conservative
Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy and ideology that seeks to promote and preserve traditional institutions, customs, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civiliza ...
online magazine focused on
Rutgers University-New Brunswick
Rutgers University ( ), officially Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, is a Public university, public land-grant research university consisting of three campuses in New Jersey. Chartered in 1766, Rutgers was originally called Queen's C ...
campus life.
Its motto is "
veritas
In Roman mythology, Veritas (), meaning Truth, is the Goddess of Truth, a daughter of Saturn (mythology), Saturn (called Cronus by the Greeks, the Titan (mythology), Titan of Time, perhaps first by Plutarch) and the mother of Virtus (deity), Vi ...
vos liberabit," which is Latin for " the truth shall set you free." The magazine attempts to counterbalance that which its staff perceive as a predominant orthodoxy of
social liberalism
Social liberalism is a political philosophy and variety of liberalism that endorses social justice, social services, a mixed economy, and the expansion of civil and political rights, as opposed to classical liberalism which favors limited g ...
and political progressivism of the professors and staff at the university. They believe this is confirmed by documented faculty donations to political candidates in the 2004 presidential election.
''The Centurion'' was founded in September 2004 by James O'Keefe, a junior philosophy major, after he left ''
The Daily Targum
''The Daily Targum'' is the official student newspaper of Rutgers University. Founded in 1867, it is the second-oldest collegiate newspaper in the United States. The ''Daily Targum'' is student written and managed, and boasts a circulation of ...
''. It was co-founded by fellow Rutgers college students Matthew Klimek, Joseph P. Nedick and Mason-Gross art student Justine Mertz.
Overview
''The Centurion'' has featured cover stories on Rutgers alumnus
Paul Robeson
Paul Leroy Robeson ( ; April 9, 1898 – January 23, 1976) was an American bass-baritone concert artist, actor, professional American football, football player, and activist who became famous both for his cultural accomplishments and for h ...
,
academic freedom
Academic freedom is the right of a teacher to instruct and the right of a student to learn in an academic setting unhampered by outside interference. It may also include the right of academics to engage in social and political criticism.
Academic ...
,
eminent domain
Eminent domain, also known as land acquisition, compulsory purchase, resumption, resumption/compulsory acquisition, or expropriation, is the compulsory acquisition of private property for public use. It does not include the power to take and t ...
in
New Brunswick, New Jersey
New Brunswick is a city (New Jersey), city in and the county seat of Middlesex County, New Jersey, Middlesex County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey.Cap and Skull, the
Jyllands-Posten Muhammad cartoons controversy
The Muhammad cartoons controversy (or Muhammad cartoons crisis, ) began after the Danish newspaper published twelve editorial cartoons on 30 September 2005 depicting Muhammad, the founder of Islam, in what it said was a response to the deb ...
and the Rutgers College Governing Association. Mostly, it focuses on campus fraud and due diligence issues, claiming in its mission statement to be a remedy to "excessive political correctness and corruption at Rutgers." But it has recently taken on national topics. On foreign policy issues, the journal often takes a
neoconservative
Neoconservatism (colloquially neocon) is a political movement which began in the United States during the 1960s among liberal hawks who became disenchanted with the increasingly pacifist Democratic Party along with the growing New Left and ...
stance. Domestically, it echoes
paleoconservative
Paleoconservatism is a political philosophy and a strain of conservatism in the United States stressing American nationalism, Christian ethics, regionalism, traditionalist conservatism, and non-interventionism. Paleoconservatism's concerns over ...
gun control
Gun control, or firearms regulation, is the set of laws or policies that regulate the manufacture, sale, transfer, possession, modification, or use of firearms and ammunition by civilians.
Most countries allow civilians to own firearms, bu ...
and
illegal immigration
Illegal immigration is the migration of people into a country in violation of that country's immigration laws, or the continuous residence in a country without the legal right to do so. Illegal immigration tends to be financially upward, wi ...
.
The magazine is known for its walk-in video reports. In one video the editors of The Centurion attempted to ban Lucky Charms from Brower Dining Hall on the grounds the breakfast cereal was "offensive" to Irish-Americans. This was explained by conservative columnist Greg Walker, who took part in the exercise A specifically an ironic reaction to the targeting of sandwich names at the privately owned Grease Trucks by the Rutgers
LGBT
LGBTQ people are individuals who are lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, or questioning. Many variants of the initialism are used; LGBTQIA+ people incorporates intersex, asexual, aromantic, agender, and other individuals. The gro ...
community. School staff met with those whom complained about the "offensive" breakfast cereal as a matter of requirement to follow up on all complaints, no further action was taken on the matter.
The ''Centurion'' is a member of the Collegiate Network. Although officially recognized by Rutgers, The Centurion incorporated as a New Jersey
501(c)(3)
A 501(c)(3) organization is a United States corporation, Trust (business), trust, unincorporated association or other type of organization exempt from federal income tax under section 501(c)(3) of Title 26 of the United States Code. It is one of ...
for liability and financial reasons, and maintains a board of directors.
Revival of publication
The ''Centurion'' was restarted by student Aviv Khavich in 2017. Khavich was a former columnist for ''
The Daily Targum
''The Daily Targum'' is the official student newspaper of Rutgers University. Founded in 1867, it is the second-oldest collegiate newspaper in the United States. The ''Daily Targum'' is student written and managed, and boasts a circulation of ...
''. It maintained an online presence through October 2018 before ceasing activity.
Controversy
''The Centurion'' held counterprotests and has held an affirmative action bake sale four times. It prints specific names and pictures of "liberal" students in its issues from
Facebook
Facebook is a social media and social networking service owned by the American technology conglomerate Meta Platforms, Meta. Created in 2004 by Mark Zuckerberg with four other Harvard College students and roommates, Eduardo Saverin, Andre ...
. In a matter subject to privacy implications, the paper has printed names of students who have "liberal" adornments on their dormitory doors. The magazine's inaugural headline was "Conservatives Launch Publication at Rutgers: Intolerant Diversity-Haters Promote Fanatical Agenda." Since then it has had such
tongue-in-cheek
Tongue-in-cheek is an idiom that describes a humorous or sarcastic statement expressed in a serious manner.
History
The phrase originally expressed contempt, but by 1842 had acquired its modern meaning. Early users of the phrase include Sir Walte ...
headlines as "Mayor of New Orleans doesn't care about Black People" after
Hurricane Katrina
Hurricane Katrina was a powerful, devastating and historic tropical cyclone that caused 1,392 fatalities and damages estimated at $125 billion in late August 2005, particularly in the city of New Orleans and its surrounding area. ...
and "Abandon all Hope Ye Who Enter Here," over the campus gate; a spin-off of one of the cantons in the ''
Divine Comedy
The ''Divine Comedy'' (, ) is an Italian narrative poetry, narrative poem by Dante Alighieri, begun and completed around 1321, shortly before the author's death. It is widely considered the pre-eminent work in Italian literature and one of ...
'' and one of the covers for the ''
National Review
''National Review'' is an American conservative editorial magazine, focusing on news and commentary pieces on political, social, and cultural affairs. The magazine was founded by William F. Buckley Jr. in 1955. Its editor-in-chief is Rich L ...
''.
"Awards"
The magazine gives sarcastic "awards" to faculty and students for holding views which the staff of the ''Centurion'' consider "liberal". One such award, for "Liberal of the Month," was given to English department professor Richard Dienst. The editors printed a private letter from Professor Dienst to the Dean of Rutgers College requesting that "disciplinary action" be taken against O'Keefe and Mertz. This occurred after they confronted Professor Dienst with a video camera and asked him if he believed in the
United States Constitution
The Constitution of the United States is the Supremacy Clause, supreme law of the United States, United States of America. It superseded the Articles of Confederation, the nation's first constitution, on March 4, 1789. Originally includi ...
, since he supposedly told a dissenting Republican student "You have no first amendment rights." After the editors obtained the disciplinary letter, they printed it on page 18 of the October 2005 issue. In another instance the editors presented a certificate bearing the "Centurion Award" to a history professor with the most pro-Democrat posters adorning his office door.
In late July, former editor in chief and founder James O'Keefe along with board member David Maxham set out to have the American flag hung up in every classroom at Rutgers. After approaching several deans, including Co-Vice Chair Brian Rose, the boys were told such an act would be "problematic" and that hanging up the American flag would give argument to others who would intend to adorn classrooms with their own symbols. Unsatisfied with the response, the students created a video, which caught the attention of the Jersey Guys on 101.5 FM. The issue was discussed as ''Centurion'' members Daniel Francisco and David Maxham fielded questions live on air on July 31, 2006. The radio show hosts shared the views of the students and pledged to help the ''Centurion'' on the issue.
Controversial issues of the magazine
The third issue of the magazine depicted well-known Rutgers alumnus
Paul Robeson
Paul Leroy Robeson ( ; April 9, 1898 – January 23, 1976) was an American bass-baritone concert artist, actor, professional American football, football player, and activist who became famous both for his cultural accomplishments and for h ...
and criticized his sympathy and support for the former
Soviet Union
The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...
. Robeson, a
Lenin Peace Prize
The International Lenin Peace Prize (, ''mezhdunarodnaya Leninskaya premiya mira)'' was a Soviet Union award named in honor of Vladimir Lenin. It was awarded by a panel appointed by the Soviet government, to notable individuals whom the panel ...
winner, has the ''Paul Robeson Cultural Center'' in New Brunswick as well as the Paul Robeson Library on the Camden campus named in his honor (in 2010 the College Republicans chapter at the Camden campus unsuccessfully called for the library to be renamed).
The magazine often points out that economist
Milton Friedman
Milton Friedman (; July 31, 1912 – November 16, 2006) was an American economist and statistician who received the 1976 Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences for his research on consumption analysis, monetary history and theory and ...
, Rutgers '32, a winner of the
Nobel Prize in Economics
The Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences, officially the Sveriges Riksbank Prize in Economic Sciences in Memory of Alfred Nobel (), commonly referred to as the Nobel Prize in Economics(), is an award in the field of economic sciences adminis ...
, and very influential in
Chicago school of economics
The Chicago school of economics is a Neoclassical economics, neoclassical Schools of economic thought, school of economic thought associated with the work of the faculty at the University of Chicago, some of whom have constructed and populari ...
, has no facility named after him.
The March 2006 issue featured the infamous Danish cartoon depicting
Muhammad
Muhammad (8 June 632 CE) was an Arab religious and political leader and the founder of Islam. Muhammad in Islam, According to Islam, he was a prophet who was divinely inspired to preach and confirm the tawhid, monotheistic teachings of A ...
.
Centurion Editors-in-Chief
*2004-2006 James O'Keefe
*2007-2008 Dan Bigos
*2009 Kyle Barry
*2010 Jordan Romvary
*2017-2019 Aviv Khavich