Collegiate Network

Collegiate Network

The Collegiate Network (CN) is a non-profit, non-partisan tax-exempt 501(c)(3) organization that provides financial and technical assistance to student editors and writers of almost 100 independent, conservative and libertarian publications at leading colleges and universities around the country. The project was initiated by two college students at the University of Chicago. The CN estimates that member publications have a combined annual distribution of more than two million. Since 1995, the CN has been administered by the Intercollegiate Studies Institute (ISI), headquartered in Wilmington, Delaware.

Mission

According to its web site, the CN "focuses public awareness on the politicization of American college and university classrooms, curricula, student life, and the resulting decline of educational standards." Newspapers and journals in the CN regularly call attention to what they interpret as corruption and hypocrisy in campus administrations' and student groups' policies, argue in favor of free speech in liberal education, encourage discussion and debate, and train students in the principles and practices of journalism.

History

In 1979, the Institute For Educational Affairs (IEA) responded to the request of two University of Chicago students for start-up funding for a new conservative newspaper, Counterpoint [1] [2] [3]. By 1980, the grant program had been expanded and named the Collegiate Network, and by 1983, under the continuing administration of the IEA, had added both internships and persistent operating grants for conservative campus newspapers. In 1990, the Madison Center for Educational Affairs merged with the IEA to maintain funding for what had expanded to 57 conservative student publications. The Intercollegiate Studies Institute took over operations in 1995 and has since administered the CN from Wilmington, Delaware.

Impact

The CN is currently a voluntary association of almost 100 independent publications. CN support allows these publications to reduce or eliminate reliance on student government approval and constraint by faculty "oversight boards," thus resulting in increased independence which may be reflected in the publication's editorial "voice". The Columbia Journalism Review noted that the “Collegiate Network papers make a significant contribution to the journalism of their day.” The New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Boston Globe, and Los Angeles Times have also cited the Collegiate Network as the leader in helping nascent alternative student papers become influential campus publications.

During the last quarter century, CN student publications have aimed to be a consistent and enduring opponent of political correctness. By documenting controversial uses of mandatory student fees, the alleged proliferation of politicized academic departments, and the alleged stifling of debate through constitutionally dubious speech codes, the student reporters and editors of the Collegiate Network have been part of setting the terms of debate surrounding modern higher education.

Alumni

Graduates of Collegiate Network newspapers have become professional journalists and authors in every region of the country. From the Wall Street Journal to the Los Angeles Times, the Detroit News to the Washington Post, Investor's Business Daily to the Weekly Standard, CNN, Fox News, Newsweek, and National Review. Collegiate Network writers and editors have been awarded Rhodes Scholarships, and some have also received Marshall and Fulbright Scholarships, with many gaining recognition as Phi Beta Kappa inductees. CN alumni include the editor of National Review Rich Lowry, CNN and ABC News correspondent Jonathan Karl, New York Times columnist Ross Douthat, and best-selling author Dinesh D'Souza.

Features of the Collegiate Network

Membership

More than 100 campus publications are affiliated with the CN, though the exact number varies from year to year. The CN provides assistance to these papers through annual operating grants, annual journalistic training conferences, campus mentoring sessions, editorial resources, Internet discussion groups, summer and year-long internships at leading national media outlets, and extensive guidance from experienced professionals.

CAMPUS Magazine

In order to facilitate increased awareness of campus issues, the CN founded CAMPUS magazine. In order to reach more students and faculty, CAMPUS Magazine was converted to an online magazine in 2005. CAMPUS Magazine Online (CMO) provides a national platform for student articles on current abuses and potential reforms in higher education. The goal of CMO is to focus public awareness on the denial of the right of free speech to those who do not follow the academic party line on curriculum reform, classroom politicization, and declining educational standards.

The Pollys

In the past, the CN has awarded Pollys, or Campus Outrage Awards, to those who "expose the excesses of college administrators and professors who misuse their authority to silence dissent and impose their own political agendas on unwilling students." Winners have included the University of Oregon (2001), for allowing the domestic terrorist group Animal Liberation Front (ALF) to have an office on campus — paid for with student funds and LeMoyne College (2005) for expelling a graduate student for writing a paper rejecting multiculturalism.

Internships and Fellowships

The CN sponsors summer internships and year-long fellowships at some of the nation's most prestigious media institutions, including the Weekly Standard, the Washington Times, the Washington Examiner, USA Today, US News & World Report, Radio America, National Review, the American Spectator, Roll Call, and CNSNews.com.

National Security Online Resource Center

The National Security Online Resource Center (NSORC) is a project dedicated to providing college journalists with a solid grounding in national security issues. NSORC advises journalists about how to engage the student community in discussion of such issues as National Missile Defense and the Global War on Terrorism and also provides recent headlines and opinions, student articles, book reviews, and downloadable online lectures. NSORC is conveniently organized by topic for easy searching. NSORC is made possible by grants from generous benefactors and is administered and operated by the CN.

Partial List of CN Member Publications

• The Anteater Review, University of California-Irvine
• The Anthem, Texas A & M University
• Areté, Berry College
• The Binghamton Review, Binghamton University
• The Broadside Magazine, North Carolina State University
• The Brown Spectator, Brown University
• The Bruin Standard, University of California-Los Angeles
• The California Patriot, University of California-Berkeley
• The Cardinal Principle, Stanford University
• The Carolina Review, University of North Carolina
• The Carrollton Record, Johns Hopkins University
• The Centurion, Rutgers University
• The Claremont Independent, Claremont College
• The Cornell Review, Cornell University
• The Counterweight, Bucknell University
• The Counterweight, University of Minnesota-Morris
• Counterpoint, University of Chicago
• The Cross Examiner, Seton Hall Law School
• The Dartmouth Review, Dartmouth College
• The Davidson Reader, Davidson College
• The Eastern Republic, Eastern Washington University
• The Fenwick Review, College of the Holy Cross
• The Filibuster, New York University
• The Georgetown Academy, Georgetown University
• The Georgetown Federalist, Georgetown University
• The Georgia GuardDawg, University of Georgia
• The Gonzaga Witness, Gonzaga University
• The Gothic Guardian, Duke University
• The GW Patriot, George Washington University
• The Harvard Ichthus, Harvard University
• The Harvard Salient, Harvard University
• The Hillsdale Forum, Hillsdale College
• The Indiana Standard, Indiana University Bloomington
• The Irish Rover, University of Notre Dame
• The Kenyon Observer, Kenyon College
• The Lehigh Patriot, Lehigh University
• The Liberty, Oregon State University
• Liberty Bell, Seton Hall University
• Light & Truth, Yale University
• Lincoln Park Statesman, DePaul University
• The Michigan Review, University of Michigan
• The Midway Review, University of Chicago
• The Minuteman, University of Massachusetts Amherst
• The Mountaineer Jeffersonian, West Virginia University
• The Northwestern Chronicle, Northwestern University
• The Observer at Boston College, Boston College
• The Ohio State Sentinel The Ohio State University
• The Orange & Blue Observer, University of Illinois
• The Oregon Commentator, University of Oregon
• The Phoenix, Wabash College
• The Portland Spectator, Portland State University
• The Praetorian, University of California-Riverside
• The Pragmatist, Stetson University
• The Primary Source, Tufts University
• The Princeton Tory, Princeton University
• The Purdue Review, Purdue University
• The Rambler, Christendom College
• The Sentinel, Ohio State University
• Sixthirtyone, University of Tulsa
• The Stanford Review, Stanford University
• The Student Journal, University of North Dakota
• The Terrapin Times, University of Maryland
• Texas Review of Law and Politics, University of Texas-Austin
• The Tiger Town Observer, Clemson University
• Utraque Unum, Georgetown University
• The Vanderbilt Torch, Vanderbilt University
• The Villanova Times, Villanova University
• The Virginia Advocate, University of Virginia
• The Virginia Informer, College of William & Mary
• The Wabash Commentary, Wabash College
• The Warrior, Marquette University
• The Washington Witness, Washington University
• The Yale Free Press, Yale University

References

Sources and External Links

• Official Website
• CN Member Publication List
• CAMPUS Magazine Online
• The 2005 Pollys
• National Security Online Resource Center
• Intercollegiate Studies Institute
• The Brown Spectator
• National Review Online: My Fraternity: The Collegiate Network turns 25 by John J. Miller
• Academic Cesspools by Walter E. Williams, October 17, 2007