I’m a Jumbo and a Conservative

Yes, we exist on campus

The first day I arrived at Tufts, my father looked around, studied the demeanor and clothing of my fellow Jumbos and said, “The only way you’ll survive amongst these liberals and atheists is if you find yourself a Catholic and Republican girlfriend.”

Though his intentions were noble, he was wrong in realizing why I had come to Tufts. I didn’t come to Tufts because it was a high-ranking school, or because it was close to a city, although those are definitely added benefits. I came to Tufts for the most banally Jumbo reason of all: to step of of my comfort zone. I came to an environment of Socratic thinkers, Free Birds, cross-fitters, and cross-faders. A skeptical and inquisitive environment of people with a mission to prove others wrong, from their high school teachers and the Brown admissions office to the political establishment and the religions of old.

And I say this with the utmost respect and admiration: I am proud to be among you.

However, as diverse as our campus claims to be, political diversity is scarce.  I specifically remember a moment where I was going through the maze that was the Club Fair, searching for the table of a Republican or Conservative Club. I found one-too-many comedy troupes, various teams for fictional sports (I’m talking about you, Quidditch), and what appears to be one group for each topic of the liberal agenda and each candidate.

But no Republican Club. Just an unofficial group of closet-Conservatives, whom I’ve only seen together when the large society of Democrats on campus whooped them in a tournament of Beer Olympics.

In classes, professors often infantilize Republicans and many make jokes or derogatory statements about candidates, which have little-to-no relevance to the subject of the lectures. I was especially amazed at how in Globalization, a class that strives to highlight the importance of both diversity and tolerance in the world, the professor is so keen on putting a joke about Donald Trump or Ted Cruz in each of his lectures, alienating the conservative ears in the audience.

In one lecture, the professor even alluded to the idea that Republicans have a vampiric desire to take money from the lower class.

What feels like the majority of the student body and all of the professors support the Democratic party, meaning many Jumbos stepped out of their comfort zones, and some, environments where they didn’t feel so comfortable, to enter an echo chamber.

Many times since I’ve arrived, I’ve had to represent my entire party in debates and conversations among both friends and classmates, putting my ideas to the test. Many of my peers have entertained the possibility of my ideas being right or at least valid, making for constructive conversation, while many others have engaged in these arguments with the already preconceived notion that anything I say will most probably be wrong.

And many times I have been wrong. I’ve made bold claims that have either been anecdotal or appeals to probability, both of which I’ve come to learn are fallacies. Thus, I’ve accepted defeat in many arguments and have come to interpret certain topics differently and view different ideas in a new light. Some would say that I’ve been “liberalized.”

However, after many of these arguments, I’ve also reinforced my conservative stance on many other issues. This would never have been possible had I not found a contrarian point of view to have a friendly discourse with.

The problem with the PC culture, both here at Tufts and in the rest of the world, is quite simple. The problem is people have grown so intolerant of intolerance that they steer clear of places known to preach it, afraid to hear things that they neither believe in nor respect.

We are exposed only to how our like-minded media services show the other side to be. And even this, many times, are short snippets of footage grouped together with pop-culture references to evoke particular responses and reactions. Yes, I’m talking about you, NowThis. You too, Watters’ World.

As I was wrong for appealing to anecdotes or probability, I believe everyone is at fault for building these beliefs of what defines a Republican or a Democrat. And we should all act as many of my wonderful peers have: entertaining the possibility of the other side being right. 

The truth is, Bernie Sanders does not want to ruin our country. And neither does Donald Trump (I think.) Deep down, they want what we all want. To make this country run with the utmost efficiency. They just have different ideas on how to fix it.

And remember, it’s pretty hard to call someone wrong if you haven’t really heard what they have to say.

Or in Tufts’ case, if they’re not represented in the student body to begin with.

More
Tufts University