I Wrote to My Alma Mater Seeking Tolerance for Conservatives. I’m Still Waiting for a Reply. 

I recently wrote a letter to my alma mater urging the school to embrace ideological diversity rather than pushing their liberal agenda on students. It fell on deaf ears.  

I graduated from Davidson College in May 2025 with a B.S. in biology and a plan to pursue physician assistant school. But during the fall of my senior year, I got involved in Young Americans for Freedom, a conservative student group, and began an internship with Davidsonians for Freedom of Thought and Discourse, an alumni group focused on promoting free speech and ideological balance on the Davidson College campus.  

I’ve always been conservative. While it’s true that Davidson College isn’t widely known for conservative voices, many of my peers quietly shared my convictions. But they hesitated to speak up or challenge professors’ perspectives, fearing grave consequences like getting lower grades or being ostracized by classmates and professors.  

My college experience is not uncommon.  

For years, liberal arts institutions were known for providing a diverse education offering students a multitude of learning opportunities. But a liberal arts education no longer holds the same value it once did. Now, students who attend liberal arts schools end up with leftist propaganda shoved down their throats. Once known for critical thinking, liberal arts institutions have become breeding grounds for liberal ideology—making them a dangerous place for vulnerable students.  

At Davidson College, professors are overwhelmingly liberal. According to the most recent information I could find, only 6% are registered Republicans—compared to 40% registered as Democrats. That’s a ratio of more than 7 to 1.   

And Davidson pushes its liberal agenda very aggressively.  

To name a few examples from my time there: 

• In 2024, Davidson forced all student athletes to watch a movie called, “I’m Not Racist… Am I?” and randomly called students to the microphone to discuss it in front of everyone.  

• After President Donald Trump’s election, many classes were canceled. In those not canceled, time was given to “grieve,” as if we had lost a loved one. 

• My biology professor told our class that a woman’s research was important because of her sexual identity rather than her ideas.  

• During an introductory biology course, another professor told us that if any of us got pregnant, we should talk to her, and she would help us “handle” the situation.  

• The campus features a “Wellness Wendy”—a vending machine for sex items—with a poster attached informing students that student health insurance will cover the cost of and assist with transportation to an abortion. The poster says to avoid pregnancy help centers, which counsel women against having abortions.  

• A coalition of students and faculty accused Young Americans for Freedom of harassment for distributing pamphlets that dispelled myths about Palestine. Those that brought this accusation against YAF refused to share their identity. The so-called harassment pamphlets simply sat on a table. No one was forced to pick them up, open them, or read them. But the consequences of the accusation included sitting in front of a Code of Responsibility panel—sure to be biased—who would decide the fate of the club.  

These are just a few of a long list of examples. It saddens me to think of the many stories conservative students across the country could share. Because—let’s face it—liberal arts schools are just liberal. Instead of fostering open debate and teaching students how to think, professors push their own views, causing division and discouraging genuine learning. 

In my letter to Davidson, I urged my college professors to encourage thoughtful, respectful dialogue and help ensure that all students feel free to speak, question, and engage without fear of their grades suffering or facing rejection. That’s the American way—respecting fundamental rights guaranteed to us by the Constitution. I hope that when professors read my letter they will humbly wrestle with difficult questions, modeling the very curiosity and analytical rigor that higher education claims to foster.

The classes that I grew in most were the classes in which the professors played devil’s advocate—challenging arguments and demanding reasoning behind students’ positions. Though these courses were undoubtedly the most rigorous, that very rigor defines the challenging, growth-focused experience liberal arts students deserve.  

Some of my most meaningful conversations at Davidson were with people whose perspectives differed from mine. These discussions stretched me to defend my beliefs thoughtfully, not only strengthening my convictions but also deepening my understanding of other points of view.  

Thoughtful inquiry must begin with professors. When faculty consistently question assumptions, it signals to students that intellectual exploration isn’t just encouraged—it’s nonnegotiable.

I didn’t receive a response to my letter, but when I asked for comment before publishing this op-ed, Jay Pfeiffer, director of media relations at Davidson, said, “Davidson College is founded on the principle of free inquiry and a commitment to the dignity of every person. We work every day to make sure our students engage with ideas that challenge the assumptions and beliefs they carried on to campus.”   

I encourage other students who are fed up with liberal institutions to write letters like mine to their professors and presidents. We cannot stand for indoctrination.  

Liberal arts professors have been dictators over their students’ beliefs for far too long. Students and their parents are the ones paying for this education, so they have the responsibility to hold educators to a higher standard—true freedom of thought. 

Despite my professors stifling ideology, I loved my time in college. I made lifelong friends, I found a passion for politics, I played sports, and I deepened my Christian faith. I hope that future students at Davidson and elsewhere love college too, but I hope they get to experience what I mostly did not—true discussion, not an ideological echo chamber.  

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