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.
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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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.