It’s impossible to speak about the legacy of William F. Buckley, Jr. without making special reference to his role in higher education.
His first book, God and Man at Yale, permanently raised the stakes for culture wars on campuses. He was intimately involved in the founding of the Young America’s Foundation and the Intercollegiate Studies Institute, two organizations whose impact on campus conservatives have been enormous. It was always clear, at least to me, that Buckley had a special role in his work for college conservatives.
For editors of college conservative newspapers, it seems awfully unlikely that our work would be possible without the foundation laid by William F. Buckley. My colleagues, past and present, sent e-mails throughout the day noting his passage. In that sense, I feel as though I owe some of my best college experiences, as editor-in-chief of the Michigan Review, to Buckley.
Would there be a Michigan Review if it weren’t for Buckley and National Review? Doubtful.