Coming to the U.S. as a student from Russia, what I expected the most was genuine freedom of speech. However, this turned out not to be the case quite so much as I presumed. Even though the restriction is incomparable to what I experienced in my country, I would still say that the environment here is far from being ideal when it comes to the reception of unpopular viewpoints.
When I read Nicolás Millán Prieto’s article about how conservative views have been stifled on campus, my first thought was, “I should’ve written that.” My main incentive to come to Wesleyan from an authoritarian country was studying at a school that genuinely values different perspectives, which Russian schools often lack in my experience. All media sources and educational materials are controlled by the government in Russia, leaving no room for open discussion and criticism of the state agenda. Discourse felt policed, and dissenting opinions in discussions and conversations were impossible to find. This discourse was unproductive and profoundly unsatisfying to me.
Yet now as I am writing this, it doesn’t seem to me that I am describing Russia anymore, even though I am. As a student body, we have locked ourselves in a similar bubble by free will, not allowing conservative opinions to be heard, considered, and productively debated. So I decided to discuss this problem with some of my conservative friends on campus and ask them direct questions which could elaborate upon Nicolás’ point, shed some light on the actual experience of being a conservative on campus, and reveal what we as a student body could do about this issue. I interviewed four students who identify as conservative and are from different social circles. The fact that some asked to stay anonymous for this piece demonstrates quite well in itself that their voices are not heard on campus.
Most of them reported that the primary cause of their discomfort is not institutional policy, but the social pressure that stems from a student body that doesn’t always accept alternative points of view.
“I know the reaction I will get collectively in a classroom setting,” one interviewee said. “An opinion not aligned with that of most students at Wesleyan will cause some form of issue.”
Another interviewee corroborated the same point relating social backlash as a possible deterrent to voicing their sociopolitical opinions. They stated that it would not necessarily lead to blacklisting, “but at least alienation in some way, being an outsider.”
Austin Bosch ’26 noted that opinions that he does not even consider conservative have received backlash in his classes.
“I get the feeling that a lot of students on campus are prone to interpret things in what I consider an unfavorable way,” Bosch said. “For example, one of my professors was lecturing about the educational culture in different countries, and the only response I’ve heard from students was calling it ‘insane’ and implying that the professor was racist for saying Japan places more emphasis on getting an education than the U.S. does, and that this helps account for our different educational outcomes. Our professor never said anything to the effect of ‘Japanese people are inherently….’ If stating that Japan is culturally different from the U.S. is all but racist, then how might my opinions on affirmative action, abortion, or transgender issues be taken?…If I were to voice my opinion on very contentious issues, it may not go well, at the very least given social ramifications that I would have to live with for the next several years.”
Gabriel Diaz ’26 noted that he has been frequently afraid to share his perspective in his classes.
“It’s not so much that I’m afraid to share my viewpoints,” Diaz said. “I just have a feeling that they’re going to get shut down right away.…There’s free speech on paper, but in reality you will get dirty looks if you say something that’s potentially more conservative.”
Diaz also shared a story of how he evaluates the composition of opinions within groups he is a part of before speaking up.
“When I was in Exley and some people were talking about the effects of illegal immigration related to Biden’s immigration policies, I had wanted to say something, but at the same time it was a ratio of me versus four or five people,” Diaz said. “So I decided to just not say anything.”
I also asked my friends to share experiences on campus that made them feel uncomfortable.
“In a religion course that I took my first semester here at Wesleyan, a guest speaker spoke on the topic of ‘why God is a white racist,’” they said. “Following the talks, which I did not take part in, we were then instructed to write an essay on this topic, which, if I remember correctly, I had to rewrite because I argued that [God] was not, in fact, a white racist.”
They added that stereotypes about conservative people are thriving on campus.
“I’ve been around several groups of students during class talking about how conservatives are racist, or particular situations like January 6 and saying that all conservatives support this, just very broad claims that obviously are not correct and are just opinion,” they said.
Another interviewee, who is a Republican, made similar points. They said that most students seem to connect all Republicans with Trump and mentioned ways in which some students have judged them for their Catholic faith.
“If I mentioned I was going to church, I would be asked difficult questions, for example ‘Don’t you guys hate gay people?’” they said. “Well, obviously no. But it’s ridiculous how ignorant some people are. And although I could [give] the longer answer about what my [religion’s stances] are on same-sex marriage and other issues, firstly, it didn’t seem worth the time and secondly, I don’t want to be labeled in any way as someone homophobic or being against the LGBTQ community. So it was easier simply to say no because it would have taken too much effort and I would have faced a lot of backlash.”
The culture of stereotypes, offensive assumptions, and pronounced resistance to disagreement worries me. The lack of dialogue between people with opposing views on campus will eventually lead to the reinforcement of people’s current beliefs and a deterioration of their skills at articulating their positions. As a result, some of the main benefits of getting a degree at a liberal arts college are lost.
Many concerns were brought to light here: peer pressure, religious claims made by professors and students, assumptions about people’s beliefs, lack of interaction between religious and nonreligious people, and so on. Even though I might disagree with some of my friends’ views on particular issues, I do think that the student body’s approach to criticism and dissent could be changed. So I asked my friends what they wished was different.
“Wesleyan should focus on making a more diverse campus,” one said. “Although the school claims to do so, political diversity is the critical missing piece.”
Bosch suggested bringing conservative speakers on campus.
“If there were examples of conservatives speaking on campus and the university response to them, I could then feel more secure because through their actions, the University would have demonstrated that it was tolerant of my beliefs,” Bosch said. “But this is the very thing that I don’t see.”
Another interviewee also hoped to see conservative views highlighted on campus, which would require action by religious communities and academic groups like the Government Department.
“I see the flyers of events for religious communities all the time, but I’ve yet to really see anything about beliefs of those communities being shared, or anything personal as they relate to social issues,” the interviewee said. “I haven’t really seen the intersection of different schools of thought in my classes. At least, not when it came to social issues. I see examples on YouTube, called Jubilee discussions, where people have debates about different issues. That’s something I’d love to participate in. Never had the chance to do anything remotely like that on campus. Having speakers from both sides of the spectrum on campus, not necessarily in the Jubilee format, would help…. Being more inclusive, perhaps, including readings and government classes from different viewpoints could definitely allow for conversation…. Even if there’s a little bit of controversy, I think that’s perfectly warranted and could promote healthy discussion.”
As a student coming from an authoritarian country, I know for sure that censorship is a slippery slope. At this point there is almost no hope of change for Russia, but there is definitely hope for Wesleyan. Unlike in Russia, where systemic censorship is established by the government, at Wesleyan we are creating this information bubble by ourselves and not allowing alternative discourse to be present on campus. And because we have this privilege of designing the culture of our bubble, we should do our best to bring conservative voices back on campus and encourage productive dialogue and healthy disagreement.
Angelina Kunitskaia is a member of the class of 2027 and can be reached at akunitskaia@wesleyan.edu.