Why are colleges so liberal?

[navi]

I've been working on promoting Ron Paul on my campus with my group and we have had some success recruiting potential voters there. However, many times people just ignore me once they find out that Ron Paul is a Republican. They don't care that he's antiwar or that he's against the neocon agenda, all they care about is that he's a Republican. They say they won't ever vote for a Republican.

At times we have to work with the student government in order to get something accomplished. I found out almost immediately that if you want to bring a Republican to campus and give a speech, the student government will barely give you the time of day. They are a very, very liberal crowd and they only work hard to bring liberal candidates over here to speak.

I imagine that this is pretty common at other campuses. Why do you think that is? What makes liberalism so attractive to college environments?

[Paulitician]

Well, college is a "liberal" institution... not necessarily leftist, but "liberal." Some people are stupid. I personally thought that I would never vote for a Republican, but until I found out about Ron Paul, I realized it was just neo-cons who'd I never vote for. Most people are just partisan. It's like favoring one football team over another over very arbitrary reasons. I don't think they realize that all politicans are crooks, but Ron Paul is different. Most people in colleges are "liberal" because they're "do-gooders" who like the government to take care of them from cradle to grave so they'll favor Democrats more (also, supporting Democrats is stereotypically the young and hip thing to do). They probably don't care much for liberty, in actuality.

[hard@work]

Because the Republican party betrayed young people a long time ago.

[Shii]

The Republican party hasn't offered a message of hope since Reagan 1980, and even Reagan tripled the national debt behind our backs. Since then it's been constant fearmongering, and college students can no longer even imagine the possibility of having a second party to vote for. The big govt/small govt debate has been long forgotten.

[johngr]

Colleges and universities were taken over by communists in the 1930s. Plug "Frankfurt School" into your favorite search engine. Better yet, http://www.newtotalitarians.com/FrankfurtSchool.html

[awigo50]

http://indoctrinate-u.com/pages/welcome.html

[XanthosDeia]

In words dubiously attributed to Winston Churchill:
"Any man who is under 30, and is not a liberal, has no heart; and any man who is over 30, and is not a conservative, has no brains."

[hard@work]

Colleges and universities were taken over by communists in the 1930s. Plug "Frankfurt School" into your favorite search engine. Better yet, http://www.newtotalitarians.com/FrankfurtSchool.html

It doesn't matter. The Republican party has shafted young people time and time again. Liberty was left behind in the name of social control and so-called "social conservatism". Young people get that "Family Values" is a hippocracy supported by hippocrits and fools. When a parent, husband or wife, cannot stay home with their children to educate and care for them, be involved with their schooling, mentor and raise them due to the absolute necessity of a dual income the young people know. They were raised in this tragedy we call an economy. They were raised in broken homes or with friends and family from broken homes. They know legislation does not instill virtue.

I can list twenty examples of how the Republicans have betrayed the youth of this country. And finally we have a paleoconservative making a show talking about what is important to the youth as they look forward to taking the reigns of our country.

The sooner our more elder members of society realize that they have allowed the Democrats to take the moral high ground by abandoning the youth the better. We have allowed the Democratic party to soak up the youth movements in the name of socialism disguised as morality. And we have abandoned the cause of Liberty, our one true moral defense against any government control.

[Mortikhi]

Its because they havent been in the real world yet.

[Zarxrax]

I have personally never experienced the overt liberalism of college campuses that everyone is always talking about. My only explanation is that perhaps it just varies from college to college. I have attended 2 universities and a community college, and never felt like a liberal agenda was being pressed on me. Sure, I have had a lot of openly liberal professors (almost entirely in liberal studies classes), I've also had a few rather conservative professors (primarily in business classes). I've seen conservative politicians campaigning on campuses, and I've seen preachers coming out and spreading the gospel. No professor has ever made me feel like I had to agree with their perspective on things. One of the most liberal teacher's I have had made us watch a Michael Moore film "Roger and Me". I wrote a paper expressing my counter-viewpoint, and I received an A for it.

The other day, I noticed someone had written Ron Paul messages in chalk all throughout campus. It made me feel really good to see this kind of thing :)

[VoteRonPaul2008]

I'm a "college liberal" I'm extemely far two the left on almost every issue and for me it was a bit weriod to be voting for a republican..

Here are some tips that may work;

Tell them how Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama both support the war with Iraq and may not be able to bring the troops home by 2013.. possibly later

Both haven't ruled out the option of using strikes against Iran, if we strike them.. they have nukes they can strike us back.. Russia backs them.. then there is a DRAFT that effects young people.. Warn them about this..

Next Hillary and Obama only support civil unions not gay marriges..

Paul voted against Bush's amendment banning gay marriges.. and will leave it open to the states.. so in some states gay marrige may be legalized..



Talk about how the democrats plan to raise taxes and continue to outsource jobs by supporting organizations like NAFTA... by the time my generation gets out of college people there won't be very many jobs


Hope that works lol..

[rodent]

I've been working on promoting Ron Paul on my campus with my group and we have had some success recruiting potential voters there. However, many times people just ignore me once they find out that Ron Paul is a Republican. They don't care that he's antiwar or that he's against the neocon agenda, all they care about is that he's a Republican. They say they won't ever vote for a Republican.

At times we have to work with the student government in order to get something accomplished. I found out almost immediately that if you want to bring a Republican to campus and give a speech, the student government will barely give you the time of day. They are a very, very liberal crowd and they only work hard to bring liberal candidates over here to speak.

I imagine that this is pretty common at other campuses. Why do you think that is? What makes liberalism so attractive to college environments?


The Ivy League is the worst for this. There's no thought behind the rhetoric, either.

I got accused of being a Nazi because I said I didn't value multiculturalism and diversity. I think they're false virtues. You shouldn't be forced to mix with people of different cultures unless you genuinely see real reasons to interact, benefit, or trade. Forced integration is terrible, and I am not sure why the leftists on campus think we need to mix.

Personally, I think the reason so many leftists are afraid of not supporting multiculturalism is because they have some kind of inferiority complex. I find multiculturalism programs to be downright offensive and wrong. Likewise, I don't support the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and I also don't like "Equal Opportunity Employment."

Note the fact that I'm not white. I'd just rather see a "whites only" sign on diners so I know who not to give my money to. Today, you end up giving your money to racists and then get to suffer through crap service. I say cut the crap and bring back the "whites only" private establishments. Doesn't it make sense to know who's playing what cards, and shape our economic decisions accordingly?

There's no logic and reasoning behind forced integration. It's not as if a whites-only diner would turn around after legislation and provide equal quality service to non-whites. The laws change nothing, so we shouldn't hide behind big government leftist stupidity.

Unfortunately, there are a lot of backwards big-government ideas on campus. It's mind-blowing how little these people question what they're told.

[noxagol]

Watch this video (http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-7373201783240489827&q=norman+dodd&total=134&start=0&num=10&so=0&type=search&plindex=0)

[Goldwater Conservative]

The self-guilt and/or egotism of children of privilege.

And there's at least one way to find balance (and maybe even a libertarian tilt) in college: take economics courses.

[partypooper]

The Ivy League is the worst for this.

oh, so true. the atmosphere is pure poison - if you are not a liberal/communist your social career is over. i haven't seen a single ron paul flyer on my campus that was not put up by me.

[Matt Collins]

many times people just ignore me once they find out that Ron Paul is a Republican. They don't care that he's antiwar or that he's against the neocon agenda, all they care about is that he's a Republican. They say they won't ever vote for a Republican.They are the neoliberals just like the neocons. Both "neo" ideologies are logical fallacies.

True conservatism is actually very different from the current GOP. And true liberalism (classical liberals) is nothing like what is the current Democrat Party. Libertarianism incorporates both conservatism and classical liberalism.


I admit there are many many many close minded conservatives (neocons) out there, but when I was in college a couple of years back the most close-minded people I knew called themselves "liberal" which was a joke. Modern day liberalism is an embarrassment to real liberalism.

Down with groupthink! ;)

[xao]

Colleges and universities were taken over by communists in the 1930s. Plug "Frankfurt School" into your favorite search engine. Better yet, http://www.newtotalitarians.com/FrankfurtSchool.html

This is the exact answer to the question.

Marxists have taken over most school systems. They stifle debate and if you say something controversial, you are expelled. They don't want you to question Israel, Foreign policy, re-verse racism, etc. etc. Orwell(eric arthur blair) was correct.

[xao]

They are the neoliberals just like the neocons. Both "neo" ideologies are logical fallacies.

True conservatism is actually very different from the current GOP. And true liberalism (classical liberals) is nothing like what is the current Democrat Party. Libertarianism incorporates both conservatism and classical liberalism.


I admit there are many many many close minded conservatives (neocons) out there, but when I was in college a couple of years back the most close-minded people I knew called themselves "liberal" which was a joke. Modern day liberalism is an embarrassment to real liberalism.

Down with groupthink! ;)

True, everyone has some liberal and conservative ideas in them. No one is just one way only.

The whole entire goal of the MSM and Marxist Frankfurt school style colleges is to get us to pick a side of liberal and conservative so that we are fighting against eachother, while the thieves(them) continually throw away our rights and stifle debate.

Schools are essentially grooming you NOT to think or question things or to speak out against controversial things. They want you to be a Mcromney goober or a socialist hillary fanboy.

[rfbz]

I think the main reason a lot of young people become liberals is this: Republicans are viewed as the structured (but often flawed) establishment. Therefore if you have a little anti-establishment sentiment in you, the only other option is for you to be a liberal (not exactly true of course, but this could be the perception). These aren't necessarily people who take time to look deeply into the philosophies. But they're people seeking out an alternative to the often flawed status quo. And it's the younger people who more often have more anti-establishment leanings. You could think of it as a phase, but not always of course. I'm not saying all young liberals are stupid and don't really know what it is to be a liberal, but I do think that's why someone would start looking into it at least as an alternative to conservatism.

It's kind of like the teenagers who had Christianity shoved down their throats so much that they rebel and get into witchcraft or something. It's not so much that witchcraft is something they'd naturally be drawn to, but it's something other than what they've gotten sick of.

If the country was run by liberals, you might see young people being more conservative.

This is just my opinion though, could be wrong.

[Tsoman]

In humanities classes, the courses seem to hinge on the concept of guilt.

PC Democrat Liberalism revolves around guilt. Hence the connection between college and liberalism.

[Brutus]

The Anti-Capitalist Mentality, Ludwig Von Mises

[rfbz]

In humanities classes, the courses seem to hinge on the concept of guilt.

PC Democrat Liberalism revolves around guilt. Hence the connection between college and liberalism.

The sociology class I took in college was like that. It was like the whole premise of the class was that we were all racist and sexist and didn't care enough about other people. I honestly went in there thinking it would be a more scientific type class. I was pretty disappointed.

[werdd]

Because its a bunch of dumb kids that have no real workforce experiance, whos parents are paying for them. Then the professors are funded by the goverment, so obviously they like their paychecks.

[Tsoman]

The sociology class I took in college was like that. It was like the whole premise of the class was that we were all racist and sexist and didn't care enough about other people. I honestly went in there thinking it would be a more scientific type class. I was pretty disappointed.

yep. All you have to do in these types of classes is repeat words such as these:

discrimination
socioeconomic
class system
homogeneity
hegemony
xenophobia
exploitation
colonialism
racism
diversity
consumerism
blah
blah
and
blah

[xao]

I think the main reason a lot of young people become liberals is this: Republicans are viewed as the structured (but often flawed) establishment. Therefore if you have a little anti-establishment sentiment in you, the only other option is for you to be a liberal (not exactly true of course, but this could be the perception). These aren't necessarily people who take time to look deeply into the philosophies. But they're people seeking out an alternative to the often flawed status quo. And it's the younger people who more often have more anti-establishment leanings. You could think of it as a phase, but not always of course. I'm not saying all young liberals are stupid and don't really know what it is to be a liberal, but I do think that's why someone would start looking into it at least as an alternative to conservatism.

This is just my opinion though, could be wrong.


That's a good point. And I see and read a lot about how youth are rebelling against the neo-liberal establishment BIG time now that the neo-liberals have become "the man".

turns about fair play eh? time to dump both failed constructs and think for yourself.

[Cowlesy]

I guess I have a bit of a different viewpoint, which is just my personal observation and probably not reflective of anyone else.

In business, being very collaborative and thriving in a "work well with others" environment is extremely important. The abilities to negotiate and compromise are paramount.

I went to an extremely liberal institution---in fact it was a "Liberal Arts" College. To me, the phrase "Those who can't do, teach" had a lot of meaning.

A lot of professors are idealists, and in the world of business where sometimes you need to shutup to unite people and to get things done, idealism fails. It is not that idealism is a bad idea, but the "real world" as opposed to the "academic world", is not the best place to "educate" those who don't agree with you.

My economics degree was heavily based on marx/hegel and the heterodoxical-umass amherst approach to economics. But my professors gave me high marks on exams when I'd give a well-thought out argument that was contrary to their personal opinions.

Perhaps I just had wonderful professors who truly believed in the discourse, whether or not their students in the end came into agreement with their line of thought.

[navi]

The Ivy League is the worst for this. There's no thought behind the rhetoric, either.

I got accused of being a Nazi because I said I didn't value multiculturalism and diversity. I think they're false virtues. You shouldn't be forced to mix with people of different cultures unless you genuinely see real reasons to interact, benefit, or trade. Forced integration is terrible, and I am not sure why the leftists on campus think we need to mix.

Personally, I think the reason so many leftists are afraid of not supporting multiculturalism is because they have some kind of inferiority complex. I find multiculturalism programs to be downright offensive and wrong. Likewise, I don't support the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and I also don't like "Equal Opportunity Employment."

Note the fact that I'm not white. I'd just rather see a "whites only" sign on diners so I know who not to give my money to. Today, you end up giving your money to racists and then get to suffer through crap service. I say cut the crap and bring back the "whites only" private establishments. Doesn't it make sense to know who's playing what cards, and shape our economic decisions accordingly?

There's no logic and reasoning behind forced integration. It's not as if a whites-only diner would turn around after legislation and provide equal quality service to non-whites. The laws change nothing, so we shouldn't hide behind big government leftist stupidity.

Unfortunately, there are a lot of backwards big-government ideas on campus. It's mind-blowing how little these people question what they're told.

I agree with your views on forced multiculturalism and diversity and I'm also a minority. I don't support affirmative action or anti-discrimination laws and they should not exist in a truly free society. This is something that will be incredibly difficult to sell to people, especially liberals, because they see this as inherently racist. Liberals have an obsession over political correctness and it is something that is preventing a lot of progress to occur because people hold on to the belief that there is a right not to be offended when in fact there is none.

[johngr]

In humanities classes, the courses seem to hinge on the concept of guilt.

PC Democrat Liberalism revolves around guilt. Hence the connection between college and liberalism.

Much of pc, multiculturalism and anti-racism is indistinguishable from religion. A totalitarian religion that makes fundamentalist Christianity look like Taoism.

[wildflower]

I have personally never experienced the overt liberalism of college campuses that everyone is always talking about. My only explanation is that perhaps it just varies from college to college. I have attended 2 universities and a community college, and never felt like a liberal agenda was being pressed on me. Sure, I have had a lot of openly liberal professors (almost entirely in liberal studies classes), I've also had a few rather conservative professors (primarily in business classes). I've seen conservative politicians campaigning on campuses, and I've seen preachers coming out and spreading the gospel. No professor has ever made me feel like I had to agree with their perspective on things. One of the most liberal teacher's I have had made us watch a Michael Moore film "Roger and Me". I wrote a paper expressing my counter-viewpoint, and I received an A for it.

The other day, I noticed someone had written Ron Paul messages in chalk all throughout campus. It made me feel really good to see this kind of thing :)

I went to San Francisco State university, and I had a few teachers that seemed to be outright Marxists. I had one class (I think it was a political science class) and I was shocked at what was being taught to these impressionable kids (I had taken some time off so I was a little older than them) It definitely had a left-wing bias, and the teacher had subversive views that came across.

So...I think schools have been used (just like the media is used) to indoctrinate (as others have already said.)