tool in educating guests and students because it gives them a bastion of arguments for capitalism that can easily be referred to time and time again.

Other schools in the surrounding region would be invited to attend this event. Schools such as Furman, Wofford, UGA, USC, and the host of smaller schools are very likely have students attending such a prestigious and informative. Also professionals and intellectuals from all over the South East would be drawn to this event because of the potential for being an incredibly noteworthy assembly of the greatest minds in the theories of capitalism.

While this is quite an elaborate event, the event at your school would not nearly need to be of this size although we fully encourage it.

While symposiums and panels are excellent formats at bringing in several lecturers rather than just one, a single speaker is still a great idea. In order to sidestep the often expensive fees charged for lectures who are normally brought in at events, petition the leading think tanks such as Cato and Heritage, as well as pro-capitalism institutes like the Ayn Rand Institute in Irvine, CA. In the coming week, I can provide to you a list of Capitalist-oriented organizations, as well as a list of suggested speakers.

If you're unable to bring in speakers, you can still have a large impact on your campus in many other ways. While some events with speakers may require certain levels of "professionalism," feel free to explore your more radical-activist roots and cause a stir. Hold an anti-communist rally, or either a "Death to Che" rally. Liberals abhor the thought of you disgracing their beloved icon. Start a propaganda campaign through leaflets and brochures you pass out to people on their way to class. Show a pro-capitalism movie like We the Living (1986) or The Fountainhead (1949) in your campus' amphitheatre or lecture hall. I'll try also to get a list of other examples of pro-capitalism movies or documentaries in the near future. And if you're an Ayn Rand follower or an objectivist in general, put on a memorial for Ayn Rand and pass out compilations of pieces from her several works. Again, I suggest talking to the ARI (Ayn Rand Institute) for help on this. They're always willing to promote her and her work to college students.

Don't be afraid to explore even the most unconventional manners of events; the broad theme of this event accommodates this. So long as what you're doing is a "celebration of capitalism," it fits perfectly with our National Day of Capitalism and you can be added to the growing list of schools joining together on this day.

The National Day of Capitalism will take place on March 6. The goal is to have at least one group from every state host an event on their campus. We're well on our way with 47 of 50 down and still lots more time to go. I encourage you to forward this on to whomever at other schools you think might want to participate. If you're in close proximity with other schools, do a joint project to pool resources and have a bigger event. Several schools in CA might do this.

When the time comes, I'll help all the participating schools with media marketing so that exposure of your efforts will not go unnoticed in your community and state. I fully expect this event, if it reaches a good size, to be a major story in the national media.

If you are interested in being a part of the National Day of Capitalism, let me know so that I can add your group and college to our official list. Also, if you would like more information or have any questions, or you simply organizational help or advice, feel free to reach me also.

Thanks again for your interest, and I hope to be working with you in the near future.

It Begins...

Okay. I have told many of you that more information is on the way, and I finally caught a chance in between exams to hammer out a basic purpose and explanation of what I’m planning. I came up with the idea for a nationally coordinated event last year around this time. I presented it to a gathering of editors at a Collegiate Network editor’s conference in Delaware. While interest sparked among a number of schools from Oregon to Illinois to here in Clemson, the event idea fell through because a lack of unity among the topic to protest.

I will admit, at the time, I was pushing for something offensive and forgetting that simply the size of a coordinated effort like we planed was more than enough to get attention. I have a tendency to do this. Go figure—it’s my history.

Anyways, the opportunity finally presented itself again this past week. Just by happenchance, I had the fortunate opportunity to cross paths with Matt Schenk from Cal. State Fullerton, who shared my energy about doing a nationwide, coordinated event. After brainstorming, we decided the best issue would be capitalism. This topic defines what it is to be a “conservative,” be you a Republican conservative or a Libertarian conservative.

In addition to its position as the essential part of conservatives from all walks of life, it is one issue that simply isn’t talked about enough on college campuses, and is constantly under attack every day—even from our national government.

Therefore, this next semester, we will be putting together a NATIONALLY organized event, which I hope will involve at least one school from every state in the nation. Nothing like this has ever occurred before, to the best of my knowledge. This has to potential to be the largest conservative event on college campuses in America…ever.

Details are still in the infancy stages, as we really just started looking into all of this. This is anticipated to be the execution of simultaneous events on college campus across the US under the same theme: The National Day of Capitalism. This is important because it gives the organizing group on each campus the flexibility to hold an event in whatever capacity it can, while still participating in the larger event. So while a well established conservative group on a large campus may be able to garner the funds to put together a huge presentation, a new group on a small campus can still do what they can and both be involved in the national event.

I’ve set up this blog to keep everybody that is interested informed on the updates, as well as have one central hub where communication can be streamlined. Feel free to leave comments, and I’ll check them every day and get back to you. Also, shoot me an email if you want: DayofCapitalism@gmail.com.

This blog will be constantly updated as more details come about, so keep checking it. Also as more groups sign on, I’ll make sure to post a list of dedicated groups and universities. Let’s make this event heard around the world. It’s time we gave capitalism the justice its due.

Logo for the Event (Thrice Revised)

The Planning Begins

Welcome to the "temporary" (we will see) home of the National Day of Capitalism. So far, the plans for this event are in the very beginning stages, so information on what we are planning is very limited at this point in time. Heading up the event is myself, Andrew Davis, and helping out with the West Coast coordination is Matt Schenk. I am a senior at Clemson University, and Mr. Schenk is a Junior at Cal State Fullerton.

As more details emerge, we'll have them posted on here. We'll also have a list starting with all the schools dedicated to participating in this nationwide event.

If you have any questions, or feel that your group may want to get involved, please email me at DayofCapitalism@gmail.com.