{"id":1484,"date":"2017-06-01T08:00:22","date_gmt":"2017-06-01T13:00:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/thesocietypages.org\/trot\/?p=1484"},"modified":"2017-06-01T10:52:27","modified_gmt":"2017-06-01T15:52:27","slug":"conservative-college-students-as-a-campus-minority","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thesocietypages.org\/trot\/2017\/06\/01\/conservative-college-students-as-a-campus-minority\/","title":{"rendered":"Conservative College Students as a Campus Minority?"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Photo by Jirka Matousek, Flickr CC<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Today we are featuring a guest post by students at Oberlin College, who submitted a #TROT post as part of <\/span>an active learning exercise<\/span><\/a> for their political sociology class, taught by Professor Christi Smith. If you or your students would like to submit a post, please email <\/span>tsp@thesocietypages.org<\/span><\/a>. \u00a0 \u00a0<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

In today\u2019s contentious political climate, campus political environments have become hotbeds of activism. In addition to the recent slew of (sometimes violent) demonstrations protesting conservative speakers on campuses, some <\/span>conservative students report<\/span><\/a> that they feel physically endangered by the fervor of their liberal peers. This is leading many to keep a low profile about their political views, or some to even transfer. Others, however, are becoming highly <\/span>defensive, polarizing, and contrarian<\/span><\/a> in their political views, and <\/span>are more likely to become a \u201cfirebrand\u201d of conservatism as a result of their experience.<\/span><\/a> Sociological research shows how these trends are not entirely new, and a college\u2019s institutional culture can shape conservatives’ attitudes and activism. <\/span><\/p>\n

We traditionally assume that young adults tend to be more liberal, and then grow more conservative as they get older. Yet political views are more contingent on the act of rebelling versus conforming. Classic sociological research shows that conservative students \u00a0in the 60s often followed the views of their parents, while more liberal students said they were actively rebelling against theirs.<\/span><\/h5>\n