At Oregon State University, where political conversations often skew left, conservative students might expect difficulty in finding community on campus.
For students who hold more traditional values — whether shaped by family, faith or personal conviction — the experience of being “right” on campus can be an isolating one.
According to data from the Oregon Secretary of State’s Elections Division in April, Benton County, where OSU resides, had 25,247 registered Democrats compared to 12,219 Republicans.
Despite this divide, some conservative students have found ways to build connections within the political landscape.
David Marshall, third-year kinesiology student and Corvallis local, said, “For conservative people, it’s not too hard to find a community (on campus). I was able to find one.”
Marshall noted that while conservative students might feel outnumbered, they can still create supportive networks through classes, clubs and shared interests.
For example, OSU’s branch of Turning Point USA, an organization that promotes and advocates for conservative politics on college campuses, recently hosted an event on Oct. 11 featuring Charlie Kirk, a controversial conservative debater and founding president of Turning Point USA.
While the event garnered attention online, students from both sides of the political spectrum showed up in droves to join the conversation.
Fourth-year elementary education major Marissa James was one of these students.
“I went to Charlie Kirk’s event because I’m personally a big fan of his and love his videos. However it’s also cool to listen to other people’s perspectives and watch civil (for the most part) discussions about important topics! I think it’s important to listen to both sides and an event like this helps us do that!” James said in a message through Snapchat.
In addition to political groups like Turning Point USA, Marshall explained that conservative students at OSU also participate in faith-based organizations, such as OSU’s Newman Center. Their mission statement reads: “Students for Christ, Christians for the world.”
For some students, the political atmosphere in Oregon came as a shock.
Abhishek Zawar is a graduate student studying industrial engineering who came to OSU from India. He described the transition from a more conservative culture like India to liberal-leaning OSU as surprising, and sometimes isolating.
“It is just a big culture shock to me,” Zawar said. “Most of the time I keep my (political) thoughts to myself. I don’t want to get involved.”
Zawar expressed fear of pushback if he shared his conservative opinions in front of the “wrong” audience on campus. He believes that universities should not be places for political debate, as it can cause strife in an environment meant for education.
“Campus is not for politics. You should know things that are happening and you should be aware of it, but you are definitely not discussing politics on campus,” Zawar said.
In the 2024 College Free Speech Rankings survey conducted by College Pulse and the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression, OSU ranked fourth in the nation for free speech among colleges. This ranking suggests a high level of openness to diverse political expressions on campus, relative to other universities in the United States.
According to the same survey, there are about three liberal students for every one conservative student at OSU.
“In everything you do, there’s always conservatives and liberals. You can meet them and have different beliefs. It really doesn’t matter too much in the end. We’re all just college students trying to get by,” Marshall said.
