Staff Editorial | Creation of College Republicans would benefit political diversity on campus

When Vassar College is categorically ranked by the Princeton Review each year, it is almost always a contender for the list “Students Most Nostalgic for Bill Clinton.” While many members of the Vassar community relish the College’s longstanding reputation as a hotbed of far-left thinking, the unavoidable consequence is the prevention of political discourse between opposing viewpoints.

We see the creation of a Vassar College chapter of the College Republicans as a step towards providing a venue for more conservative voices on campus that will help those of a more liberal mindset to engage in real debate. Only when our ideas have been earnestly challenged by an opposing point of view can we be pushed to think more critically and gain further conviction in our beliefs. Additionally, we can learn to respect the viewpoints of others that could move us to greater compromise in the future, rather than continue in the existing partisanship that often inhibits progress.

While the Vassar College Democrats may have one of the most impressive e-mail contact lists of any student group on campus, to view Vassar’s political culture as monolithically liberal ignores the nuance and diversity of students’ political views. A typical criticism of the national Democratic Party is that much disagreement occurs within its ranks, thereby fraying its unity; likewise, identifying as a Democrat on this campus does not automatically ensure that a student agrees with the hundreds of other proud Democrats at Vassar. While we acknowledge the differences among Vassar liberals, we must concurrently allow College conservaties greater latitude for their diverse opinions.

The only organization that has provided a political counter-voice at Vassar in recent years is the Moderate/Independent/Conser-vative Alliance (MICA), a group that must elide three separate political outlooks because of the relatively few students who express non-Democratic views. On other campuses, these students could easily belong to three separate organizations, and yet here independents that do not adhere to any one party, moderates that take neither a “liberal” nor a “conservative” view 100 percent of the time, and those that lean further to the right must band together to find a different outlet for political expression.

During the admissions process, the College seeks to create incoming classes of diverse backgrounds by balancing factors such as socioeconomic status, ethnic and racial diversity, geographical location, and academic interests. But what about diversity of thought? No student is benefited by being surrounded by peers that think the same way, because this is not how the world outside of Vassar functions. In Vassar classrooms, opposing viewpoints are encouraged, if not demanded, as part of the educational environment. But at the same time, Vassar students who have a minority opinion are discouraged from speaking their minds outside of the classroom, and prospective students from more conservative backgrounds might find a lack of outlet off-putting in a manner that could influence their decision of whether or not to attend Vassar or another institution that allows for more options.

In fall of 2005, MICA’s publication, The Imperialist, caused controversy when students called for the Vassar Student Association (VSA) Council to reprimand the organization for racist and sexist material. In light of The Imperialist controversy, it is foreseeable that some students might recoil at the idea of a resurgence of a conservative voice on campus. However, most students can agree that dynamic debate is essential for intellectual growth, and can only be achieved through political diversity.

The Staff Editorial represents at least a two-thirds majority of the Editorial Board.