Two weeks ago, for the first time since the pandemic, the Stanford Review released a print edition. Containing a 20-page collection of the most insightful and impactful articles from the past year—44 in total from 17 different authors—this year’s edition is one of the most comprehensive conservative college papers anywhere in the nation. Inside the striking cover are sections on gender, student life, religion, the Hoover Institution, national politics, and more.
But the real value of the paper is that it gives Stanford students the opportunity to engage with the variety of conservative and contrarian articles contained in its pages. To accomplish our goal, over the course of the evening on November 13, members of the Review distributed thousands of the newly released print edition across campus. No student would be able to miss the paper. Due to theft concerns if papers were only put in public spaces around dorms, copies of the Review were instead placed under every student’s door to ensure that anyone interested in our ideas could read the paper.
That evening, the entirety of Fizz—Stanford’s anonymous social media app—was vigorously discussing the paper: the response was… mixed.
Someone was impressed with our ability to strike efficiently.
This person couldn’t quite comprehend the fact that not everyone in the Review holds the same opinion about everything (in fact we disagree all the time, but we still get along great).
Some students, perhaps concerned by the damage reading the Review would do to their fellow dormmates, went from room to room, removing the papers from under doors before they could be read. We received reports of this happening at multiple dorms on campus.
It seems that many who read the paper were pleasantly surprised and agreed with a lot of what we were saying.
And some people just thought we were funny (we certainly know how to laugh).
To students who received a copy of the Review, we hope you engaged with what we wrote. If you liked what you read (or even if you disagreed), come by a Review meeting on a Monday evening to continue the conversation. Real discussion and debate is sadly missing from many college campuses, and Stanford is certainly not exempt. That’s why the Review was founded nearly four decades ago: to present alternative views on a wide range of issues, create a forum for rational debate on campus, and challenge those who disagree to participate.
To our off-campus readers: if you would like a copy of the Review mailed to you, please reach out to us at eic@stanfordreview.org and one will be mailed to you as soon as possible.
And to our supporters, none of this would have been possible without your generous help over the years. The response by our fellow Stanford students shows just how vital the work we do at the Review really is. For students who hear a single bland perspective day after day in their dorms, classes, and dining halls, the ideas contained in the Review are certain to be a breath of fresh air.
If you want to support the Review, you can subscribe to our free mailing list or make a donation. Email eic@stanfordreview.org with any questions.
