“If you’re not a liberal at 20, you have no heart,” the saying goes. However, for those in their 20s who are conservative, identifying as such may be problematic amongst their peers and in the classroom. This begs the question: Should conservatives even show up?
Let’s look at the data. According to a University of California, Los Angeles, annual freshman survey, only about 22 percent of students identified as conservative. However, in 2012, the Harvard Political Review surveyed college students and found that 36 percent backed Republican Mitt Romney for president.
Why has the number of conservatives on campus decreased? Some may assume a more liberal wave of young people, but could it possibly be because young conservatives want to avoid a biased education altogether?
These are tough questions to answer. Obviously, younger generations tend to be more liberal, but this monolithic thought culture could also be deterring conservative students from attending college.
A recent survey from the Pew Research Center found that 45 percent of Republicans and right-leaning independents believe colleges and universities have a negative effect on the country. On the other side, 72 percent of Democrats and left-leaning independents believe college has a positive effect on the country. It should not be surprising that many conservative parents are suggesting their kids go to trade schools or straight into the workforce.
Mike Rowe, host of the show “Dirty Jobs,” has been a major advocate for skipping college and attending vocational schools instead, suggesting that millennials can be successful without obtaining a college degree. By doing this, Rowe claims that students avoid paying an astronomical amount of money for tuition and students avoid a biased education.
The College Savings Foundation conducts an annual survey for high school students. In 2014, the survey revealed that 21 percent of high school students were considering enrolling in a vocational school. In 2017, the survey revealed that 39 percent of high school students were considering vocational schools. These numbers are only expected to increase in the coming years. Additionally, the average person saves $94,000 when choosing to attend a trade school over a university, according to Lifehacker. This begs the $94,000 question: Is a college education really worth it?
In 2016, Olivia Legaspi, a student at Haverford College starred in a PragerU video where she stated, “I learned more at McDonald’s than at college.”
The difference in cost between schools as well as the liberal bias entrenched in curriculum makes trade schools more appealing for students. Conservative students find this especially appealing because they have heard the endless stories of liberal bias and abuse on campus — including students being kicked out of class, ridiculed, and made fun of just for sharing their beliefs.
So are conservative students choosing to avoid college? The numbers suggest that more of them are choosing trade schools instead.
