Student conservative groups decry liberalism, political apathy on campus

Though the University's long history gives it an air of traditionalism that contributes to the school's somewhat conservative reputation, conservative groups on campus disagree with the notion that Princeton is a conservative school.

Peter Hegseth '03, publisher of the Princeton Tory, a conservative newsmagazine that prints several times each semester, said compared to the opinions of the average American, the views of University students are very liberal.

"Compared to a Harvard or a Brown, we have a conservative student body," he said, adding, however, that the leftist movements at those schools have become "very radicalized."

Allison Ball '04, president of the College Republicans, agreed.

"Obviously a lot of the student body is liberal, and obviously a lot of the student body is apathetic about politics," she said, noting that the College Republicans have between 25 and 30 active members with an e-mail list of several hundred names.

Another group, the Princeton Committee Against Terrorism, which was founded in response to the attacks of Sept. 11, calls itself a nonpartisan student group. However, most students consider PCAT and its publication, American Foreign Policy, with its hawkish views on the war on terrorism, to be right-wing.

PCAT co-founder Eric Wang '02 said the campus view of the group is indicative of the temperament of the student body.

"Probably only on college campuses would we be labeled as conservatives, because we reflect the opinion of the vast majority of the American people," Wang said.

However, Hegseth said he feels many students are perhaps more conservative at heart than they openly admit.

Perhaps the chief complaint raised by the conservative student leaders is that the University faculty tends to be liberal. They say that only a handful of professors are active conservatives.

"The faculty is absolutely more liberal than the student body," Hegseth said, citing a survey he said showed that the great majority of the faculty voted for former vice president Al Gore in the 2000 election.

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He added that while faculty members can hold strong political views and still teach in a fair manner, it is important that they keep their opinions separate from fact.

For example, he said that in classes covering the Reagan Administration, more liberal textbooks teach as fact that Reagan ruined the national economy and brought the United States to the brink of nuclear war.

Nonetheless, Ball said it is possible for professors to present material appropriately even in light of strong political convictions. "Some can do it. Some can't. Robert George does it," she said.

Despite agreeing that the faculty is unbalanced, Wang said that he has been satisfied by his experiences as a Wilson School major. "In all fairness to the faculty here, they're pretty open-minded and they do conduct their classes in a fair way."

However, Wang added that he felt graduate student preceptors are more likely to try to slant the discussion towards liberal viewpoints.

Hegseth said the other important factor is that there are simply more liberals than conservatives in academia.

Academia is a self-selecting community, and money might play a role in that choice, Wang said. "Liberals might be willing to give up some of that to pursue their academic studies," he said.

Ben Sharma '03, editor-in-chief of the left-wing campus publication the Progressive Review, said, "If you're a conservative, you're going to place more value on different aspects of your career — going into the professions."

Ball said academia cannot exist without liberalism. "Academia is liberal — it's inherent within the definition of academia," she said.

In certain instances, however, Wang said the recruitment of liberal professors is part of the agenda for University administrators. He pointed to the University's efforts to lure African-American studies professor Cornel West GS '80 from Harvard.

"I cannot imagine Shirley Tilghman or Amy Gutmann going out of their way to court a conservative professor in that way," Wang said.

There are multiple reasons for the perceived liberal slant of the faculty, Hegseth said. University officials might be more likely to hire liberal faculty because "you want to hire people who think the same ways as you," he said. "If you've got people at the gate who know what they want, that tradition is going to continue."

University spokesperson Marilyn Marks GS '86 denied that charge, saying in an e-mail, "Princeton does not take political ideology into account in hiring faculty."

Dean of the Faculty Joseph Taylor could not be reached for comment.

Hegseth said he believes the administration tends to favor certain political movements on campus. "The administration has ties to [liberal] thought processes," he said.

He pointed to the University's co-sponsorship of NatiRonal Organization for Women president Patricia Ireland's campus appearance. Hegseth described Ireland as a radical leftist and said the University would not do the same for an equally conservative speaker like Pat Buchanan.

However, Ball said the College Republicans have had a very good relationship with the Office of the Dean of Undergraduate Students.

"They've been very supportive of the events that we've sponsored," she said, disagreeing with Hegseth. She said she felt the College Republicans have been treated as well as any other campus club.

Hegseth's Tory was critical of OWL for going from an organization of leadership to one that is political and tries to speak for all campus women on issues such as reproductive rights.

Ball said she considers President Tilghman a liberal. "Of course, in choosing diversity as something that they think is inherently valuable, that is a very liberal position," she said of Tilghman's agenda.

She also said Tilghman's position on bioethical issues has a leftist premise.

On the definition of diversity, Hegseth said he differs greatly from the administration.

"Diversity is not found in diversity of race but rather in diversity of thought," he said, criticizing the administration for what he considers to be its excessive emphasis on race in the admissions process.

Wang said he wishes the University would focus more on promoting a diversity of ideological viewpoints. "I hope that applicants' ideology would be thrown into the mix," he said. "Ideological diversity is something that conservatives have been stressing for a long time. It should be just as important as race, for example."

The ideological lines between liberals and conservatives may have been blurred by the events of Sept. 11, Sharma said, noting that outspoken liberal Sean Wilentz advises PCAT, which Sharma called "an alliance of conservatives and hawkish liberals."

Sharma said such collaborations can be beneficial. "I think that's good for the campus, intellectually and politically; both sides have good ideas. If you have to listen to what the other side has to say you might change your mind on things."

Even though campus conservatives and liberals may disagree on many issues, "If you're not willing to debate your opinions you ought not to be having them," he added.

While the Tory, the College Republicans and PCAT have much in common, lumping them all together as "conservative groups" would be inaccurate, Ball said, explaining that each political group on campus has its own ideology.

"The left is not a monolith, nor is the right," Sharma agreed.

Ball made a distinction between her group and the Tory, emphasizing that Republican politics are not necessarily "conservative."

"All Republicans are never going to agree on all issues," she explained.

However, Ball and Hegseth agreed on the value of the fundamental conservative thought process that stresses the search for universal ideals rather than relativism.

Even though they consider themselves an ideological minority on a generally liberal campus, conservatives say they are able to speak out and make their voices heard on campus.

"There's a general respect for ideas here," Hegseth said. "There's an ability for the conservative to speak out and not get shut down."

Ball and Wang agreed their primary complaint was not with the predomination of liberal groups but of general political apathy among students.

Ball said the goal of the College Republicans is not so much to attract those who have no previous interest in politics but to provide a resource for those who already do.

"People don't have time, by and large, to care and be involved," Ball said. "There's a real 'what have you done for me lately?' attitude," she said.

Wang agreed students on campus are relatively apolitical. "I don't think that the motto is reflected in the student body — students here are not very public minded or public spirited," he said, referring to a University motto: Princeton in the nation's service and in the service of all nations.

The insulated "Ivory Tower" atmosphere of the campus might have something to do with students' lack of concern for politics, Wang added.

However, Hegseth said many students might in fact be more conservative than they would be willing to admit.

Among the student body, Hegseth said, there is a "large smattering of silently conservative [students] in that they're afraid to speak up about it, afraid to take a stand in any way."