The Campus Conservative

Last semester, The Student Government Association (SGA) at UT-Tyler sent a formal letter to the executive director of the library and declared its support for the building returning to its pre-COVID-19 operating hours.  This letter came after some students complained to SGA that the university’s COVID-19 hours prevented study groups from having a suitable location to study late at night.  During SGA’s preliminary research into the possibility of longer library hours, the library director advised student government against the idea due to her concern that increased student interaction might raise the risk a COVID-19 outbreak. In the end, student government agreed with the students’ request for longer hours and subsequently sent a letter to the director in support of extended hours.  So why does this matter? It matters because SGA’s willingness to go against the advice of a sitting administrator reveals a greater propensity within this class of members to operate independen...

Source: Unsplash Over the past weeks, I have written a series of posts with the aim to explain why my attention is on UT-Tyler. Today’s post continues this theme.  The first reason was that young people are in despair and they could use the wisdom and insights I believe I have found in the Conservative, Christian and American traditions. The second reason is that I believe I can offer clear thinking which can be stabilizing for many young people who are in a highly disruptive time of life. My third reason has to do with why I choose writing out of all the possible mediums I could use to relate to UT-Tyler . And the reason is simple. Let me share it with you in two parts. First, I write about UT-Tyler because writing helps me improve my own thinking.  Have you ever had to explain to a friend what you mean? For example, perhaps you may have had to explain why you don’t want to hang out tonight or what it is you don't like about a winter scarf or the taste of lunch meat. Whatever...

"The Thinker" by Gaby. (Source: Flikr) Recently, I wrote that I decided to share why I pay attention to UT-Tyler even though I graduated.  In my last post, I wrote that my primary reason for interest at the university is my belief that many young people are in despair. I wrote about that here . This week, I add my second reason.  So for people who accuse me of having an unhealthy fascination with UT-Tyler even after I have graduated, here is my second reason for caring about UT-Tyler.  Reason 2: I Have Something To Offer--Clear Thinking    I believe I can help others think clearly about what is true, good and beautiful in life--something that has meant a lot to me.  Thinking plays a significant role in my own life. For one, I am a thinking person. I think a lot. I am always mulling over problems, concepts and questions within my mind. I like to discover what makes life “work” and, consequently, what makes people work, too.   For another reason, I ...

  When I started to write about UT-Tyler even after I graduated, many people accused me of an unhealthy fascination. They said that I was active because emotionally, I could not move on from college, that I was stuck in bygone days. They have also accused me of not having a life on my own and all sorts of other stuff.  For this reason, I thought it would be good to state my reasons for having my attention on UT-Tyler. However, when I thought of them all, they became hard to explain. Moreover, they took a lot more than the normal length of my typical blog post to explain. Probably more than an average reader would stick around for.  So I decided to break each of them up into their own post which I will publish in the coming weeks.  For now, I hope these reasons can help me explain myself and my intentions more clearly and perhaps give answers to any honest mind wondering why I am still attentive to life and events at UT-Tyler.  Thank you for reading! Here is my...

(Source: Tyler Morning Telegraph) As I have perused through social media, I have seen many Progressive students at UT-Tyler tweet statements in support of the Black community. They say, “Black Lives Matter” and “support Black businesses” and “amplify Black voices.” Anything Black goes, because Progressives are collectivists. They don’t see John and Terrance, but White and Black. In the collectivist mindset, group identity is more significant than individual identity. So when it comes to race, it is not business owners, but Black business owners that they want to support. It is not voices, but Black voices. They claim solidarity with a Black collective and aim to elevate a group. Anyone who is Black is a member of this group. So, if being Black gives one membership to a group and if group membership means you deserve support—solely on the basis of being Black—then where is their support for their African-American University President Michael Tidwell? Why doesn’t h...

(Source: Flickr) In Patriot Talon’s December 9 issue, Opinion Editor David Young called on UT-Tyler administration to establish a free speech zone that would confine all campus speech activity to one campus location. Young claimed the university’s commitment to free speech placed students at risk of injury due to how others would use free speech. Young cited traveling preacher Jesse Morrell of Open Air Outreach and stated that a speaker like him, under administration’s current commitment to free speech, could subject students to controversial viewpoints that run against their personal beliefs and Young floated the idea that an off-campus speaker could even follow a student around campus and harass them in the name of free speech. Lastly, among his critiques for the administration, Young claimed that UT-Tyler officials left the campus without rules for this chaotic environment and that the solution was to establish a designated zone for all on-campus speech. Young wrote, “in...

Okay so, I just listened to Dr. Tidwell’s presentation to student government (SGA) about a spring graduation in the plaza. After hearing the plans and seeing accommodations administrators have made towards student concerns, it seems to me that much of the hysteria surrounding a plaza graduation has been way overblown. Here are a couple of reasons why I think so, along with some highlights from tonight’s meeting. Melting In the Sun Let’s take an easy example for starters: the concern about the temperature outdoors. Many of the 3,500 plus commentators on the petition that went around on social media in opposition to a plaza graduation stated they were going to melt in the Texas sun if the University held an outdoor graduation at the start of the Texas summer. However, as UT-Tyler’s Vice President of Marketing Lucas Roebuck pointed out during the meeting, (this wasn't his first point, but my pointing it out first) according to historical record, the average temperature on May 2 ...