A new form of media will soon be coming to campus.
The Battering Ram, a new media outlet for Colorado State University students, held their first informational meeting on Jan. 29 in the Ramskeller to discuss how to join and what the future looks like.
“I just felt there was a huge part of the conversation not being represented,” said Isabel Brown, a senior biomedical science major who was highly involved in the refounding of The Battering Ram. “So I decided to take a stand for myself and create a new publication.”
The Battering Ram Facebook page describes itself as an “independent and alternative student voice.”
Brown said the creation of this publication is not meant to compete with any existing campus publications, but rather a way of covering campus and creating dialogue.
“The more coverage of what’s going on in our world the better, and it serves that opportunity for dialogue on our campus that really is lacking, particularly for those with differing viewpoints,” Brown said. “Mainly, our hope is that we can get a dialogue going on campus about ‘who are the students at CSU, what do they believe, what do they stand for and what’s going on.'”
Refounded this year, The Battering Ram is currently waiting on their registration as a student organization and plans to publish their new website once they have a complete set of articles.
During the meeting, Brown discussed the history of The Battering Ram as an alternative publication, explaining that it started years ago but eventually dwindled due to many of its members graduating and moving forward.
While a website still exists for The Battering Ram, with articles being published as recently as Jan. 31, 2018, Brown said that they are not affiliated with that site.
“We are starting a brand new website,” Brown said. “So we are starting clean here in 2019.”
Members of the meeting brainstormed ideas as well as talked about the reasons of why they were there.
Kevin Lorusso, a junior majoring in philosophy and Arabic and minoring in political science, said that he attended the meeting because of his passion for the diversity of thought.
“I believe there is not enough conservative representation on college campuses right now,” Lorusso said. “I believe that if we are not able to have a legitimate dialogue between both sides and if we do not have critical reasoning on both sides, no solutions will ever happen because neither side has all the answers.”
Lorusso said that he hopes to put out new opinions and ideas that some people may not have heard before.
He added that he feels it is very important for individuals to receive arguments from “both sides” of the political spectrum in order to create a genuine opinion.
Grant Parker, a freshman majoring in philosophy and economics, said he feels that the best way he can contribute to media today is by coming and creating the most honest work that he can.
“I hope that students here at CSU and in the state or country, appreciate what we are trying to do, in that we are trying to push more factually based news articles,” Parker said.
Brown is currently looking for both journalists and those interested in being part of The Battering Ram editorial board.
Brown added she is excited for what will come of the new publication.
“Really we are just so excited about covering more things that are going on on campus and creating new dialogue,” Brown said.
Lorusso said that, going forward, he hopes that those who read The Battering Ram do so with an open mind.
“Be open to the opinions of those around you,” Lorusso said. “Approach a conversation with any person you are interacting with as if they have something to tell you that you’ve never heard before.”
Austin Fleskes can be reached at news@collegian.com or on Twitter @Austinfleskes07.
