OxBlog

Monday, April 29, 2002

# Posted 9:32 AM by Dan  

JOSH, I AGREE THAT CONSERVATIVES ARE STIGMATIZED. A far higher percentage of people in his Rhodes class who are "liberal" would be willing to admit their political leanings than those who are "conservative." Why is this? Are conservatives embarrassed about their positions? Is it "cool" to be liberal in college but "uncool" to be conservative? How many of the 32 first year American Rhodies are conservative? I still think the number is low--somewhere around 6. Sure, young conservatives are creeping their way into the academy, but for each example you give, there are plenty of lefties who pack the lecture halls. Plus, most of the names you have named are foreign policy experts to whom we looked following the confusion of 9/11. One more question: are you saying that diversity in the academy is mere tokenism? The fact that colleges and universities are now filled with great non-white male Professors is good for students and society. You make it seem so zero-sum: more diversity means lower quality academia. We both know this is not true.
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