By: Roy Aker

The University of Minnesota’s Ayn Rand Study Group started four years ago, but members still feel misunderstood by the campus community. 

The group, which has 10 regular members, studies Ayn Rand and her philosophies, in particular objectivism.

The group’s president, Katie Cowles, said that as students who study Rand’s ideals, they face many misconceptions.

“Some people probably think [we’re] like a cultish sort of a thing,” she said.

The group discusses Rand’s work and how her writing from the mid-20th century relates to modern-day current events and politics.

 Cowles said some think the group wants to influence, or push their ideological agenda on students.

“We’re not trying to convert everyone, we’re really just there to educate people about the philosophy and present a new philosophy that most students aren’t aware of,” said Cowles.

Rand, who gained notoriety in the early- to mid-20th century with her works Atlas Shrugged and The Fountainhead, has become a symbol for many modern-day libertarians.

Her writings stress objectivism, or the idea that reality is an “objective absolute, — facts are facts, independent of man’s feelings, wishes, hopes or fears,” according to the Ayn Rand Institute.

Cowles said the 10-member group is still growing, and has a 200-person mailing list. 

Thursday, the group hosted a lecture by Dr. Eric Daniels, who spoke on the state of free speech in America, something group officer Vincent Brinker said the group focuses on.

Brinker said free speech and free will are concepts that often revolve around the philosophy of objectivism.

In addition to guest speakers, the group has movie showings at Coffman Union Theater and is planning a trip to a Chicago conference on objectivism this summer.

The group is less about implementing its ideas throughout campus, Cowles said, and more about educating students on Rand’s philosophy.

“We think that if you learn about Ayn’s philosophy, you’ll find it to be moral and then you’ll implement it in your own life.”