The University of Iowa’s chapter of Young Americans for Freedom, or YAF, has elected a new chairman as longtime leader Jasmyn Jordan prepares to graduate.

Brody Baker, a first-year sports and recreation management major, said he plans to follow in Jordan’s footsteps in his leadership. But Baker’s political identity marks a stark difference from Jordan, who said she identifies as conservative.

“I’m a very big moderate,” Baker said. “I’m either on the center or a little left-leaning. Just because I’m there for caring. I’m there for healing. I think that’s what this world needs.”

When asked about the most pressing issue facing the country, Baker pointed to the U.S. health care system. Describing it as “broken,” he said it needs to be more affordable and accessible but warned against a fully government-funded model, citing issues with Canada’s system as a cautionary example.

Another issue Baker highlighted in contemporary politics is the influence of big donors. He joked that politicians should, like NASCAR drivers, display the names of all their donors prominently to give voters full transparency.

While acknowledging that he does not closely follow politics, Baker said he uses Ground News — a news aggregation app that highlights media bias and source transparency — to stay informed with a balanced mix of perspectives.

One of the areas where Baker said he finds common ground with far-left individuals is the importance of free speech.

“I think everyone’s viewpoints are credible, even if some are a little out there,” Baker said.

Free speech on college campuses has become a flashpoint since President Donald Trump took office again in January. In recent months, the administration has detained and sought to deport international students involved in pro-Palestinian activism, invoking a rarely used provision of the Immigration and Nationality Act that allows removal of noncitizens deemed to pose “potentially serious adverse foreign policy consequences.”

Tufts graduate student Rümeysa Öztürk was among the more than 300 international students whose visas were revoked for pro-Palestinian activism, according to Secretary of State Marco Rubio. The Turkish doctoral student was seen on video being surrounded by six masked, plainclothes ICE agents and arrested near her home in Somerville, MA, on March 25.

“That’s not good,” Baker said, referring to Öztürk’s detention. “I don’t think, even if it was for someone that you should detain, you can’t roll up on someone with a mask on and pull them out and take them into a van. That’s abduction at that point.”

A U.S. State Department memo indicated that by co-authoring an op-ed critical of Israeli military actions, Öztürk was undermining U.S. foreign policy by fostering hostility toward Jewish students and appearing to support a terrorist organization, the Associated Press reported.

However, according to The Washington Post, a separate memo drafted before her detention found no evidence she had engaged in antisemitic activity or endorsed any terrorist organization.

“I think we all would agree that’s extreme — [to be] detained and removed from the country basically because she disagrees with the Israeli government,” Baker said, adding he believes his stance on Öztürk’s case is the moderate take. “That’s not on behalf of YAF, that’s on behalf of me.”

Baker also specified that he believes deportation of international students who antagonize, threaten, or segregate Jewish students in the name of pro-Palestine activism is fair and should follow a standard procedure of due process.

His moderate worldview, Baker said, is rooted in his upbringing. He described his family as conservative in values but apolitical in daily life. Rather than focusing on differences with others, Baker said his family taught him to extend kindness to all, including transgender individuals.

“I believe anybody that shows respect to me and is able to have an opinion or talk to me deserves to have a conversation,” Baker said. “I may not believe in what you believe in, but we can talk about it. The main purpose of life is communication.”

The UI YAF chapter has sparked controversy in the past for hosting speakers like like Matt Walsh and Chloe Cole, whose views on transgender issues have drawn protests and criticism. Since taking over as chairman, Baker has not faced any counter-protests but said he respects the right of others to demonstrate. He also emphasized that YAF is open to everyone.

“We allow anybody to come to our meetings,” Baker said. “We’re not against anybody coming to our meetings. We
love everyone.”

While Jordan said YAF does not disclose its exact number of members, she told The Daily Iowan the group saw a surge in membership at the start of this semester, the largest in her four years with the organization.

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“Something that we learn from national YAF is to be most active during the election years because that’s when people are paying the most attention to politics,” Jordan said.

Jordan said Baker has been consistently and enthusiastically involved with YAF meetings and events since he joined the group at the beginning of last semester.

“He made everyone around him feel super welcome and super excited to be a part of the organization,” Jordan said. “I think the chairman role really suits him well.”

Reflecting on her four years with YAF, Jordan said her involvement was a formative experience — one that influenced her to major in political science, gave her the opportunity to testify in front of the House Judiciary Committee twice, and connected her with most of her friend group.

However, the role has also come with challenges. Jordan described facing harassment following the Walsh event in 2023, including having her full name and address posted online. She said someone pounded on her dorm room door and stood outside in a way that felt threatening.

Baker said he is less concerned about similar threats to his personal safety, but he does worry about how he, and YAF as a whole, is perceived.

“I’m scared about how I can be twisted in a certain way,” Baker said. “I tell people that you either love me or you’re OK with me. It’s hard to hate me because I’m always nice, I’m outgoing, I’m positive.”

On March 3, the national YAF organization filed a civil rights complaint with the U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights, alleging that the UI’s diversity, equity, and inclusion policies discriminate against conservative students and violate federal civil rights laws and recent executive orders.

Baker said he was not familiar with the complaint – and Chris Brewer, public relations manager for the UI’s Office of Strategic Communication, said he hadn’t seen it either.

“The university was not aware of the complaint and has not received word that the Office of Civil Rights has elected to investigate,” Brewer wrote in an email to the DI.

Brewer also shared the following list of actions the university has taken to comply with state and federal laws, executive orders, and directives from the Iowa Board of Regents:

• Eliminated 12 full-time positions since last spring in compliance with the Iowa Board of Regents directives and state law
• Required all student organizations to state explicitly that they are open to all students
• Barred the use of DEI statements or participation in DEI activities as criteria for employment and admissions
• Prohibited mandatory disclosure of personal pronouns
• Removed all current and archived web content referencing DEI
• Discontinued three identity-based living-learning communities for the 2025-2026 academic year
• Closed the Division of Access, Opportunity, and Diversity at the end of March
• Currently revising the mandatory human rights clause required in all student organization constitutions