Young Americans for Freedom (YAF) discussed President Joe Biden’s recent mask mandate, along with Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’s (D-NY) attendance and dress at the Met Gala during their weekly meeting Tuesday. 

YAF is a student organization at Iowa State University acting to promote the principles of limited government, individual freedom, free enterprise, a strong national defense and traditional values” according to the Iowa State Student Organization website.

The meeting was led by the President of YAF, Kyle Poen, a senior majoring in agricultural business and international agriculture.

Poen said the group wants to uphold “constitutional conservative values,” as outlined in the group’s Sharon Statement.

The discourse surrounding Biden’s vaccine mandates began with an interactive discussion, in which the room was divided into two sides. The left side of the room belonged to those who view the mandate as unconstitutional, and the right side to those who view it as constitutional. A large majority of the members present identified with the unconstitutional side of the room.

In regard to the vaccine mandate, Chuck Klapatauska, a senior majoring in mechanical engineering, was one of those on the unconstitutional side of the room, notably disliking the mandate.

Klapatauska said the mandate is expanding the government’s power and believes it is “weary and dangerous.”

Poen led a presentation, which started with the Headlines of the Week. The presentation included some notable headlines from the past week. One of the headlines mentioned Ocasio-Cortez’s attendance at the Met Gala on Monday, where she was seen wearing a white dress with “tax the rich” plastered in red on the back of the dress. 

In an email sent to members of YAF by Poen containing topics of discussion for the meeting, Ocasio-Cortez’s attendance at the Met Gala was referred to as “AOC owning herself at the Met Gala”.

The consensus found by the members present was that Ocasio-Cortez’s attendance was hypocritical, as they expressed clear disapproval with her presence at the event.

The meeting concluded with a discussion on future YAF events, naming Eve Lederhouse, Senior Marketing Communications Specialist for OutcomesMTM as their next guest speaker.