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YAF Activist Profile: Viraktep Ath

YAF Activist Profile: Viraktep Ath

By

katrina

March 30, 2017

Viraktep Ath is a senior at University of California–Riverside, where he is an English major. After attending a YAF conference, he went back and founded a conservative club at his school. He hosted David Horowitz for a campus lecture through YAF and participated in hosting some of our nationwide campus initiatives, including the 9/11: Never Forget Project, Freedom Week and No More Che Day. Viraktep also served as an intern at Young America’s Foundation’s Nat’l HQ last summer. He introduces new students to YAF and encourages them to attend YAF conferences, too. His younger sister, Satya, is following in his footsteps, as she recently founded her own YAF chapter at her high school and has already hosted her own successful events. The New Guard: How did you first realize you were a conservative? Viraktep Ath: Politically I realized I was a conservative during the years after I graduated high school. However, I have been a conservative all of my life. My parents raised me with conservative values and a love of country. They both came to America as refugees from Communist Cambodia and they became very patriotic citizens and have led successful lives.  I was taught to appreciate this country from a very young age. TNG: What inspired you to get involved with Young America’s Foundation? VA: I had a non-traditional experience after high school. I spent some time working odd jobs, and I began taking classes at a community college. I saw how tough it was for those students who worked everyday and went to school at the same time. When Obama was president there was a lot of negativity toward the working class values of America. Too many college liberals were defacing and demoralizing the country that I loved. The leftist propaganda on campus insulted the life my fellow students and I were living, and it insulted the hard work of my parents who became patriots of this country. I took great offense to the new leftist cultural changes happening on college campuses and I wanted to start a club to defend the values I grew up with. TNG: What is one obstacle you’ve faced on campus because of your conservative activism? VA: The toughest one would be the racism I experienced as a conservative activist of color. Being a conservative, I never defined myself by my race, I consider myself an American. Dealing with other conservatives at YAF conferences, I’ve never experienced any racism. However, as a vocal conservative activist I’ve been targeted by leftists on campus who believe I’m not fulfilling my role as a minority victim in this nation. I have been lectured to about how I am fulfilling the role of being a token minority. That I’m white-washing myself for handing out pamphlets of the U.S. Constitution. That I’m assisting in the advancement of white supremacy by handing out “neo-liberal propaganda.” The only experience of racism that I have ever had in my life has come from the so-called intellectual elite of society, supposedly “tolerant” college educated liberals. TNG: What has been the most rewarding part of being active with YAF, engaged in the Conservative Movement, and a leader on your campus? The least rewarding? VA: The most rewarding part is knowing that I’m making a difference. I recall my first YAF event was the 9/11: Never Forget Project. It was my first event on campus and I had no club members yet. I woke up at 3:00 am on the morning of 9/11 and got to campus by myself to set up flags. I had been placing flags all by myself from about 3:00 am to 7:00 am, and I was halfway through the 2,977 flags that make the memorial. Then some students on their way to morning classes stopped and asked what I was doing. I explained the event and I explained how I was starting a YAF chapter. The student, who happened to be a veteran, told me that 9/11 was the reason he enlisted. He told me to wait there and he came back with more students, all veterans, and they helped me place the remaining flags. I would say moments like that are what being an activist is all about. The least rewarding part would have to be dealing with campus bureaucracy. There’s a lot of headaches and paperwork involved in hosting speakers or attempting to put up displays on campus. TNG: If you had to go back and change any part of your journey, would you? VA: If I could change anything, I’d change how I handled things when I transferred from Fullerton College. Time flies by quickly and I wish I could have devoted more time to YAF and done way more with YAF my junior and senior year of college. TNG: What’s your favorite memory since becoming involved with YAF? VA: I would have to say the favorite thing I’ve done with YAF was visiting President Reagan’s Rancho Del Cielo. It’s a special place. There’s no library big enough, no book detailed enough, no movie good enough to capture who Reagan was, but the Ranch does. When you visit Rancho del Cielo, you get a look at the man Reagan was, not just who he was as a President. It is a surreal experience and it is a must-have experience for any YAFer. TNG: What advice would you give your high school self? VA: The hardest step to take is that very first step. You are going to be criticized, you are going to be threatened, you are going to face hardships, but you always need to take that first step. Sometimes being an activist means simply showing up. There are going to be days when you don’t want to go through anything but you’re going to have to. YAF is the only organization dedicated to preserving freedom for this generation and the next. To be a YAFer means taking that job seriously. The work you do as an activist is more important than any work a politician or political analyst will ever do. TNG: What’s the best resource YAF has provided for you as a student activist? VA: The conferences are the best resources. As an activist this is where you get to recharge and get inspired to go back to your campus. It’s like church for conservative activism! TNG: Who is your favorite YAF speaker? VA: My favorite YAF speaker would have to be Lt. Col. Allen West. It was his speech in Grand Rapids, Michigan, that gave me the inspiration to get my YAF club up and running. Lt. Col. West represents everything I look up to in an American. He served his country in combat and he continues to serve his country by educating young people. His speeches are inspirational and he has been my role model ever since. TNG: Any other advice you’d like to share with our readers? VA: Do a YAF Internship. There’s no better internship in the D.C. that prepares you for a career in the conservative movement. Also you may get lucky and meet the love of your life.

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