A fair education

A prolonged presence at a liberal arts university like Tufts inevitably exposes one to a number of radical views. Recent world events and a White House administration intensely hated by many have exacerbated the prevalence of such beliefs. To most of us, it should hopefully be confusing when a leader who brought down two of the world's most despicable and brutal regimes is likened to Adolf Hitler. Similarly, it is unsettling when the only solutions individuals can come up with are the kind provided by government. Downright disturbing is the only way I can describe the readiness with which our country is reshaped into an evil, stumbling, global tyrant when our record speaks volumes to the opposite. What prompts such attitudes, especially on college campuses?

Frankly, leftists do. They tend to dominate Tufts University, as they do virtually every university. Why? Maybe it's the fact that academia frequently resembles an insular bubble whose members interact among each other more than they do with the real, outside world. Or, it may be due to a self-perpetuating cycle in which one generation of leftist academics breeds the next. While the cause is debatable, the leftist campus dominance is not.

This preponderance of liberal views and consequent dearth of conservative perspectives prompts the concern that we, the students of Tufts, are not really getting the rounded education we (or our parents) are paying a very steep price for. We are making up our minds on important political issues under the frequently false assumption that we have been presented with a balanced consideration of arguments from all sides. If only the prosecutor's arguments were presented in a trial, would you consider it a fair one? As a member of the jury, would you consider yourself suitable to pass judgment in this trial? If the professors of almost all of your classes, almost all the officers of your student clubs, and almost all the people writing the news you read were conservatives.... Would you still be a liberal?

Probably not. Let's face it - if your political views are derived solely from what you hear at Tufts lectures, read in the New York Times, and poster for in your student club, the foundation of your political beliefs may not be as strong as it ought to be. Would it conceivably hurt you to be presented with the arguments of liberals and conservatives? Or do you worry that given a broader array of information you might make a different choice? One gets the impression the University does.

Convinced that a broader, more balanced, education hurts no one and benefits everyone, conservatives at Tufts are fighting on your behalf. The campus is faced with professors spewing their contempt for conservatives, angry guest lecturers blaming America for all the world's ills, rapid responses to "bias" incidents except when they are of an ideological nature, derisive Daily viewpoints, chalking advocating homosexuality, and bizarre and subversive orientation programs in which incoming freshmen are taught they need to group together to protect themselves from Tufts' masses of evil men and racist whites. While some students may agree with these views, more of us probably find them inappropriate, at the very least. This list, of course, doesn't even come close to capturing the entirety of the problem.

Contrary to the impression one might get at Tufts, issues like gay rights and radical feminism remain very much unresolved in mainstream America. Why do so many Americans oppose these agendas? Are they really all religious, homophobic sexists or have they heard a side of the story you haven't? In mainstream America, patriotism and individualism remain commendable qualities. Can so many Americans truly be intolerant, jingoistic "hicks"? A Bachelor's degree can set us apart in terms of education, but it need not do so in terms of values. The "common folk" of America have built an exceedingly successful nation, despite their lack of sophistication.

As conservatives, we've had about enough of the perpetual sidelining of our ideas, the unapologetic distortion of our beliefs, and the relentless assault on our values. It's hardly fair to anybody else in the student body either. All of us came to Tufts expecting a nonpartisan, fair-minded education that lives up to this institution's reputation.

In the following weeks the Tufts Republicans, as part of an ongoing initiative to increase their visibility and counter the vast array of coalitions, alliances, collectives, and clubs that make up the liberal authority, will be pushing hard to get the University administration to adopt what is known as the Academic Bill of Rights, a document outlining a policy of non-partisan teaching, hiring, and grading that is gaining momentum across the nation. If approved, it will represent a small but important step in the direction of true academic freedom.

You can, to a certain degree, compensate for what is being left out of your classes. The Tufts Republicans are not the only ones offering alternative political perspectives. The Primary Source continues to regularly expose campus lunacy of various sorts in print. A new student organization, Tufts Right to Arms, aims to provide differing views on the issue of firearms and 2nd amendment rights. Its activities will include off-campus gun training and on-campus, non-lethal, self defense techniques. Taken in combination with liberal campus groups, a better, more balanced education can be attained by considering the viewpoints of groups like these.

So, enhance your education today. At the very least, you'll be strengthening the foundations of your liberal beliefs. You may even find some conservatism inside you.

Nicholas Boyd is a sophomore who has not yet declared a major.