Conservative College Student Learns to Speak Up

Katie Johnson did not want to be associated with Conservatives when she first started at University of Wisconsin – La Crosse. Now, with only one semester left, Johnson is publicly and politically active, and she is proud to stand up for her conservative values at an otherwise fairly liberal school.

Empowered by American Majority to speak up for what she believes, Johnson is one of a long list of college students that are encouraged by American Majority’s college-campus presence.

“You think you’re the only conservative,” Johnson said. “But American Majority has been really supportive of students who want to fight for their cause.”

The “new” Johnson now tries to pass along the same encouragement that she received from American Majority to others who may have been in a similar situation.

“Students are afraid of what other people think of them. But don’t be afraid to stand up for what you believe in. Don’t be afraid to be an activist. There’s nothing wrong with sharing your opinion.”

Johnson was not always so outspoken. Even though both of her parents tried to remain politically informed, Johnson did not share her parents’ fervor. “I didn’t want to brand myself as anything,” said Johnson who, as a college freshman, was afraid of what people would think and was determined to be an average Political Science major.

Her opinion changed when she joined the student senate. “Everyone had these leftist ideas… that are pushing our country in the wrong direction,” Johnson said. Feeling like she couldn’t relate to anyone in the senate, Johnson joined the College Republicans chapter and began to get involved in raising awareness.

Worried about the difficulties of finding a job after college, Johnson began to raise awareness about liberal policies that go against her “belief in free market economics and a balanced budget.” She was especially impassioned by these issues because she believed current policies “[are] detrimental to our future and especially young people like myself.”

Once she got involved in politics, Johnson, an avid “tweeter,” sought out as many conservative political organizations as she could. Through Twitter, Johnson first heard of American Majority and started following Matt Batzel, executive director of American Majority Wisconsin.

Connecting with the American Majority branch in her state, Johnson went to two trainings, one in the spring of 2012 and another this past January. Johnson was drawn back to the training to “re-establish all those ideas regarding campaigns and social media.”

Johnson is excited about the most recent success of College Republicans (CR) at her school over the issue of “No Bacco.” Though the student senate issued a referendum and banned students from smoking, the administration sided with CR and overturned the ban, stating that “the policy couldn’t be enforced.”

Johnson hopes to pursue a career in politics either by staying active in campaigns, or by working at the national level for a conservative think tank.