The Jefferson Council Annual Meeting

By all accounts, the inaugural meeting of The Jefferson Council was a tremendous success, bringing together alumni, students, faculty members, and parents in support of free speech, intellectual diversity, and the Jeffersonian tradition.

We have posted videos on the blog as they came available. If you would like to watch them in the order of the program, follow this table of contents.

Opening remarks — Bert Ellis, Jefferson Council president, provides an overview of the inaugural annual meeting and summarizes the four pillars of the Council — freedom of speech and intellectual diversity, preservation of the Jeffersonian legacy, revitalization of the Honor Code, and upholding the dignity of the Lawn as a World Heritage site.

Case study: Nick Cabrera, president of the University of Virginia branch of the Young Americans for Freedom, describes his up-close-and-personal encounters with the free speech-stifling radicals of the UVa student government.

Case study: Buddy Weber, Jefferson council board member, recounts the Kafkaesque journey of his client Morgan Bettinger through the University of Virginia’s woke student justice system.

The New McCarthyism: Joel Gardner, Jefferson Council board member, describes how conservative voices are stifled at the University of Virginia.

Free speech: Connor Murname with the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education tells how FIRE fights for free speech and free expression on college campuses.

Video Greeting from Governor Glenn Youngkin

“Our University: Things that Change and Things that Stay the Same.” Kenneth Elzinga, UVa’s legendary economics professor, lists the changes at UVa over the past half century that please him and the changes that dismay him.

Keynote speech: Jason Miyares. Speaking from the perspective as the son of a Cuban immigrant, Virginia’s Attorney General defends the legacy of Thomas Jefferson and his contribution to human freedom.