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Campus Conservatives dissolves after leadership dispute, students may create new group

By on August 23, 2010 4:00 am in Student Groups / 26 comments

 
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The rumors are true — Campus Conservatives is no more.

Former president Bryant Greiner said the group, which sought to represent students with conservative political beliefs, has dissolved after several disagreements and struggles within group leadership.

Greiner, a Hart senior, said the group crumbled because several of its members had a falling out with Dennis Lennox II, who founded Campus Conservatives.

“Basically when I was president, Dennis would hide things from me,” Greiner said. “He had control over things that I didn’t have control over.”

Greiner was president of the group from April 2009 to March. He said he became frustrated with Lennox, who was initially unwilling to hand over control of the group’s e-mail account, Facebook page and website.

When Greiner finally obtained access, he said he changed the passwords to prevent Lennox from taking them over. That, he said, is when the trouble began.

“I told him I needed control of the group because I was the president and he wouldn’t take that as an answer,” Greiner said.

Lennox declined to comment about the situation.

Manistee junior Rebecca Hodson, elected as president in 2010 of the group, said some members are actively discussing forming a new conservative organization on campus.

“It’s something that is in the works,” she said. “It’s just not official what group it will be yet.”

A long history

Campus Conservatives has existed on campus since the 1960s, but its status as an official registered student organization has fluctuated over the years.

After being inactive for a period of about four years, Lennox reactivated the group’s RSO status in 2006.

Greiner and his officers resigned before the end of their term and handed leadership of the group over to Hodson, who had already been elected as the new president after continued issues with Lennox.

Greiner said before Hodson could take office, Lennox held a secret meeting and invited only three people from the entire organization.

During the meeting, Greiner said Lennox voted himself in as president of the group.

Upset that Lennox was trying to regain control over the group, Greiner and other members of Campus Conservatives tried to curb his efforts.

“We pointed out to Dennis, ‘You can’t have a secret meeting,’” Greiner said. “We looked up the constitution of the group and went after him — he wrote the constitution, we were using his own words against him.”

After the meeting, Lennox rescinded Hodson’s membership and banished Greiner from the organization, Greiner said.

She said she thought the move was immature and unprofessional.

If a new conservative group is formed, Hodson said it will be formed under a new name.

“Sadly, the name on campus of Campus Conservatives is synonymous with Dennis Lennox,” she said.

 

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  • CMUstudent

    sounds like a couple of complainers who didn't get what they wanted and are trying to save face. arent these the people that organized the failed debate last year?

  • Intheknow

    The kid complaining is pissed off because he lost the Campus Conservatives presidential race last year. Three people ran against him and he got zero votes. The girl is mad because her election was overtuned after it was pointed out that the rules were broken. She was then kicked out for bashing the organization and being a member of a rival group. This is just inside baseball, it doesn't belong in a school newspaper.

  • David G

    This is great! Dennis Lennox is now hated by even his own group! I worked close with some members of this group and what Bryant said in this article is basically what I hear from everyone within Campus Conservatives. Dennis was a control hog and tyrant as most of those members would say. This is just too great!!

  • Dave G.

    I guess this is what nerds do when nerds are ousted. Bryant was a good member, but he was a horrible leader. He ran again for president and resigned after he lost. He was the only member to resign. This group was formed on activism and I looked around last year and all I saw was passive leadership, that is afraid to ruffle feathers. This is not a group for those worrying about what a teacher college will say about them. And that was Bryant's problem. He didn't want to do a single thing because he was afraid that his liberal profs in the teacher program would hold it against him. He cost us event after event. We could have brought Ann Coulter to campus last year. Funding from an anonymous donor was there, but the key cog of the group with a job to be done, was not. This event would have brought much needed main stream press not seen since the Rev. Jackson protests and John Stossel. He bumbled the debate that cost us a lot of publicity and ended up with the group being humiliated for his failure.

  • Jake

    Hey Dave where were you all of last year? You never made it to a single meeting? There was no money for the Ann Coulter event, you would have know that if you showed up to a meeting! And Bryant wasn't the only one to resign, Evan did, Zack did and so Bryant did! Dave you were a horrible member last year, you're one to talk….

  • Nathan Inks

    It's against the university's policy for a group to kick somebody out for being a member of a “rival” RSO. If that's truly the reason Dennis did this, the organization wouldn't even be allowed to be an RSO anymore.

  • Anna Dvorak

    Let's get some things straight.

    As a member of Campus Conservatives, I was nominated for numerous positions and elected as the Secretary for the upcoming year, serving with Rebecca and two others. Bryant was nominated for President and respectfully declined so to both “Dave” and the poster below, your facts are inaccurate.

    And as for you, “Dave”. We all know it's you, Dennis. I love love love that you are too cowardly to post as yourself. And some of your accusations are WILD. The anonymous donor was at the meeting that you, yourself attended and never once did you make an effort to introduce the gentleman. Secondly, there were not enough funds to bring Ann Coulter to Central. Anonymous donor or no.

    As for the failed gubernatorial debate.
    That Mr. Lennox, was sabotaged and assisted by/through you. I'm not going to name the individual that eventually brought down the debate thanks to your prodding. But those of us affiliated with CC know who it was.

    Oh, and let us not forget to mention that all of this is happening at a university attended by a public official. Who, technically, should have respectfully left the group after elected. Who cares if he is an alumnus. Being a silent puppet master to legitimate students is not okay. I can think of a few adjectives that do, however, describe it.

    And yes, I will come right out and say it because I know exactly how some of these posters will come back at me. I am dating the past president and am a friend and colleague of Rebecca.

  • Tom

    This is from their constitution: This organization may be dissolved after dissolution is approved the board of trustees and by a two-third vote of its members, provided that a notice of the vote on dissolution is furnished to the members at least sixty days prior to the vote.

    Was this done?

  • Davidgipper

    I don't know who “David G” is but I'm Dave G. I smell a rat.

  • Chip Democrat

    i noticed that the name on a post changed. what’s up with that? someone is playing games.

  • Chip Democrat

    i noticed that the name on a post changed. what’s up with that? someone is playing games.

  • cmu1

    Dave G is Dennis……

    Yeah Tom you are absolutly correct but don't tell that to Dennis, he wrote the constitution and he can change it to make it say whatever liberal thing he wants it to!

  • dennislennox

    Dear Students,

    Look I did what I did because I do know that the Alumni Board for Campus Conservatives voted to dissolve the organization in the spring after a majority of the remaining members had graduated or moved on to other opportunities. There was an understanding at the time that some disgruntled ex-members, who were removed for not adhering to belief policies, were starting an organization that more closely aligned with their socially liberal positions.

    If you don't agree with what happened tough! I was in a position to control Campus Conservatives because I didn't think the members of C.C were able to make the right conservative choice on this campus. I did control the group even though I wasn't president, I held the email and website accounts until January when I handed them over to Bryant, Evan, Dave, Zack and Jake. They all changed the passwords on me, I needed the power so I tryed to get it back. I blacked mailed Bryant, Evan but it didn't work. Dave was an drunk idiot so I forced Bryant , Evan, Zack to resign so I could use Dave as my puppet. It worked to because he was easy to control. We had a secret meeting, I became president and I never could find anyone to take over that I could control.

    Sincerely,
    Dennis Lennox
    Campus Conservative Alumnus

  • Rebecca Hodson

    Who said I bashed the organization? I did no such thing, nothing to the effect was ever said. For someone in the know, you really don't have your facts straight… And the other group is not a “rival” group. There were members of Campus Conservatives that also attended the meetings of this so-called “rival group.” The groups worked together for events, and even scheduled meetings around those of the other groups.

  • Rebecca Hodson

    By the way, there is only person that was supposed to know how many votes there were – the group's faculty adviser. I would be very, very disappointed to find out that adviser would use his knowledge of the events against someone who had hoped to get his advice.

  • Meredithlynnjackson

    I definitely do not agree with Campus Conservatives' point of view, but I agree that Lennox has done a great disservice to those in the organization, and he should be VERY ashamed of himself. Part of being a president of an organization is a sense of fostering the group to sustain itself. He should have given Grenier all of the tools he needed (such as the e-mail password), and the group's advisor should have been more proactive in getting this done.

    The “secret meetings” for the purpose of banishing members of a group are uncalled for and akin to teenage “mean girls” getting together to kick people out of their clique. I hope that a lot of shame comes towards Lennox AND those who attended the meetings. Only a coward would come to these. Hopefully, Grenier, Hodson, and all who have been hurt can hold their heads up high after this whole mess. They deserve so much better.

  • cmu dem

    Intheknow I don't really think you know anything at all! How did Bryant get 0 votes? Do you think that he didn't vote for himself? And how was the rules broken that caused Rebecca to be kicked out of the organization?

  • Dave G

    it's only a secret meeting if you aren't a member. greiner and hodson weren't members and thus weren't invited.

  • Dave G

    I think not. I know who i am.

  • Dave G

    Well he was runnin against his girlfriend, rebecca and another girl. He got zero votes.

  • Zack

    I heard the meeting was held at David Grabowski's apartment at Copper Beech. He, Dennis Lennox, Evan Agnello and Chase Channing were invited but chase didn't show up. Thats when Dennis voted himself in as president. Thats what I heard from a Campus Conservative member.

  • cmu1

    Then who is Davegipper? Ah the name just changed…I smell a rat! Besides David Grabowski doesn't talk like the “Dave G” on this, he sounds like Dennis Lennox. Intheknow sounds like Dave Grabowski, he doesn't know anything at all.

  • cmu dem

    hmm, I didn't know that Campus Conservatives had another girl besides Anna and Rebecca…. The press release from C.C said the people running were Bryant, Anna, Rebecca and Jake. How do you know he got zero votes Dave G? So far you have been false on everything else?

  • Dave G

    David G is now Jake. I don't understand?

  • Rebecca Hodson

    Dave G, you really don't know anything, do you? Your punctuation is a little iffy, so I can't tell if you're saying that I am Bryant's girlfriend, which is incorrect, or if you are saying that there were three female candidates running against Bryant, which is ALSO incorrect.

  • Redstaterevival

    Hilarious. Dennis alienates even the group that he boasts he created and controls. His pettiness and machinations are going to bring all of you down, if you are not careful. Dennis only serves Dennis. Sorry it took a breakaway to eliminate his control. He's a political Chernobyl. Avoid.