On December 8th, GCSA unanimously approved the Gordon Review’s chartering proposal to officially become a student organization. Representatives Liam Siegler and Megan Haynes abstained from the vote.

Our proposal can be read below:

Why Charter the Gordon Review? The Gordon Review was originally started as an independent student organization in the fall of last year. We began with the intent to provide a  platform for conservative intellectual opinion and student-journalism which was previously lacking. As the vision for the organization has expanded, our hope is that it can become the hub for a healthy conservatism at Gordon College and a vehicle for robust intellectual conversation on campus.

The Tartan is a great place for student journalism, but journalism itself contains a diverse field of networks and opportunities. With the Gordon Review, students can get plugged into the wider world of specifically conservative journalism and opinion writing. We are part of the Intercollegiate Studies Institute’s (ISI) Collegiate Network, which consists of dozens of other student publications across the United States. ISI is a reputable organization that seeks to strengthen student conservatism, and so far they have provided us with speakers, mentorship, networks, and a grant to cover the minimum costs of our online publication. Out of this relationship with ISI, the Review has become a wonderful opportunity for students at Gordon college to engage in the national conversation around conservative journalism.

Furthermore, the Republicans Club (while serving to provide a space for conservative students to connect and organize) also faces limits on its activities. With it being a strictly political organization, it wouldn’t be fitting to use the Republicans Club as a platform to discuss non-political subjects. The Gordon Review thus seeks to fill the gap left between the Tartan and the Gordon College Republicans Club by acting as a deliberately conservative community of students who are passionate about civil discourse on issues pertaining to the Gordon student body. We hope to do this through the obvious means – good journalism and opinion, in the form of a magazine every semester, but also through planning speaker events, establishing other forums for conversation, and organizing/partnering on student initiatives.  

The Gordon Review does not exist as an “anti”-Tartan organization. While we do engage in campus journalism, this endeavor mainly functions to supplement our print magazine, train new writers, and connect us with the resources and tools provided by ISI. In this respect, we consider ourselves more of a magazine than a newspaper. A magazine is a forum for ideas. Though our outlook is primarily from a conservative perspective, it is our hope that in whatever medium we use, our efforts help the college engage in robust, healthy and civil dialogue. That this is our goal is fundamental to who we are as an institution and is interwoven in all our internal interactions, our internal documents, the content we publish, and the tone we use. Our goal is not to divide.

Conclusion: The Gordon Review is a platform that will enrich the Gordon community with an array of conservative political and theological perspectives on topics of immediate and crucial interest to our student-body. We seek to provide two things: a publishing platform engaging to conservative students, and a wider organization in which conservative students can become involved. Chartering this publication will allow us to get more involved in student life, reach new students, and gain more resources to continue the work already started. We hope you will consider our proposal.

Our staff is excited for what is next! Stay tuned for the release of our Fall 2021 edition, new interviews, journalistic pieces, events, and more.