Conservatives at the University of Colorado are “in hiding because their views are made fun of by their peers. … They’re called stupid.”
This statement by an anonymous professor was read during a University of Colorado Board of Regents meeting last summer. At the meeting, the board unanimously voted to conduct a survey exploring political diversity on campus. The results are in, and they point to an overwhelmingly liberal presence on Colorado’s campus.
According to the survey, almost 60 percent of University of Colorado faculty describe themselves as liberal, compared to only about 13 percent who self-identify as conservative, The College Fix reports. Also, the study revealed that 41 percent of the university system’s professors are Democrats, compared to only 6 percent who are Republicans.
“Those aren’t good numbers, especially within the faculty community – I’d like to see this issue addressed,” said Sue Sharkey, a Republican and member of the Regent board whose call for more political diversity at the University of Colorado led to the commissioning of the survey.
Though most students found the classroom culture to be one of respect and tolerance, Sharkey also said that the board was troubled by findings that a significant portion of students (about 17 percent) were discriminated against either “sometimes” or “frequently.”
