Conservatives Shouldn’t Fear an Ivy League Education

When I got into Yale, my great-uncle half joked, “You better not turn into no liberal.” The rest of my family echoed the same advice — some playfully, some more seriously — urging me to keep my beliefs to myself and avoid political conversations altogether. Their warnings, part joke and part genuine concern, carried a familiar assumption: four years at a liberal university would either convert me or isolate me. It did neither.

Instead, I found something else entirely. According to a 2024 FIRE survey, more than 60 percent of conservative students say they feel uncomfortable sharing their views in class. I understand why. Since coming to Yale, I haven’t become more liberal — but I have become more thoughtful. Not because my views were welcomed, but because they were constantly questioned. And that has made me a better thinker — not a different one.

EP

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Emma Peretti

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When I got into Yale, my great-uncle half joked, “You better not turn into no liberal.” The rest of my family echoed the same advice — some playfully, some more seriously — urging me to keep my beliefs to myself and avoid political conversations altogether. Their warnings, part joke and part genuine concern, carried a familiar assumption: four years at a liberal university would either convert me or isolate me. It did neither.

Instead, I found something else entirely. According to a 2024 FIRE survey, more than 60 percent of conservative students say they feel uncomfortable sharing their views in class. I understand why. Since coming to Yale, I haven’t become more liberal — but I have become more thoughtful. Not because my views were welcomed, but because they were constantly questioned. And that has made me a better thinker — not a different one.