At the first annual Student Conservative Awareness Conference this weekend, speakers and student discussions promoted conservative values and encouraged student activism to achieve goals.

Calling the conference a "historic event," opening speaker John Fluharty encouraged students to actively promote conservatism.

"The left hasn't mastered what it is to be active . . . The key is not to talk about the problems, but to act," said Fluharty, assistant to the president of Pennsylvanians For Right to Work.

Fluharty also told students they must learn that age is not a barrier to activism.

"Students play a critical role . . . you have the power to change so much. Once you realize this, you have to go out to your roommate, your fraternity brothers and sorority sisters and your friends and tell them," he said.

Targeting the issue of education as a starting point for students, Fluharty urged students to write letters to state representatives to express their concerns.

Fluharty also encouraged students to support Right to Work, which is based on the principle that workers should have the right to choose between joining a labor union and not joining, without jeopardizing their jobs.

He said because workers not in unions often end up losing their jobs by not backing the union, employers are looking elsewhere for workers.

"We've got to keep Pennsylvania jobs in Pennsylvania, and the only way to do that is with a Right to Work law," Fluharty said.

The conference also featured speakers W. Wesley McDonald, professor of political theory at Elizabethtown College; Reed Irvine of Accuracy in Media; Congressman Phil Crane, R-Ill.; and Peg Luksik, candidate for Pennsylvania governor; and others. All the speakers spoke on their own experiences as conservatives and focused on student activism, said John Souren, chairman of the board.

Speech and discussion topics included the legacy of Ronald Reagan, the future of conservatism, the conservative mind, conservatism on campus and the liberal bias of the media.

Mary Miles (freshman-liberal arts) said the speakers were helpful in addressing the goals of the conservative disposition.

"We're bringing in speakers that people in State College don't usually get to hear . . . It's important to expose people to conservative ideas," said Miles, member of the board of advisors for the conference.

Souren said he was pleased with the turnout for the conference. "We did reach new student segments . . . We got some of the silent majority out . . . Now we must work on building coalitions," he said.