A recent survey by Brown University’s student newspaper reveals that a very small fraction of students identify as conservatives, and many of them are hesitant to voice their opinions publicly.
The Brown Daily Herald conducted the poll, which showed that merely 0.8% of the approximately 11,000 students at Brown University consider themselves “very conservative,” while 5.3% describe themselves as “somewhat conservative.” Students who identify as moderates account for 13.3% of the population. Meanwhile, those who see themselves as “somewhat liberal or progressive” make up 41.1%, and over 36% label themselves as “very liberal or progressive.”
The survey included responses from 1,369 students regarding their political views.
The Haffenreffer Museum of Anthropology, located on Brown University’s campus in Providence, Rhode Island, is shown in a photo taken on April 25, 2019. (Getty Images)
The poll also inquired about students’ comfort levels in expressing their political beliefs.
Alarmingly, nearly 72% of students identifying as “very or somewhat conservative” feel uneasy sharing their views in social settings. In contrast, 40.2% of those who are “somewhat liberal or progressive” express similar concerns, and about 37% of “very liberal or progressive” students feel the same way.
The majority of “very or somewhat conservative” students, 57.5% in total, said they are uncomfortable sharing their political opinions in class, a stark contrast to only 21.1% of “somewhat liberal or progressive” students and 26% of “very liberal or progressive” students who feel the same.
Protesters rally at Brown University in 2024. ( Joseph Prezioso / AFP)
The poll’s sample size for the question about expressing political opinions was 1,364 students.
Notably, about 70% of Brown students said it is important that their political views align with the views of their friends.
The poll also asked students about sexual orientation. When broken down by class, the results show that members of the class of 2029 identify as something other than straight at a 10.7% higher rate than students in the class of 2026. More than 44% of first-year students say they are not straight, while 33.7% of students set to graduate in the spring said the same.
People relax on a lawn on the campus of Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island, on April 25, 2019. (Getty Images)
Only 60.5% of students at Brown identify as straight, a vastly lower proportion than the public at large. By comparison, a Gallup poll released earlier this year found that more than 90% of Americans identify as straight.
Brown did not return a request for comment.
