About

Mission Statement

The Phoenix, a student-run publication of The Wabash Conservative Union, seeks to promote intellectual conservatism on the campus of Wabash College through thoughtful debate and civil discourse. Following the best traditions of the conservative movement, The Phoenix will attack ideas, not people, and will do so with both honesty and integrity.

History

The Wabash Conservative Union was born on March 20, 2007, when the former staff of The Wabash Commentary, minus a few members, successfully petitioned the Student Senate to recognize their club as independent of the Foundation for a Traditional Wabash—the alumni-run organization which had previously chosen the Commentary’s student leadership. The newly independent, student-run club elected Brandon Stewart ’08 as its president, and work began immediately on a new conservative publication.

Although they lacked the resources they had at The Wabash Commentary, the enthusiastic members of The Wabash Conservative Union were able to publish a packed 32-page issue of their new conservative journal, The Phoenix, within a month’s time. Under the leadership of Brandon Stewart as Editor-in-Chief, and with the help of an influx of energetic new staff members, The Phoenix continued to publish, with three more issues in the Fall 2007 semester.

The club also successfully restarted its events program in the fall of 2007, bringing Iranian expert Kamran Beigi and anti-affirmative action activist Ward Connerly to campus for lectures.

In January of 2008, Sean Clerget ’09 assumed the positions of President and Editor-in-Chief, bringing with him a new leadership team and inheriting an excellent staff. The Phoenix published three, 24-page issues in the Spring 2008 semester, and brought two new speakers to campus: National Review’s Jonah Goldberg, who spoke on his new, bestselling book, Liberal Fascism; and Christina Hoff Sommers, who spoke on her book, The War Against Boys.

Under Clerget’s leadership, the WCU continued to publish The Phoenix and host conservative speakers through the fall 2008 semester—beginning in October with Dr. Paul Kengor, the acclaimed author and historian, who lectured on How Ronald Reagan and Catholics won the Cold War. Shortly before the 2008 election, the Wabash Conservative Union also hosted Kate Obenshain, a former Virginia GOP Chair and Fox News analyst, who gave a conservative’s view of the election.

After the tragic death of Johnny Smith, and the College’s decision to shut down Delta Tau Delta, The Phoenix weighed in with an investigative piece exposing how the College had been shirking its duties and violating federal law. The WCU also hosted FIRE speaker Adam Kissel for a forum on individual rights, which brought together professors and students to discuss how to respond to the Administration’s actions.

In January 2009, Austin Rovenstine ’10 became the organization’s third President and Editor-in-Chief. In the spring semester, the Wabash Conservative Union published three more dense issues of The Phoenix, and hosted three more events: Dr. Peter Kreeft, a renowned philosopher who delivered “A Refutation of Moral Relativism”; Curt Levey, Executive Director of the Committee for Justice; and Tammy Bruce, a provocative talk radio host who argued that conservative ideas empower gays, blacks and women.

The Union remained strong in the fall 2009 semester, hosting Cosby Show actor and political commentator Joseph C. Phillips; Canadian culture warrior and traditional marriage defender, Dr. Douglas Farrow; and Cato Institute scholar and prominent libertarian, Dr. Tom G. Palmer. In January 2010, Adam Brasich took the reigns as President and Editor-in-Chief, and immediately began an exciting Wabash Conservative Union program: hosting Hillsdale College historian Dr. Burton Folsom for a talk on FDR, and publishing a strong defense of the Wabash College Classics Department in his first issue of The Phoenix.

Three years after its rebirth, the conservative movement at Wabash shows no signs of dying.