California Review

California Review
University of California, San Diego
"We few, we happy few, for he who picks up this paper today shall be my brother, be he ne'er so vice, this paper will gentle his condition."
Type student newspaper
Format Tabloid
Editor Joshua Marxen
Founded 1982
Headquarters La Jolla, CA, U.S.
Circulation 2,000–3,000
Website californiareview.net

The California Review is an Independent Conservative college paper distributed primarily on the campus of the University of California, San Diego. The publication is one of a handful of campus newspapers partially funded by the Associated Students of UCSD. The California Review was founded by Eric Clasen Young and Harry Crocker III on January 7, 1982.

History

Founding

Eric Clasen Young, fresh from a semester at Dartmouth College where he had encountered The Dartmouth Review, was trying to put together a staff to create a conservative student paper at UCSD called California Review. Quick to join was Elizabeth "E.T." Sullivan, a Guardian staff writer (who transferred to the University of Washington after the first issue). Eric teamed up with Harry Crocker III to form the brain trust of the new organization. Shortly thereafter Harry's brother, Brandon (C. Brandon Crocker), also offered his services. By early Spring 1982, the California Review had received 501(c)(3) status from the IRS as a non-profit educational organization, and received a seed funding commitment from the Institute for Educational Affairs (now called the Madison Center for Educational Affairs).

1982-1989

On May 24, 1982 (or a few days before) the premier issue of California Review, featuring an exclusive interview with Neil Reagan, arrived at UCSD. This famous issue was frequently quoted and misquoted, so the California Review became known overnight as racist, sexist, elitist, ageist, and homophobic.[1] The next week, the Music Department evicted the California Review from its office, claiming a sudden need to use the space.

The paper continued to receive support from the IEA and the editors raised much of the paper's budget by delivering speeches to local Republican Women's and Pro America chapters. At its peak in 1985, the California Review had a paid circulation of approximately 400 people in 40 states and on 4 continents. Milton Friedman, George Will, Jack Kemp, Arthur Laffer, Alexander Haig, Jack Wheeler, Pete Wilson, and George Gilder all agreed to give the California Review exclusive interviews. The paper was modelled in style along the lines of the old The American Spectator, complete with woodcut drawings and etchings, many of which were found by Brandon Crocker searching through copies of the 19th century magazine Frank Leslie’s Popular Monthly, which he stumbled across in Central Library. Tom Edwards, who joined the staff in 1983 and served as assistant editor in 1983-84, helped to obtain some of that year’s big interviews (Jack Kemp, Alexander Haig, and then U.S. Senator Pete Wilson) through his political contacts.

The A.S. government continually refused to give the California Review any of the funding it allocated to "Alternative Media." The campus Left even organized a special campus referendum to keep the A.S. from funding the California Review.[2][3] In addition, the California Review was continually refused office space. After filing a lawsuit in Federal District Court the California Review was issued a preliminary injunction against the university, and shortly thereafter the university settled out of court and gave the California Review office space. The A.S. later approved $864 in funding.

After 1985, the paper went into a downward phase. The last of the founding members, Brandon Crocker, graduated. Chris Alario, famous for travelling to Nicaragua and visiting a Contra training camp, took over at the start of 1985-86, but left after only a few issues. Leadership at the paper became unstable as editors-in-chief came and went after only short tenures. (No editor-in-chief would serve an entire school year until 1988-89.) Among the editors to serve during this difficult period, keeping the paper alive with small staffs, were Peter Moons and Kurt Schlichter. William Eggers took the helm in 1988 and worked to improve the quality of the paper and reinstituted much of the original format. These improvements continued when Brooke Crocker became editor in 1989 and brought back the long-dormant tradition of the feature interview, including Robert Bork and Milton Friedman.

Editors-in-Chief

Staff structure

The California Review's editorial staff consists of University of California, San Diego undergraduates. The Editor-in-Chief is chosen by the staff in the spring quarter for the following year. The Editor in Chief then designates positions for the California Review and its staff.

See also

Footnotes

  1. Aguilar, George (31 May 1982). "Conservative Tabloid Draws Fire". Retrieved 18 March 2011.
  2. Jones, Lanie (11 June 1983). "UCSD Students Vote to Deny Funds to Paper". Retrieved 18 March 2011.
  3. Jones, Lanie (10 June 1983). "Funding for UCSD Review Stirs Debate". Retrieved 18 March 2011.
  4. California Review Nov. 2008 Retrieved 14 April 2010.
  5. California Review Sep. 2006 Retrieved 14 April 2010.
  6. California Review May 2005 Retrieved 14 April 2010.
  7. California Review Feb. 2004 Retrieved 14 April 2010.
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