What Is The Lehigh Patriot?
By: Benjamin Mumma
HEROES OR VILLAINS? IT DEPENDS ON WHO YOU ASK, BUT HERE’S OUR SIDE OF THE STORY.
To be sure, the Patriot has been subject to a great many distinctions throughout its existence. Lehigh professors have said that we produce the best news and commentary at Lehigh. Just last year, a Lehigh administrator accused the Patriot of trying to “tear the [Lehigh] community apart.” Many of the articles published by the Patriot have received both ridicule and praise. Just in the past few years we’ve tried to tackle almost every controversial subject that relates to Lehigh and its students. We can, and will, be a source of controversy both this year and beyond. To be honest, we would not have it any other way.
The Patriot began as an operation run from the dorms (sorry, Residence Halls) of a few Lehigh students back in 2003. Initially, the project was titled “The Vast Right Wing Conspiracy,” in homage to and in mockery of idea that such a conspiracy actually existed. The goal of the VRWC was to serve as a forum for students who felt that the dialogue within Lehigh was limited too severely, specifically due to a left-leaning administration and faculty.
Over time, the group of students who felt a need for such a forum continued to grow, and so did the VRWC. In 2004, The VRWC gained national publicity through a piece on some artwork in Maginnes that displayed President Bush several cabinet members in highly unflattering positions. Fox News, and various other news organizations picked up the story, which provided the VRWC with support a great deal of exposure to alumni and outside organizations. In 2005, the VRWC was rebranded as The Lehigh Patriot, in an effort to become a more inclusive organization on campus.
Based on that foundation, The Patriot was able to obtain funding from a variety of outside sources and alumni, and has been able to expand and continue to improve the quality of the publication. While we have not duplicated the level of notoriety reached from the event
To be sure, the Patriot has been subject to a great many distinctions throughout its existence. Lehigh professors have said that we produce the best news and commentary at Lehigh. Just last year, a Lehigh administrator accused the Patriot of trying to “tear the [Lehigh] community apart.” Many of the articles published by the Patriot have received both ridicule and praise. Just in the past few years we’ve tried to tackle almost every controversial subject that relates to Lehigh and its students. We can, and will, be a source of controversy both this year and beyond. To be honest, we would not have it any other way.
The Patriot began as an operation run from the dorms (sorry, Residence Halls) of a few Lehigh students back in 2003. Initially, the project was titled “The Vast Right Wing Conspiracy,” in homage to and in mockery of idea that such a conspiracy actually existed. The goal of the VRWC was to serve as a forum for students who felt that the dialogue within Lehigh was limited too severely, specifically due to a left-leaning administration and faculty.
Over time, the group of students who felt a need for such a forum continued to grow, and so did the VRWC. In 2004, The VRWC gained national publicity through a piece on some artwork in Maginnes that displayed President Bush several cabinet members in highly unflattering positions. Fox News, and various other news organizations picked up the story, which provided the VRWC with support a great deal of exposure to alumni and outside organizations. In 2005, the VRWC was rebranded as The Lehigh Patriot, in an effort to become a more inclusive organization on campus.
Based on that foundation, The Patriot was able to obtain funding from a variety of outside sources and alumni, and has been able to expand and continue to improve the quality of the publication. While we have not duplicated the level of notoriety reached from the event in 2004, we are constantly looking for instances where an event or issue deserves a closer look. In recent years, the Brown and White has been acting more and more like a White House Press Secretary running off talking points. That leaves the Patriot to fill the gap and provide coverage of and comment on issues that the Brown and White avoids or simply provides token coverage.
We’ve recently covered issues like the potential hiring of a Chief Diversity Officer (now called a VPAcaD, Vice Provost for Academic Diversity), a work-study position where students are paid to cheer for Lehigh athletic teams, the Brown and White’s morbid fear of controversy, over-the-top political correctness, and many issues relating to Greek Life at Lehigh. We also look at political and policy issues nationally, with a focus on how the issue effects our generation.
That has been the essence of the Patriot. Just like any forward-minded Lehigh organization, we are always looking to evolve into a stronger organization that can better serve Lehigh, its students, faculty, and alumni. To do that we plan to expand both our capability to serve as an open forum on campus and to expand the level of discourse by including students from all of Lehigh’s various communities. We will continue to highlight stories that we feel all students at Lehigh should be aware of, and encourage an open debate on the subject.
Within the past year, we have retooled both our printed issue and our website to provide news in a more organized fashion, and provide you, the reader, with more ways to interact with us. If you think a writer is a genius; tell us. If you think a writer is full of crap; definitely TELL US! It is as easy as logging onto LehighPatriot.com and telling us what you think. You might actually enjoy it so much you will eventually join our staff!
The gap between the two dominant ideologies in this country continues to widen. While it is evident on a national level, the distinction is just as clear within the Lehigh community. In both cases, constructive dialogue has become increasingly rare. Within Lehigh, the Patriot looks to balance the conversation by providing the views that you will not hear from the administration, or see in the Brown and White. By doing this, and by providing a truly open forum to all of Lehigh, our goal is to provide meaningful dialogue that Lehigh, as an institution and community, can benefit from. The Patriot will be working toward that end this year, and we hope that you can join us in the process.
Interested in joining the Patriot’s staff? Shoot an e-mail to editor@lehighpatriot.com and you’ll be added to our mailing list, and invited to our meetings (generally bi-weekly). Once we meet you, we can set you up with an online account to start blogging at www.lehighpatriot.com/yourlastname, and give you some ideas on events or topics to cover.
