Buckley Legacy under Attack from Campus Free-Speech Haters at Colorado College

Kudos to The College Fix for its coverage of efforts to suppress the distribution of Athwart Magazine, the new conservative journal published by students at Colorado College, who pay homage in the premiere issue to our founder (and who name the publication after the famous editorial he penned in National Review’s premier issue). TCF reporter Jeremiah Poff filed his story today, reporting that CC student snowflakes were angered by the magazine bearing the image of William F. Buckley Jr. on its cover, and proceeded to steal copies to prevent them from being available to the general student population. From Poff’s report:

A new student magazine at Colorado College that aimed to diversify intellectual discourse on campus and promised to publish a wide-range of unorthodox political opinions instead had dozens of copies of its debut edition stolen by bandits on campus.

What’s more, Athwart Magazine is facing backlash for dedicating its new publication to the legacy of William F. Buckley Jr., as accusations of racism against the conservative icon fly.

The magazine’s debut edition included op-eds such as “The Progressive Conception of ‘Rights’ Is as Seductive as It Is Dangerous,” “Against the $15 Minimum Wage” and “Identity Politics and the Dulling of Political Discourse on Campus.”

Student Nate Hochman, editor-in-chief of Athwart, told The College Fix in a telephone interview Tuesday that campus activists are rejecting the magazine’s call for discourse and have vowed to continue to prevent it from being read.

In a tweet Sunday, Hochman also noted that “student activists are attempting to pressure our college administration into taking action against us for including a picture of William F. Buckley on the cover of our new @ISI magazine, citing Buckley’s early writing on civil rights as reason for our censure.”

Athwart editor Nate Hochman, described the publication’s mission as providing an alternative to the “college’s monolithic culture self-censor.” Here’s the entire statement:

Our mission is to offer forth a platform for dissent from Colorado College’s political orthodoxy. Understanding that many students who feel suffocated in our college’s monolithic culture self-censor due to legitimate fears of angering the tyrannical and ever-morally righteous mob, Athwart hopes to protect and nurture unpopular and socially risky opinions. Athwart welcomes contributions from anyone who, regardless of personal ideology or political affections, regards the perpetual chorus of agreement in the classroom — and genuine shock, horror and confusion expressed towards rare instances of dissent — as deeply troubling. In the words of William F. Buckley, to whom this magazine is humbly dedicated, “we have nothing to offer but the best that is in us.”

How very triggering.

Here’s the Athwart website. You’ll find @AthwartMagazine here. It’s been launched via the great folks at Intercollegiate Studies Institute’s Collegiate Network.