Robert George, alumni hold panel on conservative community on campus

Politics professor Robert George and four recent alumni shared stories and advice with 30 students during a panel session Wednesday night in Frist Campus Center, discussing life on a campus that the panelists deemed relatively diverse but nevertheless a difficult environment for conservative students.

During the annual discussion, titled “Princeton: Most Conservative Ivy?”, the panelists talked to audience members about how to avoid what they see as the prejudice of liberal faculty members and students. They also imparted the lessons they learned as a member of a political minority, touching on everything from political debates between roommates to graduate school applications.

All of the panelists stressed how fortunate both conservative and liberal students at the University were to have what they considered an active campus conservative life.

“You’re all very lucky that you have a very vibrant conservative community here at Princeton — which is a great blessing to you, whether you’re conservative or liberal,” said Joel Alicea ’10, who was a member of the Anscombe Society and a writer for the Princeton Tory during his time at the University.

Robert Marsland ’11 agreed, adding that students were also fortunate to have “a great mix of students” at the University.

“Most of the people you meet genuinely care about the things that really matter in life,” he said.

George, who is generally seen as a leader of conservative life on campus, emphasized that conservative faculty members could act as a real support group for students who find it difficult to be outspoken about their political views on campus. There are 20 to 25 conservative faculty members on campus who are politically “out of the closet,” George said, adding that he believed University faculty members are broadly tolerant of political diversity and that incidents of professor prejudice were rare. If conflicts did develop, however, George said that he and his colleagues with similar political leanings would fight for them.

“In the unlikely event you run into any problems with any faculty members ... there are faculty members you can go to who will frankly raise hell to them,” he said.

But such situations may be less likely to arise today, explained politics lecturer Russel Nieli GS ’79. Nieli said he thinks that life has gotten easier for conservatives at the University over the years, based on conversations with his students in precept and his advisees in Mathey College.

“There’s been a dramatic change in how easy it is for people on the right to survive without feeling so beleaguered that the whole institution is against me,” he explained.

The panel also offered advice for any University conservatives feeling unwelcome on campus.

“Engage with your faith community,” former Princeton Evangelical Fellowship leader Matt Schmitz ’08 said. Meanwhile, Lauren Kustner ’11 encouraged the crowd to look for a good conservative community on campus.

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“If you’re not comfortable committing right away to getting involved in conservative organizations, talk to officers, go to a couple meetings ... stay tapped in to the dialogue,” she said.

A 2008 poll from the now defunct student polling organization Nassau Research reported that 14.9 percent of students at the University affiliated themselves with the Republican Party.