Students for a Libertarian Society
Students for a Libertarian Society is an activist organization for students in the United States who want to promote libertarian ideals on college campuses.
The name and organizational structure were inspired by the success of Students for a Democratic Society in the 1960s. The SLS was founded in 1975 in conjunction with the Roger McBride presidential campaign and under the sponsorship of the national Libertarian Party.
At its height in the late 1970s and early 1980s it had a central national office with a paid staff and a budget of $1 million a year and chapters in all 50 states. It published a variety of useful pamphlets and issue papers and Liberty magazine in a newspaper format with a circulation of more than 10,000 copies per issue. Among those who were active in running the SLS were Jeff Friedman who was the national director from 1979 to 1981, Justin Raimondo who was on the national staff in the 1970s, Dave Nalle who was publications director and editor of Liberty magazine and Milton Mueller who was the last national director. Prominent former chapter heads include Justin Raimondo and Alan R. Weiss. The SLS was very active in the presidential campaign of Ed Clark in 1980 and in organizing protests against draft registration during the presidential administration of Jimmy Carter.
The SLS fell apart as a national organization in the mid-80s over disagreements between left-leaning anarcholibertarians of the Radical Caucus and free market libertarians attracted to the Republican Party during the presidency of Ronald Reagan, the same conflicts which threw the Libertarian Party into chaos during that period. Many university chapters still exist, but with no real national coordination. There was an unsuccessful attempt to revive the SLS in 2003 based around the anti-war movement.