Socially Conservative, Politically Silent
Knight Foundation recently released a report on the state of free speech on college campuses, which found that students have strong support for the First Amendment, though some say diversity and inclusion are more important to a democracy than free speech. Knight commissioned three students to share their own opinions on the findings, including this piece.
If you are reading this, well done! Taking the time to look through these social statistics means that you value democracy and care about expression within the university environment.
Gallup and Knight Foundation set out to find what students thought about the First Amendment, and surveyed over 3,000 students across America. As it turns out, conservatives are not the popular kids on campus.
Some 92 percent of students thought liberals were free to voice their views on campus, while just 69 percent thought conservatives were free to express their beliefs and opinions.
My name is Lianna Farnesi and I am one of the 69 percent.
Now before I start, I must thank my school. Let me explain. I am a junior at Florida International University (FIU), a large public research institution in South Florida (in fact, one of the country’s top 10 if not top 5 in undergraduate enrollment), where, in my three years, I have had two (yes, two!) conservative professors. That must be a record of some sort!
Indeed, I applaud my university for hiring outside the “progressive” status quo. Yet, being openly Republican does not buy me any brownie points with them — nor my liberal classmates.
The fall of 2016 was quite a time to be a university student. I enrolled in a political science class that centered around predicting outcomes in local, state and general elections. It was great. The course required me to intern with a local campaign and I’ve held a civically active life since.
On the very first lecture, my professor (one of the conservatives) sarcastically asked: “Alright, so who’s voting for Trump?” I instinctively raised my hand, only to find an entire classroom beading their eyes at me.
I cannot help but to imagine that at any other school (cough cough like UC-Berkeley cough cough) campus police would have been called. I cannot help but to fear that any other professor would have put a star next to my name, and I would have been awarded my own grading scale — starting 10 points below every other student.
That afternoon, I realized that our country had a problem. Only a few of my peers were open-minded enough to compare views and have a conversation. The words racist, ignorant and sexist, were snickered around the classroom every Tuesday. I was a small fish in a big liberal pond, waters with lots of other fish who were voting for Hillary Clinton and, of course, Bernie Sanders. Politics fueled me, but those experiences with my classmates fired me up. I don’t mind holding the less popular view, but in this day and age, we should be able to understand, at the least respect, others. I also acknowledge that it could have been much worse at another, less accepting university.
FIU students have not smashed windows or hurled molotov cocktails at police officers, but amid the Trump administration’s travel ban, several demonstrations were held against guests to the university. In June of 2017, the school hosted Vice President Mike Pence, former Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, and then Secretary of Homeland Security John Kelly. Hundreds of students, faculty and alumni practiced their First Amendment right against Trump’s immigration policies. Some welcomed opposing perspectives, while others made it abundantly clear that “Nuestra casa no es su casa,” Spanish for “our house is not your house”.
That day, university liberals were clearly shutting out a different way of thinking. I can see why students on the more conservative side might be hesitant to speak out in the classroom. No student would deliberately shed a negative light on themselves to the institution that determines the rest of their lives. Remember, students need academic advising, connections, extra credit, letters of recommendation. Submitting a paper that supports the pro-life movement to a professor who still totes an “I’m with Her” pin isn’t going to do the trick.
To conclude, conservatives are not liked at the collegiate level; however, universities are the very institutions in which open debate and difference of opinion should be encouraged. You encounter a professor who does not think like you? Ask questions, ask why. A student offends you? Tell them why. Triggered by one speaker or several speakers? Don’t shut them out. Challenge them.
Like many other students in South Florida, I come from a family who was torn apart by a country that oppressed basic freedoms. My family fled a communist, authoritarian regime, so I know the dangers faced by a society that loses its right to express an opinion, no matter what kind. They say the pen is mightier than the sword, but what happens when one loses the means to write?
If not words, what do we have?
Lianna Farnesi is a political science major and member of the Student Government Association at Florida International University in Miami.
