A recent poll of college students at Brown University found that most students do not identify as conservative and that those who do are uncomfortable sharing their opinions publicly.
The poll was conducted by the Brown Daily Herald, the student newspaper, and found that only 0.8 percent of students identify as “very conservative,” and 5.3 percent identify as “somewhat conservative,” on a campus with about 11,000 students. Another 13.3 percent identify as moderate, 41.1 percent identify as “somewhat liberal or progressive,” and 36 percent identify as “very liberal or progressive.”
When asked about how comfortable they are sharing their political beliefs in public, nearly 72 percent of students who were “very or somewhat conservative” said they are afraid to share their opinions in social settings. By comparison, 40.2 percent of liberal or progressive-identifying respondents said the same, along with about 37 percent of those who were very liberal or progressive.
More than half of conservative students said they are uncomfortable sharing political opinions in class, a rate twice as high as liberal students. The poll also found that about 70 percent of students believe it is important that their friends share the same political perspectives.
The Herald interviewed students who said their peers have experienced discomfort when sharing views on campus out of fear of social ostracization, which they said is particularly true for conservative students who believe that fellow students are less likely to share opinions with them.
Student Gray Bittker, who described himself as fairly moderate and slightly right-leaning, said he was not surprised by the results. He explained that his friends are concerned “they would be ostracized and would lose a lot of friends” if those around them found out they were conservative, calling it a “very real fear.”
