WASHINGTON, DC — Members of The George Washington University Chapter of Young America’s Foundation (GWYAF) recently researched the political leanings of their university professors and found substantial liberal bias in the academy. Specifically, the school’s faculty gave 92 percent of their political donations ($221,490) to Democratic candidates and a mere 8 percent ($20,500) to Republicans in the 2008 primary election. In the presidential election, the ratio is nearly the same, 91 percent to 9 percent.
These numbers make sense when viewed as an example of the academy as a whole. In the 2004 presidential election, the Yale faculty donation ratio of Kerry to Bush was 150:3. The ratio at Princeton wasn’t much different, 114:1, nor at Harvard, 406:13.
“These numbers along with the national collegiate trends such as the rejection of Western civilization, Euro-centrism, and the classical liberal arts curriculum in favor of new academic disciplines such as ‘Queer Studies’ and ‘Africana Studies’ are clear evidence that liberal bias in higher education is real and its existence today is arguably more prevalent than ever,” said Travis Korson, President of the GWYAF group.
“This rings true in my experiences,” Korson continued. “I’ve had professors openly criticize conservatives in the classroom while denying that the academy leans strongly to the left.”
The charge that the American academy forces a liberal ideology upon students has been notable levied by William F. Buckley, Jr. in God and Man at Yale. “Buckley published his book in 1951,” said Korson, “and the results of our research indicate that not much has changed in the half century since.”
GWYAF got the idea for this research from CampusReform.org.
CampusReform.org is the Leadership Institute’s comprehensive grassroots mobilization tool for liberty-loving student activists. For more information about CampusReform.org, contact Bryan Bernys at bbernys@campusreform.org or (703) 647-3380.
The George Washington University Young America’s Foundation is committed to ensuring that increasing numbers of young Americans understand and are inspired by the ideas of individual freedom, a strong national defense, free enterprise, and traditional values.
Young America’s Foundation specializes in helping young people advance conservative ideas at their schools. The GW chapter is the first university chapter in the nation, supported by the larger national organization. In the past three years, GW YAF has worked with other groups on campus to present speakers such as Tom Tancredo, John Ashcroft, David Horowitz, Dinesh D’Souza, Ann Coulter, and Newt Gingrich.
More information about GWYAF can be found at www.gwyaf.org and of national Young America’s Foundation at www.yaf.org.
