Rutgers Centurion
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| Rutgers Centurion | |
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| Type | Monthly student magazine |
| Format | Magazine |
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| Owner | The Centurion at Rutgers, Inc. |
| Publisher | University Publishing Solutions LLC |
| Editor | Kian Barry |
| Founded | 2004 |
| Political allegiance | Conservative/right wing |
| Headquarters | New Brunswick, NJ 08901 |
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| Website: http://www.rucenturion.com/ | |
The Rutgers Centurion is a conservative sensationalist magazine at Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey. Its motto is "veritas vos liberabit," which is Latin for "the truth shall set you free." The journal attempts to counterbalance that which is perceived as a predominant orthodoxy of social liberalism and political progressivism of the professors and staff at the university, documented in part by faculty donations to political candidates in the 2004 presidential election. [1] The Centurion was founded in September of 2004 by James O'Keefe after he was fired from the Daily Targum. It was co-founded by fellow discontented Rutgers College students Matthew Klimek, Joseph P. Nedick and Justine Mertz.
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[edit] Overview
The Centurion has featured cover stories on Rutgers alumnus Paul Robeson, academic freedom, eminent domain in New Brunswick, New Jersey, the secret society Cap and Skull, the Jyllands-Posten Muhammad cartoons controversy and the Rutgers College Governing Association. Mostly, it focuses on campus fraud and due diligence issues, claiming in its mission statement to be a remedy to "excessive political correctness and corruption at Rutgers." But it has recently taken on national topics. On foreign policy issues, the journal often takes a neoconservative stance, following in the footsteps of the hawkish Weekly Standard. Domestically, it echoes paleoconservative sentiments, often railing against affirmative action, gun control and immigration, similar to Pat Buchanan's The American Conservative.
The journal is renowned for its walk-in video reports. In their most famous video story, the editors of The Centurion attempted to ban Lucky Charms from Brower Dining Hall on the grounds the breakfast cereal was offensive to Irish-Americans. [2] This was explained by conservative columnist Greg Walker, who took part in the exercise, as a satirical response to politically correct campus censorship,[3], specifically an ironic reaction to the targeting of sandwich names at the Grease Trucks by the Rutgers LGBT community. However, The Centurion's critics and opponents argued the editors were serious in their quest, pointing out that Executive Editor Kian Barry and Editor-in-Chief James O'Keefe were both Irish-Catholic. Either way, this plea was taken seriously by the dining hall staff and Lucky Charms was temporarily removed in April of 2005.
The Centurion is a member of the Collegiate Network. Although officially recognized by Rutgers,[4] The Centurion incorporated as a New Jersey 501(c)(3) for liability and financial reasons, and maintains a board of directors.
[edit] Controversial antics
The Centurion holds counterprotests, similar to protest warrior, and has held an affirmative action bake sale twice. It prints specific names and pictures of "liberal" students in its issues from Facebook and often blurs the line between opinion and satire in its prose. In a matter subject to privacy implications, the paper has printed names of students who have "liberal" adornments on their dormitory doors. The magazine's inaugural headline was "Conservatives Launch Publication at Rutgers: Intolerant Diversity-Haters Promote Fanatical Agenda."[5] Since then it has had such tongue-in-cheek headlines as "Mayor of New Orleans doesn't care about Black People" after Hurricane Katrina and "Abandon all Hope Ye Who Enter Here,"[6] over the campus gate; a spin off one of the cantons in the Divine Comedy and one of the covers for the National Review.
[edit] "Awards"
But most controversial are the paper's sarcastic "awards" given to faculty and students for holding different views than the staff of the Centurion. One such award, for "Liberal of the Month," was given to English department Professor Richard Dienst. The editors printed a private letter from Professor Dienst to the Dean of Rutgers College requesting that "disciplinary action" be taken against the O'Keefe and Mertz. This occurred after they confronted Professor Dienst with a videocamera and asked him if he believed in the United States Constitution, since he supposedly told a dissenting Republican student "You have no first amendment rights."[7] After the editors obtained the disciplinary letter, the English professor's factual mistakes and fraudulent signatures were then circled in red ink and printed on page 18 of the October 2005 issue.[8] In another instance the editors presented a certificate bearing the "Centurion Award" to a history professor with the most pro-Democrat posters adorning his office door.
In late July, former Editor in Chief and founder James O'Keefe along with board member David Maxham set out to have the American flag hung up in every classroom at Rutgers. After approaching several deans, including Co-Vice Chair Brian Rose, the boys were told such an act would be "problematic" and that hanging up the American flag would give argument to others who would intend to adorn classrooms with their own symbols. Unsatisfied with the response, the students created a video available on Video Google[9], which caught the attention of the Jersey Guys on 101.5 FM. The issue was discussed as Centurion members Daniel Francisco and David Maxham fielded questions live on air on July 31, 2006. The famed radio show hosts shared their disgust and outrage over the situation, and have pledged to help the Centurion in their fight to fly the American flag at Rutgers.[10]
[edit] Controversial issues of the magazine
The third issue of the magazine depicted well-known Rutgers alumni Paul Robeson and revealed his sympathy and support for communism and for Stalin. Robeson, a Lenin Peace Prize winner, is one of the most celebrated of all Rutgers alumni, and has a facility named after him.
The magazine often points out that Milton Friedman, Rutgers '32, a nobel prize winning Economist, has no facility named after him.
The March 2006 issue featured the infamous cartoon depicting Muhammad. For the second straight month, Lena Posner, who represents Tent State University was given the "Liberal of the Month" award, for allegedly pulling the notepad out of a Daily Targum reporter's hand.[citation needed]
[edit] Campus Reaction
The reaction of the student body to the magazine is mixed; some find it merely amusing, while others (including some conservatives) find it gratuitously offensive and an inaccurate representation of true conservative views. Other conservatives, however, feel that it is a refreshing change from the perceived liberal bias on campus.
[edit] Centurion Editors-in-Chief, 2004 to Present
- 2004-2006 James O'Keefe
- 2006-2007 Daniel Whitney
- 2007- Kian Barry
[edit] See also
[edit] External links
- The Centurion Official Website
- Centurion Video Gallery Videos of Students confronting professors
- My Right-Wing Degree A Salon.com article on LI's relationship with The Centurion.
- Conservative "Alternative" Media The Centurion's relationship with other conservative papers
- "You're Going Down!" An incident regarding The Centurion's first faculty advisor
- "Conservatives Raise Voice on Campus" An article in the Daily Targum about The Centurion.
- "Conservative Newspapers Circulate Across the Country" An article about The Centurion in Human Events Magazine
