By Sophia Solano
Noah Vehafric, president of American University’s chapter of Young Americans for Liberty, advocates for economic liberty in his community and beyond this election season.
A junior studying Communications, Legal Studies, Economics and Law, Vehafric identifies as a libertarian and heads the largest student coalition of libertarians at AU. He is concerned about the national debt ahead of November’s election.
“We think of our national debt as something in the abstract but that’s not really true,” Vehafric said. “We’re putting our children, our grandchildren and probably our great grandchildren in bondage by passing down all this debt to the future.”
Another political worry for Vehafric is the United States’ involvement in foreign wars.
“When it comes to foreign wars, we’re killing our children by getting involved where we don’t need to be and sending them there to fight battles we don’t need to fight,” Vehafric said.
Though he is optimistic that politicians have the ability to solve the issues he cares about, Vehafric says that he does not believe they will choose to do so.
“Republicans used to run on this idea that they were fiscally conservative,” Vehafric said. “That’s a lie now. They’re big spenders just like anybody. I don’t think they’re capable of changing that because they’re incapable of standing on their principles in certain aspects.”
Despite his self-proclaimed belief that politicians merely move money around without changing much, Vehafric, who is from Walnutport, PA, said he plans to vote in person in November’s presidential election.
“Maybe it’s selfish, but it’s my first presidential election,” Vehafric said. “I want to vote in person. There are always crazy people in Pennsylvania outside the polls trying to get your attention and sway your opinion. It’s fun and I like interacting with that.”
Vehafric has qualms about expenditures beyond the national budget; he also worries that American University is spending too much money on programs and staff positions.
“For me, college should be about education and being able to afford that education,” Vehafric said. “The AU administration should be focused on creating a rigorous academic environment that challenges you. Instead, they’re focusing on all these things like housing, food and programs for this group and that group. When they do that, we wonder why college becomes so expensive.”
Advanced Reporting Times, Fall 2020 