Being a Conservative at a Liberal Arts College
June 06, 2007
As we saw in an article written by a colleague of mine, being a conservative at a large state university, like UW-Madison, is extremely difficult and often times can cause Liberals to take action against you. On most liberal arts campuses, this is not the case. Do not let the name fool you; just because it is a liberal arts college does not mean that the mentality of the student body is of a politically-liberal mindset. I know of a few liberal arts campuses in which the conservatives, and their ideas, far exceed those of the liberals. The problem on these campuses, however, is that, like most large campuses, these students tend to keep quiet to avoid harassment by both professors, who are primarily liberal, as well as their fellow students. Is the collegiate environment not about sharing and circulating ideas, concepts, and philosophies that may not always concur with the norm? The fact such quietude is a reality seems both contradictory and highly-unfortunate for a college atmosphere; perhaps, though, this is the unique, though tragic, fated ambiance that most small, private liberal arts colleges are doomed to possess.
College students in this country are primarily liberal due to the fact many students are at that age where they are “free spirits” and can do whatever they want; as a result, they are traditionally liberal. Unlike large colleges or universities, the liberal-to- conservative ratio is not 100/1; in most cases it’s 3/2, which is encouraging news for conservatives who plan to attend these schools. These are my presumed numbers. The exact numbers are difficult to determine given that all liberal arts colleges are different. I know that at the liberal arts college I attend, there are a great deal of students with a conservative ideology. Sure we are in the minority, but at least the ratio is somewhat close, unlike Madison. Of course, as in all of academe, the faculty is very liberal; and many of them will not even listen to the ideas of a conservative student and, if they do, many of the professors will just shrug it off as irrelevant or frivolous.
There are several steps that conservatives must take in order for us, as conservatives, to acquire a greater say as to what happens on our college campuses. The first is definitely getting more active in all areas of campus life. It is clear that at most schools, whether liberal arts or large universities the liberal organizations receive far greater funding than do those of conservative groups. In that case, it must be the mission of conservative groups to get their name out by bringing events to campus that have a conservative leaning. The liberals will find every way possible to block a conservative event, but if it is organized and planned correctly it will be effective. This works better at liberal arts colleges because there is a smaller group often more dedicated. Also, there will traditionally be a much smaller number of liberals that would try to disrupt the event.
Several other key steps must be taken to ensure that conservatives have the ability to succeed in a liberal arts college setting. The creation of groups that focus on conservative issues and ideology is paramount but is only a small part of the big picture. More importantly, however, is recruiting as many members to these groups as possible and making sure that they are active. It is one thing to have a large group of members but if they are just in the group to say they are “in the group,” that will not cut it. Group members need to be working there their tails off to make sure these groups can plan successful events. Liberal arts campuses give you a far greater opportunity to do that because of the smaller number of students in campus groups. Having more members can be a negative because it has the potential to become less productive, as people feel that having more people working on something means the faster the work will get done; but in all actuality this is not the case—it is the basic economic law of diminishing returns. Having smaller numbers is good as long as all of the members are active in these groups. We have seen in a previous article that this work ethic and participation at Madison is sorely lacking and that hurts the conservative cause.
The creation of different types of conservative groups involves people who might not want to join a College Republicans chapter. These groups can have religious affiliation, like a Fellowship of Christian athletes. Or it could be a sportsman’s group that focuses on hunting and gun rights. It could even be the College Republicans chapter. The importance of this is the diversification of the groups. All of them have a conservative learning but focus on different issues.
The most important aspect of liberal arts campuses is the fact most of them have a small number of students. This allows for more individual attention from professors and small class sizes. In the classroom setting of any major college, the liberals often times get the floor more often because either the professor agrees with them or they just like hearing themselves talk, as most liberals do. Conservatives cannot and should not be afraid to speak what they believe; this can be beneficial to everyone in the room. By conservatives not being afraid to speak out, they are opening the ears and minds of many people who may be sick and tired of hearing the same liberal biases on a day-in-and-day-out basis. I know a few liberal arts colleges where in several classes the conservatives outnumber the liberals yet the liberals tend to talk more than the conservatives do. We must trust in our ideas and ourselves and not be afraid to speak our minds on ideas we believe in. It will benefit the campus as a whole.
Advancing the conservative ideology is going to be a pertinent task for many years to come, and, as long as we follow the steps that are laid out here this goal is definitely obtainable. We will continue to succeed if we promote active membership in conservative groups and organizations, plan events that will get our name out around campus, and, most importantly, by not being afraid to stand up for what we believe in. Liberal arts campuses give us greater opportunities to achieve these goals because of the greater attention that students get. It is our duty to carry out the ideas of the party of Ronald Reagan, Theodore Roosevelt and Abraham Lincoln. We must understand the importance of a small government that gives the citizens a greater say in what occurs in their government—a smaller government with less bureaucratic control. A small, liberal arts college is like the federal government, conservatives believe in it because it provides greater individual rights, more freedoms, and a willingness to succeed.
In his 1981 inaugural address Ronald Reagan said, “Government is not the solution to our problems, government is the problem.” Reagan was absolutely correct; extravagant bureaucracies are a problem and they are corrupting the American political system. Reagan was trying to say that government should be in the hands of the people, and, similarly, in a small liberal arts college the success lies in the hands of the people. Conservatives, we must unite and stand up for what we believe in because, if we do not, the liberals will find us weak and find other ways to corrupt this government.