Student Spotlight - Laura Elizabeth Morales

A champion high school debater, Laura Elizabeth Morales, now a junior at the University of Texas at San Antonio (UTSA) and Chairman of Young Conservatives of Texas (YCT) there, has aptly applied her debate skills in her work as a campus activist.

Laura’s YCT chapter hosted Minutemen Founder Chris Simcox at UTSA last spring and they were greeted by a crowd of around 750, mostly violent protestors. Both Laura and Mr. Simcox were undeterred by the threats, but the event was cut short because of the magnitude of the protests, and Laura and Mr. Simcox were escorted out of the event by police.

In the weeks following the event, Laura and her club members received many emails and online messages from protestors. Despite the opposition, Laura says her YCT chapter, “plans to continue to pursue the issue of immigration” and that they forced UTSA students to pay attention to an issue that would have otherwise gone under the radar.

She says, “as a conservative activist you should be open to dialogue. And you should be well versed in the philosophy and ideas that make you a conservative.”

As a native of South Texas and the daughter of a Mexican immigrant, Laura is passionate about immigration reform. “My mother is an immigrant and is a living example of being able to achieve the American dream. She went from picking strawberries in the fields to make ends meet to being one of the most successful bankers in her industry. She learned English, got her citizenship, and is one of the reasons I can call myself a conservative.”

Raised in a moderately conservative home, Laura’s biggest challenge at UTSA is that as a Hispanic conservative she is labeled as “a betrayal to her people,” at her predominately Hispanic school. “I’ve faced some of the toughest criticism because of my ethnicity, but I’ve developed a thick skin and pushed forward for conservative values and ideas. And my knowledge and understanding of both sides of the political spectrum have helped with this.”

Laura is currently a summer intern with the Clare Boothe Luce Policy Institute. Her passion for politics has put her on MSNBC’s Hardball alongside Luce speaker Ann Coulter. Throughout her internship with the Luce Policy Institute she has had many opportunities to combat the Left in and around DC. Dressed in a nurse costume and chanting “socialized health care—your worst nightmare” Laura proudly protested the premiere of Michael Moore’s film “Sicko”, which made national headlines.

True to her love for public relations and her debate background, Laura is the Editor-in-chief of UTSA’s new conservative campus newspaper, The Campus Informer. Her motto is “Failure is the condiment that gives success its flavor,” by one of her favorite authors, Truman Capote.

Texas Debate Queen