The Conntrarian Joins the Collegiate Network
We are joining the Intercollegiate Studies Institute's Collegiate Network to further promote free expression and diversity of thought on Connecticut College's campus.
We are excited to announce that The Conntrarian is joining the Intercollegiate Studies Institute’s Collegiate Network, a non-profit program that supports student journalism on college campuses and promotes the value of free expression within liberal arts education. The Conntrarian has been consistently expanding since our launch at the beginning of the year. Following a successful first seven months, we aim to continue this trajectory. By joining the Collegiate Network, The Conntrarian will have ample opportunities to provide useful and constructive resources for our writers, increase our reader/listener circulation, and invest in new projects.
We are immensely grateful to our readers and subscribers—none of this would’ve been possible without you. Thank you all for your support and we’re eager to show what the future of The Conntrarian has in store—we are just getting started!
We’ve included some further details on the next chapter of The Conntrarian within the Collegiate Network. If you have further questions, feel free to email us at theconntrarian@substack.com or comment below!
What is the Intercollegiate Studies Institute (ISI)?
ISI is a non-profit educational organization that was founded in 1953 by Frank Chodorov and William F. Buckley Jr. In addition to supporting student publications on college campuses through the Collegiate Network, ISI sponsors debates and lectures on campuses, publishes books and journals, provides internships and fellowships to aspiring journalists, and promotes classical liberalism and American conservatism to young thinkers.
Here is an excerpt from ISI’s About page:
We cultivate a vibrant community of students, faculty, and alumni and teach foundational principles that are rarely taught in the classroom—the core ideas behind the free market, the American Founding, and Western civilization.
Thoughtful students turn to ISI to receive the education they thought they signed up for but aren’t getting at their schools.
We don’t train activists; we educate talented, intellectually curious students and bring them in to our vibrant intellectual community.
Our graduates become leaders in their communities, in their states, and on the national and global stages. Thousands of thoughtful, principled leaders have come through ISI’s programs, including Supreme Court justices Neil Gorsuch and Samuel Alito, PayPal cofounder Peter Thiel, Reason magazine editor Katherine Mangu-Ward, Hillsdale College president Larry Arnn, and Heritage Foundation founder Ed Feulner.
What is the Collegiate Network?
The Collegiate Network was started in 1980 to help develop and support student journalism and to reinvigorate free speech, free expression, and civil discussion in education. The Collegiate Network shares The Conntrarian’s tenet of free-flowing thought and that sincere opinions should be discussed and debated, not shunned. The Collegiate Network currently has over 70 publications, including Dartmouth Review, Stanford Review, The Chicago Thinker, and The Irish Rover.
Will ISI have any editing or publishing control of The Conntrarian?
No. The Conntrarian will retain control of all editorial decisions and creative influence for the publication. The Conntrarian’s process for editing and publishing will remain the same from the previous semester. ISI will not control or influence any author’s writing nor oversee the editing process. Anyone is invited to write an article for us, regardless of whether their opinion is left-wing, right-wing, or anywhere in between.
ISI was founded by conservative public intellectuals and promotes conservative principles. Is The Conntrarian a conservative publication?
Absolutely not. The Conntrarian does not hold or promote political principles or opinions of any kind. The only principles of The Conntrarian are that of free speech, free expression, civil discussion, and diversity of thought. Writers are encouraged to promote their own principles and political opinions, but they do not and will not reflect the views of The Conntrarian. We decided to join the Collegiate Network because of our shared values of freedom of expression and shared passion for campus journalism.
What are some of the new projects made possible by joining the Collegiate Network?
The Conntrarian plans to host Writing Workshops at one of the three coffee shops on campus. Writers will be invited to indulge in free coffee, as they brainstorm article ideas, work on drafts, or work with an editor to perfect their article for publication.
The Conntrarian also plans to create advertisements to increase our viewership, and produce merchandise that will be available at campus club fairs!
We are also working on other exciting projects that will be announced at a later date.
I have many opinions and thoughts but don’t enjoy writing. Is there a way for me to promote my ideas without having to write?
Well, you could always hire a ghostwriter. However, because The Conntrarian does not permit ghostwritten articles, you could always create your very-own podcast!
The Conntrarian now hosts podcasts! If you want to create a podcast, The Conntrarian will offer support by creating a unique RSS feed, uploading episodes to Spotify and Apple Podcasts, composing an intro music theme, and will promote your podcast through posts and social media. The podcast creators will have full control over the production and content of their podcast. The ideas expressed in the podcast are that of the speakers alone and not that of The Conntrarian.
How can I support The Conntrarian?
You can support us by subscribing (completely cost-free!) to The Conntrarian and sharing articles and podcasts with friends, family, and/or colleagues! Additionally, you can interact with articles by liking them, or if you had thoughts/questions/disagreements, by commenting on articles. All engagement is welcomed and encouraged!
We are also always looking for new writers, so if you’re a Connecticut College student, alumni, staff, or faculty member with a strong opinion then shoot us an email at theconntrarian@substack.com. You can also follow us on Instagram and Twitter at @The_Conntrarian.
If you’re so enthusiastically enthralled with our published writings and want other ways to support The Conntrarian, you can make a donation at isi.org/donate.
Simply check the “Donate to a Collegiate Network Paper” box and type “The Conntrarian” in the text box. 100% of your tax-deductible donation will go to our publication!
How Fear-Fuled Hatred Exposed The Deep State.
By Rick Hayes
He who gets the story out first takes the lead in the battle of believability. Once the first set of facts becomes public and the all-powerful media endorses them, they become the accepted truth of whatever happened.
So was the case with the JFK assassination, 9/11, and the Russian collusion falsehood of President Donald J. Trump.
All other versions of the above narratives took a back seat and became questionable. Anyone driving a different interpretation had to assume the unenviable position of doing so because of a sinister political agenda or become labeled a conspiracy theorist and make herculean efforts to knock the initial story off its pedestal—a particularly tough job when formidable forces want to bury any ideas counter to the "official" account.
People strongly want to believe that their government tells the truth and will never harm them. It's a trust that reflects the bond between a child and parent. So when the government tells its citizens what transpired during a catastrophic event, that information becomes the gold standard of what happened.
The government identified the perpetrators within hours of the planes hitting the towers and the Pentagon. They pinpointed the hijacker's organization as well as their motives. It was no different in Dallas when the media immediately described Lee Harvey Oswald and his motives.
In both the JFK and 9/11 crimes, critical evidence was destroyed by the government. Investigators and the assigned official committees ignored testimony regarding any opposing viewpoints. Also, key witnesses mysteriously died before being able to testify.
Kennedy's assassination was before the Watergate scandal, so Americans still believed that the guys in the white hats were good. And 9/11 was before the Presidency of Donald Trump, so Americans couldn't comprehend a situation where elected officials, the DOJ, and the FBI would work together to overthrow a duly elected President of The United States.
But the JFK assassination coverup and the 9/11 inside terrorist attacks were successful and thus conveyed to the deep state elites that they were untouchable; they became emboldened and encouraged to do whatever they wanted in the future because they believed they were above the law.
The hatred fueled by fear by the Washington establishment of a true outsider with a background in the New York City real estate market was intense; some would argue it was insane. So fervent in their desire to rid themselves of their "orange-man menace," the deep state made its most critical and permanently damaging mistake. It carelessly exposed its existence to the world.
The outrageous impeachments, indictments, and halting of Trump's First Amendment rights of free speech revealed an out-of-control Washington/media system that would throw concealing itself out the window if, by doing so, Trump would be stopped.
Also, before the witchhunt of Trump, it was believed but never fully confirmed that many within the mainstream media might actively suppress important information. Sure, the media was believed to be biased, but that's a far cry from promoting a false narrative or concealing the truth to assist an illegal agenda by powerful organizations.
However, when Trump became President, fear by the elite establishment of what Trump represented prompted their aggressive retaliation, which forced the curtain of anonymity and denial to be pulled back. Once and for all, the media was exposed for the corrupt, immoral organization it is. The press proved it would lie and withhold evidence from the American people. And that it is without credibility or integrity when it focuses on shaping political power and orchestrating social change.
By all accounts, Jeffrey Epstein was not a good person and, at one time, an essential part of the elite establishment. Even after it was common knowledge of his crimes against vulnerable children, wealthy political elites and prominent individuals worldwide socialized and vacationed with the well-known pedophile. Yet, as bad a human being as Epstein was, there is simply no justification for a moral society to accept his flagrant slaying in one of New York's most secure facilities. This murder kept the names and offenses of the world's most powerful albeit despicable swine out of court proceedings and the public eye.
Reluctantly but bravely, many Americans started admitting to themselves that an evil, immoral entity was taking control of America.
Suddenly, after the scandalous 2020 election, many Americans saw that if the "respected" establishment could lie and cheat in a sacred election, it became highly possible that the same establishment could conspire with a completely dishonest media to concoct whatever narrative they wanted in other past scandalous atrocities.
The JFK assassination and 9/11 could now be viewed through the lens of what the establishment elites tried to get away with regarding Trump.
With these realizations, Americans should and many are taking a fresh look back at the suppressed and manipulated evidence involving the killing of JFK and the thousands murdered on 9/11. Perhaps the hidden evidence revealed, although painful to learn, will cleanse the abysmal history of coverups and crimes and right the ship of the experiment called America.
(c) 2023 Rick Hayes