Skip to content
ADVERTISEMENT
Sign In
  • Sections
    • News
    • Advice
    • The Review
  • Topics
    • Data
    • Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion
    • Finance & Operations
    • International
    • Leadership & Governance
    • Teaching & Learning
    • Scholarship & Research
    • Student Success
    • Technology
    • Transitions
    • The Workplace
  • Magazine
    • Current Issue
    • Special Issues
    • Podcast: College Matters from The Chronicle
  • Newsletters
  • Events
    • Virtual Events
    • Chronicle On-The-Road
    • Professional Development
  • Ask Chron
  • Store
    • Featured Products
    • Reports
    • Data
    • Collections
    • Back Issues
  • Jobs
    • Find a Job
    • Post a Job
    • Professional Development
    • Career Resources
    • Virtual Career Fair
  • More
  • Sections
    • News
    • Advice
    • The Review
  • Topics
    • Data
    • Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion
    • Finance & Operations
    • International
    • Leadership & Governance
    • Teaching & Learning
    • Scholarship & Research
    • Student Success
    • Technology
    • Transitions
    • The Workplace
  • Magazine
    • Current Issue
    • Special Issues
    • Podcast: College Matters from The Chronicle
  • Newsletters
  • Events
    • Virtual Events
    • Chronicle On-The-Road
    • Professional Development
  • Ask Chron
  • Store
    • Featured Products
    • Reports
    • Data
    • Collections
    • Back Issues
  • Jobs
    • Find a Job
    • Post a Job
    • Professional Development
    • Career Resources
    • Virtual Career Fair
    Upcoming Events:
    College Advising
    Serving Higher Ed
    Chronicle Festival 2025
Sign In
News

Campus Conservatives Get a Lesson in Activism: When Professors Start Ranting, Start Filming

By Tom Hesse February 23, 2017
Oxon Hill, Md.

Are you a student looking to spread your conservative message to the masses? Try capturing the liberal leanings of your professors.

The Conservative Political Action Conference kicked off on Tuesday in a Maryland suburb of Washington, D.C., with a series of workshops for conservatives on how best to be politically active. An especially popular workshop, aimed at college conservatives, offered a suggestion for students seeking to take their activism to social media: When professors start ranting, students should start filming.

To continue reading for FREE, please sign in.

Sign In

Or subscribe now to read with unlimited access for as low as $10/month.

Don’t have an account? Sign up now.

A free account provides you access to a limited number of free articles each month, plus newsletters, job postings, salary data, and exclusive store discounts.

Sign Up

Are you a student looking to spread your conservative message to the masses? Try capturing the liberal leanings of your professors.

The Conservative Political Action Conference kicked off on Tuesday in a Maryland suburb of Washington, D.C., with a series of workshops for conservatives on how best to be politically active. An especially popular workshop, aimed at college conservatives, offered a suggestion for students seeking to take their activism to social media: When professors start ranting, students should start filming.

“People are so used to their professors’ just constantly ranting and indoctrinating with their liberal values that they don’t realize that’s not OK,” Cabot Phillips, a contributor to the conservative website Campus Reform, told audience members.

Mr. Phillips, who served in Sen. Marco Rubio’s presidential campaign, started the “Campus Activism Boot Camp” with a session titled "#Liberal Privilege: Using Social Media to Change College Campuses.” One of the most effective ways to do that, he said, is to film ranting professors or out-of-control student protests.

To that end, he offered a few tips: Make sure you film horizontally, add subtitles for people who are watching with the sound off, post to Facebook rather than YouTube, and have other conservatives on your campus ready to share the video.

Campus Reform, which was created by the Leadership Institute, a group that trains conservative activists, calls itself a watchdog for higher education. Mr. Phillips told the audience that the site, which relies heavily on content written by campus contributors, would help spread their messages.

“If you have a professor who’s going crazy on video, we’ll get you on TV,” Mr. Phillips said.

An ‘Act of Terrorism’

Recording professors on video can have repercussions. Recently, for example, a student at Orange Coast College, a community college in California, was suspended two semesters for filming and posting comments by a professor who called the election of Donald J. Trump an “act of terrorism.”

After the incident, signs were posted outside of classrooms at the college stating that recording instructors without their permission was prohibited.

Responding to an audience question about that incident, Mr. Phillips said he was confident that the student would win a lawsuit and gain reinstatement thanks to pro bono legal help. (On Thursday the college announced that the student’s suspension had been rescinded, The Orange County Register reported.)

I would say always err on the side of recording your professor when they’re doing things.

“That school was completely in the wrong for what they did,” Mr. Phillips said, adding that increased publicity could lead to more support for students, potentially offsetting any backlash that might arise. “I would say always err on the side of recording your professor when they’re doing things,” he said.

ADVERTISEMENT

Tabatha Palomo, who this fall will start her freshman year at West Virginia University, sat in on the workshop. She said she’s prepared to enter a liberal environment when she goes to college, and thinks it’s important for conservatives to document the campus climate.

It boils down to a case of ‘he said, she said’ if you don’t have the videos and stuff.

“It boils down to a case of ‘he said, she said’ if you don’t have the videos and stuff,” Ms. Palomo said.

Liberty Fuchs, who attends Santa Monica College, about two hours north of Orange Coast College, described herself as a libertarian. She said she’s felt pressure to conform to her professors’ political leanings in the past.

ADVERTISEMENT

“One of my professors ended our class” by using a four-letter word to insult President Trump, Ms. Fuchs said.

She had contemplated recording the professor, she said, but she ultimately chose not to. After all, she said, his reading list was balanced. “He was the philosophy teacher, and he recommended, like, Rothbard stuff,” she said, referring to Murray N. Rothbard, an economist influenced by Friedrich Hayek. “So I gave him a pass.”

Update (2/23/2017, 10:38 p.m.): This article has been updated to note that Orange Coast College announced on Thursday that it had rescinded a student’s suspension. A discussion of the suspension occurred at the conference workshop, which was held before the college made its announcement.

We welcome your thoughts and questions about this article. Please email the editors or submit a letter for publication.
Share
  • Twitter
  • LinkedIn
  • Facebook
  • Email
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT

Related Content

Higher Education’s Internet Outrage Machine

More News

Vector illustration of large open scissors  with several workers in seats dangling by white lines
Iced Out
Duke Administrators Accused of Bypassing Shared-Governance Process in Offering Buyouts
Illustration showing money being funnelled into the top of a microscope.
'A New Era'
Higher-Ed Associations Pitch an Alternative to Trump’s Cap on Research Funding
Illustration showing classical columns of various heights, each turning into a stack of coins
Endowment funds
The Nation’s Wealthiest Small Colleges Just Won a Big Tax Exemption
WASHINGTON, DISTICT OF COLUMBIA, UNITED STATES - 2025/04/14: A Pro-Palestinian demonstrator holding a sign with Release Mahmud Khalil written on it, stands in front of the ICE building while joining in a protest. Pro-Palestinian demonstrators rally in front of the ICE building, demanding freedom for Mahmoud Khalil and all those targeted for speaking out against genocide in Palestine. Protesters demand an end to U.S. complicity and solidarity with the resistance in Gaza. (Photo by Probal Rashid/LightRocket via Getty Images)
Campus Activism
An Anonymous Group’s List of Purported Critics of Israel Helped Steer a U.S. Crackdown on Student Activists

From The Review

John T. Scopes as he stood before the judges stand and was sentenced, July 2025.
The Review | Essay
100 Years Ago, the Scopes Monkey Trial Discovered Academic Freedom
By John K. Wilson
Vector illustration of a suited man with a pair of scissors for a tie and an American flag button on his lapel.
The Review | Opinion
A Damaging Endowment Tax Crosses the Finish Line
By Phillip Levine
University of Virginia President Jim Ryan keeps his emotions in check during a news conference, Monday, Nov. 14, 2022 in Charlottesville. Va. Authorities say three people have been killed and two others were wounded in a shooting at the University of Virginia and a student is in custody. (AP Photo/Steve Helber)
The Review | Opinion
Jim Ryan’s Resignation Is a Warning
By Robert Zaretsky

Upcoming Events

07-31-Turbulent-Workday_assets v2_Plain.png
Keeping Your Institution Moving Forward in Turbulent Times
Ascendium_Housing_Plain.png
What It Really Takes to Serve Students’ Basic Needs: Housing
Lead With Insight
  • Explore Content
    • Latest News
    • Newsletters
    • Letters
    • Free Reports and Guides
    • Professional Development
    • Events
    • Chronicle Store
    • Chronicle Intelligence
    • Jobs in Higher Education
    • Post a Job
  • Know The Chronicle
    • About Us
    • Vision, Mission, Values
    • DEI at The Chronicle
    • Write for Us
    • Work at The Chronicle
    • Our Reporting Process
    • Advertise With Us
    • Brand Studio
    • Accessibility Statement
  • Account and Access
    • Manage Your Account
    • Manage Newsletters
    • Individual Subscriptions
    • Group and Institutional Access
    • Subscription & Account FAQ
  • Get Support
    • Contact Us
    • Reprints & Permissions
    • User Agreement
    • Terms and Conditions
    • Privacy Policy
    • California Privacy Policy
    • Do Not Sell My Personal Information
1255 23rd Street, N.W. Washington, D.C. 20037
© 2025 The Chronicle of Higher Education
The Chronicle of Higher Education is academe’s most trusted resource for independent journalism, career development, and forward-looking intelligence. Our readers lead, teach, learn, and innovate with insights from The Chronicle.
Follow Us
  • twitter
  • instagram
  • youtube
  • facebook
  • linkedin