The Patriot (newspaper)
The Patriot is a newspaper of Stony Brook University. Founded in 2004, The Patriot serves to offer an alternative voice to an otherwise liberal campus environment. Articles in The Patriot tend to focus on Conservative and Libertarian issues.
The Start (2004)
The first editor-in-chief of The Patriot was Erik Berte, now a Web Producer for Fox News. Fromer staff writer Jason Frank got in at the ground level as well, beginning as a staff writer but eventually holding the positions of Public Relations Manager, Opinions Editor, and eventually Senior Editor. Following Berte's graduation and subsequent resignation from The Patriot, he appointed the second editor-in-chief, Alexander Chamessian. Chamessian brought a new element to The Patriot, being the first science-related major to hold an executive position on The Newspaper.
Campus Attention
The Patriot has garnered much attention on campus for its fearless approach to otherwise ignored issues. While other campus publications like the Stony Brook Press and Stony Brook Statesman serve the agenda of the left, The Patriot brings issues to light that would otherwise go unreported, such as bias in the classroom and internal political struggles in the University Student Government.
As Editor, in 2008 Chamessian brought renowned Islamic scholar, Robert Spencer, to speak on campus, much to the protest/opposition of many on campus, including the Muslim Students Assosciation (MSA). Overall, the event was successful in that Spencer was able to speak and those who opposed his lecture and his views got the chance to engage him in discussion in an extended Question and Answer session immediately following the lecture.
Under Alex, the club also hosted a Health Care Reform Debate, with Dr. David Brown of Stony Brook University Medical Center arguing in favor of Universal Health Care and Michael Cannon of the CATO Institute arguing against. This event also saw much success in that many students showed up to witness the debate and both sides of the issue were presented in a fair and equal manner. Stony Brook's own Professor Paul Bingham served as the moderator and used the Oxford Guidelines for debating.
As of 2009, the current Editor-In-Chief, Derek Mordente, a mathematics major, seeks to continue on the trend of garnering recognition for the newspaper. He has involved the newspaper with a soldier support group, Adopt-A-Platoon, wherein letters and various items such as magazines and toiletries are gathered to send to an "adopted" group of soldiers. He has also expanded the scope of the paper, introducing new sections and getting local businesses to advertise with the paper.
Also, as of 2008, Graphics Editor Dan Rubin provides stellar art for the paper, including monthly political cartoons and cover art for each issue.
Special Events
In lieu of the recent "Tea Party" phenomenon sweeping across the nation, Mordente decided to organize a protest on Stony Brook's campus with the club. With the help of other club members, including Dan Rubin and Zach Kurtz, the protest involved handing out political fliers with tea-bags attached to them as well as a guillotine made of scrap wood which beheaded in effigy a cardboard representation of the Stimulus Bill. The event, held on April 15th, 2009 (Tax Day) was registered www.taxdaycoalition.com, a national organizer of "Tea Parties." The event was also covered by one of Stony Brook's other newspapers, The Stony Brook Independent.