Taking Back the Campuses

[struggle4progress]

For all the talk of left-wing bias in academia, little notice has been given to the right's growing influence on America's college campuses. As part of the conservative message machine's decades-long project to spread its ideology, the right currently pumps over $35 million a year into college campuses, funding speakers, backing conservative papers, and pampering young leaders with internships and job opportunities.

In the past month, however, two promising organizations have emerged to aggressively counter the right's operations and promote progressive values on campuses and beyond.

The Center for American Progress officially launched its Campus Progress initiative in February, and has already created significant media buzz with its "Name Ann Coulter's Next Book" contest (the winning submission was "Roosevelt: Wheelchair-Riding, America-Hating Terrorist"). Campus Progress currently provides funding to fourteen progressive college papers nationwide, sponsors film screenings and lectures by CAP fellows and progressive leaders, and in July, will host a national student conference in Washington. (In addition to providing speakers to the lecture circuit, The Nation will be co-sponsoring the student conference.)

The Roosevelt Institution, America's first national student-run think thank, also emerged this February. Independently launched by students at Stanford University, the Roosevelt Institution hopes to counter the far-reaching impact of right-wing think tanks-- such as Stanford's own Hoover Institution--with fresh progressive ideas and policy suggestions. Instead of seeing student papers such as Jenny Tolan's thesis on AIDS in Africa filed away, the Roosevelt Institution is ensuring that these findings are brought to the attention of the public. <snip>

http://www.thenation.com/edcut/index.mhtml?bid=7&pid=2272

[Warpy]

1. The Nation has been reporting on these "student" groups for years

and the fact that they're all well funded fronts for some very nasty right wing stink tanks with some very nasty right wing money pouring into them. They're all headed by some rather nasty right wingers in that 34-49 year old cohort, and the students are pretty much forced into lockstep in these groups. It's all very creepy and cultlike, much worse than the amateurish YAF and Ripon Society of my own youth.

[ProgressiveConn]

2. I've never heard another suggested as the

first progressive think tank though. Realize that even if it is funded by some wealthy sob that there are some real progressive wealthy middle aged sobs out there. =)