Popularity contest

Re-examining what it means to be a “liberal” student

By Ben Chapman
From the March 2005 Print Edition

The results are in. This year’s freshmen class at Berkeley is more liberal than its predecessor. Should we be shocked?

According to the Fall 2004 Official Survey of Berkeley Freshmen, 45.7 percent of freshmen identify as “liberal,” compared to a measly 11.3 percent who responded “conservative.” Another 36.8 percent consider themselves middle-of-the-road.

Is the tide turning against conservatives? On the surface it would appear so. Consider this: Last year, 42.2 percent of those polled considered themselves liberal, 11.8 percent conservative, and 39.4 percent middle-of-the-road. Why such a shift in the numbers? Was it the unique political climate of 2004? Considering that the war in Iraq began in March 2003, and that debate over the issue had come to a head in September 2002, when Bush gave his infamous Iraq speech to the United Nations, that explanation seems unlikely. In fact, the “Stop the War Coalition” was formed the week after September 11, 2001. The question is, are this year’s results part of a general trend or just an erratic shift? Only next year’s results can help answer that.

Although the Berkeley NewsCenter article by Bonnie Azab Powell accompanying the survey suggests that Berkeley today is nearly as liberal as it was in 1972 — 56.5 percent liberal and 10.5 percent conservative — this may not be the case. According to the 2004 University of California Undergraduate Experience Survey, an overwhelming majority of students on campus (62.8 percent) have never attended any sort of political meeting or participated in any demonstration, while 53.1 percent of undergraduates polled said they were “not well informed” about campus issues or state and national politics.

Then consider that fact that more than half of the students polled hold some beliefs that are not generally considered liberal. For instance, 55.8 percent disagreed that marijuana should be legalized. And 57.3 percent agreed that “affirmative action in college admissions should be abolished.” With such statistics in mind, one wonders what these students really mean when they define themselves as “liberal.” They certainly did not mean liberal by Berkeley standards.

Also, the number of those who consider themselves “far left” has dropped over the past year, from 6.1 percent among all undergraduates in 2003 to 5.6 percent among freshmen in 2004. The Berkeley revolution seems to have burned out as of late, but it doesn’t seem like many people care.

In fact, colleges nationwide are actually becoming more conservative. According to Brian C. Anderson, in a January 2005 editorial in the Los Angeles Times, College Republican activity has almost tripled, from about 400 College Republican chapters six years ago to about 1,148 today, boasting approximately 120,000 members. Compare that to the College Democrats, with only 900 chapters and about 100,000 members nationwide.

Back home in California, the Berkeley College Republicans are the largest political group on campus and one of the most active and outspoken, having sponsored such events as “Conservative Coming-Out Day” and “BBQ for Bush.” Yet despite all this activity, there is clearly a disconnect between Berkeley and the rest of the nation. Why?

I thought asking my fellow freshmen would help clear things up; I was wrong. Joseph Cancino, an intended business administration major from Buena Park, responded that he considers himself conservative and that his family values and upbringing have had a big impact on his political beliefs. But his friend Supaksh Gupta, an undeclared freshman from Fremont, when asked why he identifies as a liberal, could not provide any justification other than “it’s just what I believe.”

Joseph Amicangelo, undeclared, of Los Angeles, sits on the left as well. When asked why, he explained that liberals “are the least dumb” and that his friends had a huge impact on his politics. Wayne Lee, a molecular and cell biology major from Union City, identifies himself as middle-of-the-road, and when asked what impact friends and family have had upon his beliefs, he replied, “Not as much as TV!” I think I got my answer.

Surrounded by factors like P. Diddy’s “Vote or Die” campaign, Hollywood movie stars ranting against Bush, and leftist professors using the classroom as a political soapbox, is it any surprise that a majority of college freshmen, or students in general, are quick to call themselves “liberal,” even when they have very little with which to back up those beliefs?

The truth is, the results of this year’s poll don’t say enough, and the difference in the numbers between last year and the present is not that great. But more importantly, there appears to be no discernable reason for the slight shift. The only conclusion we can reach is that Berkeley students are not in step with their nationwide counterparts. How profound.

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