Tea Party on Campus: The Youth Cadre of the Tea Party
These are groups to watch, and possibly watch out for since there are likely O’Keefe types among them.
n early 2009, a series of small, grassroots political protests began to crop up around the country, toting small government, tax cuts and an end to the runaway federal deficit. Backers called for a “new Tea Party” to reshuffle American politics, and the message—and the name—quickly took hold.
College and high school students participated in Tea Party protests from their inception, says 23-year-old Corie Whalen, a field organizer for the Young Americans for Liberty, an outgrowth of Students for Ron Paul. At the beginning of this new movement, these young adults were scattered, limited to the odd 20-something at larger Tea Party protests and rallies.
Student-specific Tea Party groups slowly began appearing on college campuses across the country. Its backers started a website—TeaPartyStudents.org, and by fall 2010, it had become the umbrella organization for 12 college Tea Party groups, from the University of Iowa Tea Party to the University of Pennsylvania branch of the Philadelphia Tea Party Patriots.