Editor’s note: Letters to the Editor and open letters reflect the opinions, concerns and views of University of Wisconsin-Madison students and community. As such, the information presented may or may not be accurate. Letters to the Editor and open letters do not reflect the editorial views or opinions of The Daily Cardinal
On a campus formerly dominated by progressive student media, The Madison Federalist has made a big difference. Since launching in October 2024, we have published more than 100 articles containing original journalism or insightful commentary. In just over a year, we went from being a small blog to interviewing UW-Madison Chancellor Jennifer Mnookin. We have published four print editions, greatly expanded our team, and gained national attention.
Our original reporting has been featured in outlets including National Review, Fox News, the New York Post, and the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. The Daily Cardinal and Badger Herald have also each covered stories we broke. Just last week, we recorded an interview with former Governor Scott Walker for our fifth print magazine and held our biggest writers’ meeting ever.
As the conservative student newspaper at UW-Madison, we have faced an uphill battle. While many universities similar to ours have long-established right-leaning student publications, it has been difficult to sustain one on this campus. In the late 1950s, a journal called Insight and Outlook was founded by UW students, but it ceased publication after a decade. In the 1960s, the Badger Herald was founded to oppose the Daily Cardinal’s left-wing radicalism, but it has experienced an editorial shift leftward for years. In the mid-2000s, the Mendota Beacon briefly occupied newspaper racks on the isthmus before disappearing.
In my view, ensuring the longevity of The Madison Federalist is important. Therefore, we have invested considerable time into cutting-edge investigative reporting. Here are just a few of the biggest stories we have covered (but the Daily Cardinal ignored):
● At the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health, a Black applicant is “ten times more likely to be admitted than a White or Asian student with an identical GPA and MCAT score. Overall, 14.9 percent of Black applicants were admitted, compared to just 2.4 percent of Asian applicants and 3.9 percent of White applicants.” Moreover, “The average MCAT scores of rejected White or Asian applicants were higher than the average MCAT score of admitted Black applicants.”
● For the 2025-26 academic year, the Associated Students of Madison approved more than $100,000 in funding for the controversial student organization “Sex Out Loud.” The Federalist found that student segregated fees were used to purchase sex toys and fund classes on “masturbation” and “ethical porn.”
● As part of a 2023 deal with the Wisconsin legislature, UW-Madison agreed to create an “endowed chair to focus on conservative political thought, classical economic theory, or classical liberalism.” As of April 2025, there had been little apparent progress on this search. According to Chancellor Mnookin in November, “While we’ve raised money for a lot of things, we haven’t had somebody raise their hand and say that they want to make a gift specifically to that endowed chair.”
● The Wisconsin Union Directorate’s Distinguished Lecture Series “regularly brings progressive speakers to campus, but conservatives are increasingly rare. The Madison Federalist analyzed the political views of DLS speakers from 2005 through 2025,
categorizing them as left-leaning, right-leaning, or other. In this time frame, more than 89 percent of speakers were liberal, but only 3 percent were conservative or libertarian.” ● UW-Madison’s “special advisor for access and community” made inflammatory social media posts suggesting that President Trump was racist. He also co-authored a paper in 2024 that suggested the American mathematics education system is “arguably inherently violent toward Black children.”
● In November 2025, various stickers depicting graphic violence against law enforcement authorities were placed around campus. Other stickers placed around the same time included drawings of Hamas fighters and the phrase “Death to Israel.”
In addition to investigative stories, the Federalist also makes an effort to cover campus events ignored by the other student newspapers. Examples include events with businessman Steve Forbes, journalist Rupa Subramanya, writer Coleman Hughes, and (surprisingly) activist Norman Finkelstein.
Our commentary section is similarly rigorous. My favorite recent piece was by Leah Irvin, who tracked the legacy of conservative movement icon William F. Buckley Jr. on campus. Katelyn Ciarrachi praised the university’s progress on campus free speech, but also expressed caution about celebrating too quickly. Noel Varco discussed the assassination of Charlie Kirk and argued that people need to approach political disagreement in good faith. Courtney Graves thoroughly tore apart the Daily Cardinal’s editorial that claimed conservatives on campus want “immunity from criticism.”
Finally, The Madison Federalist holds events with accomplished conservative writers. In October, we hosted National Review senior writer Dan McLaughlin and had to move to a bigger venue after our original room overflowed. This Wednesday, we are hosting American Enterprise Institute senior fellow Christopher Scalia at 6:00 PM in Law School 7200. Scalia earned his Ph.D. from UW-Madison and wrote 13 Novels Conservatives Will Love (but Probably Haven't Read). We welcome people of all ideological backgrounds to attend.
As a sidenote, The Madison Federalist will make no changes to its editorial practices just because a self-avowed Marxist claims an article we syndicated from a Catholic journal did not fairly represent his discredited dogmas. It is a good thing that readers do not expect the Federalist to “recognize the valid points Marxism makes.” We will not stop publishing important stories that feed into “conservative culture war narratives,” and I will continue to defend my writers when ideologues attempt to disparage their work.
The Federalist is always looking for new writers, article submissions, and news tips. You can contact us here.
