The Campus Clash event faced heavy criticism from the left. Photo by Nicholas Hampton/The Daily Campus
Universities are sacrosanct within American society, heralded as unrivaled institutions of higher learning promulgated upon the statutes of diverse thought and ideology. The professors are knighted as the most intellectually messianic champions of truth ever to grace sentient existence with their divine wisdom. The young, impressionable students, frequently numbed by illicit substances, are praised for their pretentious courage in combating the inadequacies of their elders and marching forth into the future with progressive ideologies. The ultimate goal of universities is the realization of ubiquitous diversity of thought. Why, then, is it that college students are so predominantly similar—and leftist?
The University of Connecticut’s mission statement declares, “Through research, teaching, service, and outreach, we embrace diversity,” which is, of course, promulgated upon “freedom of academic inquiry and expression.” If this is true, then why is it that registered Democrats outnumber Republicans by a 13:1 ratio among UConn faculty? This phenomena is a nationwide epidemic not exclusively relegated to UConn, as evidenced by a recent national study which confirmed that registered Democrats outnumber Republicans by a 10:1 ratio in American universities. The issue pervades even in deep-red states. A Campus Reform study reported that 96.1 percent of political donations contributed by administrators at the University of Texas went to Democrats in 2017-18.
Of course, the left-leaning political affiliations of faculty are not sufficient to prove indoctrination of students. The faculty’s leftist sympathies must be proven so significant that political ideology leaks into the curriculum.
According to Mary Burgan, general secretary for the American Association of University Professors, it is “impossible”—in fact, unnecessary—to keep political bias out of the classroom.
“It is the job of the faculty to decide which critical, relevant and commanding [viewpoints] to concentrate on in the classroom,” she explained.
“Why should I teach a point of view I don’t agree with?” UCSD’s David Jordan said. “I should teach what is useful to the student. I don’t know that I have the responsibility to teach somebody’s view that is benighted or irrelevant.”
This is incredible considering we know exactly what points of view professors agree with and find “most useful to the student,” given the significant body of evidence illuminating their leftist political affiliations. In fact, the evidence suggests heavily that it is, in fact, conservative views that professors deem “benighted or irrelevant.”
In 2012, 60 percent of Americans ages 18-29 voted for Barack Obama compared to 37 percent who voted for Mitt Romney. According to Hart Research, 75 percent of college students approved of the job President Obama had done, with 62 percent viewing him favorably. This same survey finds that only 10 percent of college students view Donald Trump positively, while 79 percent view him negatively.
According to a UCLA Higher Education Research Institute survey, 35.5 percent of students identify as liberal, while 22.2 percent identify as conservative. In the 2016 presidential election, 55 percent voted for Hillary Clinton, while 37 percent voted for President Trump.
Frequently, Democrats justify these ideological discrepancies by noting that liberals are often more educated than conservatives, statistically more likely to obtain higher education. While the implication is far more condescending than logical, we are left to investigate.
While college students and graduates skew left on the political spectrum, this is not because intelligence breeds leftism. This is because the halls of academia are dominated by leftists who refuse to engage with opposing arguments. As conservative political commentator Dinesh D’Souza explains, “Liberal students come up to me after my speech and say that they’ve never heard of my arguments before.”
On Tuesday, conservative commentators Candace Owens, Charlie Kirk, and libertarian Dave Rubin spoke at UConn. They were not welcomed by leftist students.
“The university has a responsibility to take a stand against this type of racist bigotry. By allowing Kirk and Owens the opportunity to have a platform at UConn, the administration is effectively handing them a megaphone to promote the same hateful ideology,” Zoey Turturino of The Daily Campus wrote.
This notion that disagreeable arguments are not to be uttered or hosted at the university indicates to me that leftist students are not being exposed to them in the classroom by professors. I also know this because I’m in those classrooms. Instead of attending the event and disagreeing with the speakers ideologically, Turturino would rather they be barred from campus.
The evidence is clear that university professors skew left and their political ideologies pervade the classroom to the detriment of students who refuse to allow opposing conservative arguments to invade the campus forum. American universities—these sacred institutions of higher learning—are indoctrinating our students and, as a result, they’re not learning anything. Nor are they willing to.
Kevin Catapano is a columnist for The Daily Campus. He can be reached via email at kevin.catapano@uconn.edu.
