Right-Leaning University Students Are More Likely to Feel Unsafe to Express Their Political Views, Survey Finds

Students having right-leaning views are more likely to report negative experiences at their university or college compared to those identifying their political views as “left,” according to a survey of students at Idaho higher education institutions.

The survey follows allegations that some students were not treated appropriately because of their personal beliefs and viewpoints, Erudera.com reports.

Regarding pressure to affirm beliefs they found offensive, students who identified their views as right were more likely to report the following:

• 17 percentage point difference for students studying at a two-year institution
• 20 percentage point difference for undergraduate students at four-year institutions
• 19 percentage point difference for graduate students

For those feeling unsafe to express their personal beliefs or viewpoints, statistics show:

• 15 percentage point difference for undergraduates at four-year institutions
• 16 percentage point difference for graduate student

According to findings, 16 percent of undergraduate students at four-year institutions on the right were more likely than those in the center to refer to professors, faculty, administrators, or other university employees as the source of pressure. At the same time, 11 percent were more likely than students in the center to cite somebody from the institutions as the source of bullying and shaming.

Moreover, nine percent of graduate students on the right, according to the survey, were more likely to feel pressure from somebody at the university than students in the center.

On the other hand, students who described themselves as left-leaning were more likely to cite other students as the source of bullying and shame and as the source of pressure to assert offensive beliefs.

Survey has also found that 14 percent of undergraduates on the left studying at a four-year institution were more likely than students on the center to state that other students are a source of pressure.

11 percent were more likely than students in the center to refer to other students as the source of shaming or bullying.

“Students on the left were also less likely than students in the center to cite somebody affiliated with the institution (professor/faculty/administrator/other employee) as the source of pressure,“ Idaho State Board of Education notes.

The survey was conducted by the Office of the State Board of Education in November last year and included eight Idaho’s public postsecondary institutions. Nearly 9,000 students participated, 67 percent of whom said they never or rarely feel pressure to accept the views that they find offensive.