Editor’s note: Sonia Mohammed attended UT from 1994-1999. She is the Co-Founder and Editor Emeritus of Contumacy, the Chairman Emeritus of UT’s Young Conservatives of Texas, and the President Emeritus of Lifesavers, the university’s pro-life group. Sonia was the most outspoken woman conservative at UT during the 1990s and one of the most effective spokesmen for conservative ideas on campus since the Reagan era. She currently resides and works in Austin and remains politically active in the community.

Whatever you do, don’t join the College Republicans at UT. On some campuses, the CRs are a powerhouse of conservative activism, but at UT, they’re moderates. The extent of their activism is mixing martinis and putting “George W. Bush” bumper stickers on their cars. If making coffee at party functions and fawning over politicos is your idea of making a difference, then the CRs will be just right for you. Otherwise, forget ‘em.

Get involved with the Intercollegiate Studies Institute (ISI). ISI is the best student organization you will ever encounter. This is a national organization dedicated to conservative and libertarian students interested in preserving liberty. I was unfortunate in that I didn’t find out about them until my last two years of school. They will empower you with the tools to battle the left and will introduce you to like-minded students. Plus, they throw excellent parties! Check out www.isi.org for more information. And meet Dr. Stan Ridgley, who is cooler than ice.

Say the “Pledge of Allegiance” everyday and think about what it means, even if you’re by yourself and not in front of the U.S. flag. We live in the greatest country in the world and we ought to celebrate that fact.

Write letters to the editor of the Daily Texan. Beat the hell out of illogical pompous-asses. When you make a case, always back up your claims with substantive material. The left will use emotional rubbish, and when they do that, they lose.

Read Right From the Beginning by Patrick J. Buchanan. This is the best book I’ve ever read in my entire life. Even if you’re not a Buchananite or as zany as he is, you will love this book. It is hilarious. Go, Pat, go!

Attend meetings held by your political opposition. Be a spy right in front of your political enemies. Go to meetings advertised on campus for the College Democrats, the International Socialists, or Voices for Choice. If you’re a political unknown, excellent. Find out as much information as you can about your opposition’s plans and then feed this information to your team of conservative soldiers so you can arm them appropriately for counter-demonstrations and the like. Once you develop a reputation for being a right-wing radical, you’ll make them highly uncomfortable with your presence at their meetings (psychological warfare rocks) and they might even unjustly attempt to throw you out Don’t let them intimidate you.

Join Greater Austin Right to Life (GARTL). Advocate giving civil rights to innocent, unborn children. Volunteer at GARTL or at least get on their mailing list by calling 477-1244 and speaking to either Becky or Joe.

Read at least one newspaper a day. Know what’s going on in your world. Unfortunately, most newspapers are written on a 6th grade reading level so stay away from rags like the Austin-UnAmerican Statesman. For an excellent read, try the Wall Street Journal. Ask for a student subscription…they are cheap!

Read one book a month that isn’t in your curriculum. Your school assignments can be boring. Escape with one of the classics; get a list of the top 100 fiction books of all time and venture out to Half-Price Books to fill up your shelves. You’ll fill your head with ideas and realize that the world is huge and it doesn’t revolve around you. You’ll also improve your grammar, spelling, and vocabulary skills.

Despite whatever pressures you encounter, DO NOT become a political moderate. Always ask yourself whether something is right or wrong. Even though you may not know the answer, there always is one. Do your best to find it and argue for it. Have an opinion. Have a spine and make decisions, or others will gladly make them for you.

OK, now for some practical matters. These aren’t political strategies and tactics, but they’ll help keep your life in balance so you can keep fighting the good fight.

Don’t major in something cheesy like Sociology, Women’s Studies, or Latin-American Studies. You like money, don’t you? When you graduate, it’s all about the benjamins, baby. You will kick yourself silly if you wind up flipping burgers at McDonald’s. Austin has the most educated waiters and gas-station attendants in the world. There just isn’t any room in the market for someone who can only philosophize all day.

I majored in government and philosophy only with an intention to go to law school, so I told myself it was okay to have liberal arts degrees. If I could do it over again, I would have majored in something like finance, which would have been profitable upon getting my BBA. With some type of business degree, you can get a good job right out of college without having to worry about post-graduate studies.

DON’T move within the same city 8 times in 5 years like I did. Find one house or apartment during your time in Austin and stay put! Moving is hell! With each move, you’ve got to clean your entire abode (pure hell), move all your junk (so painful), pay new deposits, and pack and unpack junk you shouldn’t be lugging around anyway. If you do move, save yourself time and some backaches by calling professional movers. They are fairly inexpensive if you tell them you are a student. You can get mountains of junk moved for $200 or less and it is well worth the effort. I recommend All Star Moving and Storage (442-7827). Moving is the bane of my existence. Don’t let it be yours.

Visit and call your parents every once in a while. I hate admitting this, but they really do know what is best for you and they don’t yell at you because they hate you. You’ll realize this soon enough and then you’ll kick yourself for being so mean to them. Life is short and you will miss them when they are gone. You’ll be shocked at how nice they are to you when you leave for college and come back for visits. They will have missed you tremendously (although they won’t always admit it) and will take you out for fancy dinners and take you on shopping trips.

Keep in touch with your siblings. They start to appreciate you more when you leave the house (especially younger children) and will become your best friends if you let them. Call them up for a visit to your campus. Take them to a UT football game.

DON’T forget birthdays and other special events. The least you can do is send cards. Your parents, siblings, and friends deserve your respect and attention and will love you for remembering them even with your busy school schedule.

Go to church every once in a while. You may forget about God, but He won’t ever forget about you.

Pay your bills on time. It’s easy to put it off and be lazy, but it is so much better to avoid late fees!

Use your credit cards only as “charge cards”: don’t ever buy anything on credit if you can help it. If you don’t have the money for what you want, get a job, two if you have to. If you do use credit cards, pay your balance in full every month and avoid horrendous finance fees, late fees, and over-the-limit fees. That way you will be using them as “charge cards,” whereby you have charges and you pay them all off each month.

Watch one movie a week. If you don’t head out to the movie theaters to check out what’s new, head to the video store and check out what’s old. Get a copy of the American Film Institute’s “Top 100 Movies of All Time” and watch a classic like Ben-Hur or An Affair to Remember.

Go to a museum or an art gallery once in a while. You don’t have to be a hippie to enjoy beauty. You may see ads for exhibitions on campus. Introduce yourself to a little culture and check them out. There is more to art than macaroni necklaces and tie-dye shirts.

Even if you aren’t a government major, take Dr. May for either or both Texas House of Representatives or Texas Senate simulations. These classes are only offered during the legislative session (the semester before and the semester during) and are the best classes I ever took at UT. For the most action, always opt to be a legislator instead of a lobbyist or a member of the press. You’ll learn all about what happens during real legislative sessions and you’ll possibly even get your life threatened by crazy classmates upset over you not supporting their legislation. There’s nothing like a good death threat to get your adrenaline pumping!

If you need to fulfill a foreign language requirement, take a “minority language” like Norwegian, Swedish, or Dutch. Instead of the typical 2 year, 4 semester plan you have to follow for Spanish or French, you can finish your language requirement in only 1 year or 2 semesters if you take a minority language. Dr. Straubhaar, who teaches Norwegian, is as sweet as pie.

Eat your vegetables and drink your milk and water. If you want to die smelly and wrinkled, just have pizza, Cocoa-Puffs and Coca-Cola everyday. If you want to die with the face and body of a goddess like Sophia Loren, eat those carrots.

Be a FOXNEWS junkie. I’m not talking about local Fox news. Watch the FOXNEWS Network religiously for news and news analysis that is fair and balanced. Watch “Hannity and Colmes” and “The O’Reilly Factor”, two of the best shows on television and the best shows on the FOXNEWS Network. Bill O’Reilly and Sean Hannity will rock your world. And don’t watch CNN either! Tell Ted Turner to go fish!

Girls: don’t be sluts! Don’t let those men walk all over you and don’t put yourself in stupid situations. So-called “date rape” is a farce in 99% of cases. What are you doing going out with a guy who is capable of hurting you, anyway? You should know someone pretty well before spending tons of time alone with him. You know what you’re doing and you have to live up to the consequences of your actions. Read The Rules.

Girls, don’t be witches. Many women are so catty! Follow the example of men, who aren’t nearly as anal as y’all are. Men tell it like it is. Life is too short, so being laid back is the way to go.

Wait until marriage to be truly intimate with someone. You’ll avoid much heartache and much drama if you take the extraneous physical stuff out of the equation. Girls, men will want you more if they know they can’t have you! By the way, contrary to popular belief, male virgins can be cool! Decent women will think it is so hot that you have some morals. It is so romantic to wait until marriage. Did y’all know that Lisa Kudrow (Phoebe from Friends) waited until marriage!!?? She said it was the right thing to do.

Buy a gun! Protect yourself from hoodlums and heathens. The world will always have devils who want to steal your property or hurt you. You just have to deal with them sometimes. Always have lots of bullets in the house.

Pick up The Idiot’s Guide to Making Money on Wall Street. Stop working for “the man.” If you start saving and investing when you are young, you won’t die old and poor because you trusted the government to give you Social Security (SS) benefits.

If you are currently paying into the SS system, you are getting ripped off by the government because there is no way in hell you’re going to see any of that money! Make it a goal to become a millionaire by the time you are 35. Absolute morons make money everyday, and you can too.

Don’t be yellow. From the wisdom of Holden Caulfield, hero of Catcher in the Rye: “The thing not to be is yellow. If you should sock someone in the jaw and you feel like doing it, you should do it!” Be a rebel with a cause. Be a man (or a strong, moral woman). Fight for what’s right.