A Conservative ‘How To’ Guide for the University Student

On September 11, 2001 I was in my third semester of college and had very little experience in higher education. In fact, if you had asked me, I wouldn’t have described myself as a Christian or even a Conservative. Moderate would have been the buzz word description I would have given, although politics didn’t interest me at all.

That Tuesday morning started out just the same as any other. I lived in the Twin Towers, Emporia State University Twin Towers that is, and I started down the hill to go to my 9:30 class in American Government. As I exited the building, one of the janitors was outside smoking and looked a little upset. She was a very nice lady and always chipper with me so I asked what was wrong. Two planes had just smashed into the Twin Towers, not even a half hour ago.

Since I lived on the eighth floor, this immediately concerned me. Then the light bulb turned on in my brain and I realized which Twin Towers she was talking about.

As I continued on to my class, I couldn’t decide if what she had told me was true. I thought about asking somebody, but even though I’d been on campus for over a year, I really didn’t know anybody. When I got to class, no one was speaking so I sure wasn’t about to ask, “Hey did two planes crash into some office buildings in New York this morning?”

That isn’t the guy you want to sit next to.

Then my professor entered and we began our routine of presenting the current events we had prepared over the weekend, but we had only gotten through a few before someone finally broached the subject.

“Are we going to discuss what happened this morning?”

His answer? No.

Furthermore, when we were to present our current events in the next class, the subject of the attacks was off limits.

“What happened in New York this morning is immaterial to our discussion of how the American government should work.”

I dropped the class that same morning. And thus ended my first of many experiences with the university left and their outlook on America.

————

If you take a look at a college campus today, you won’t find much conservative thought present. Maybe you’ll find a student here or there, perhaps a professor or two, but as a general rule you could throw a rock at a crowd and be 99% sure you’ll hit a liberal.

I know. As a KU doctoral student, I experience the best the liberal education system has to offer day in and day out. As I opined several months ago, Lawrence is not the place a conservative wants to be. I was especially apprehensive about my classes at KU because being in a scientific field I knew that I would hear more about evolution than I wanted. But, I had also been in academia long enough to know no matter what subject is being studied, you will be spoon-fed a liberal point of view.

Let’s face it…if you want to get a college degree, your professors will try to liberalize you…there’s simply no avoiding it.

However, over many years of listening to pointless drizzle I have learned there are many ways to counter the liberal agenda without getting kicked out of school, flunked, or just in general looked down upon (at least not too much.)

So, over the next few weeks, I’ll be taking a look back at some of the stunts I’ve pulled to get a conservative point across in my classes.

Not all of these may be right for you. Maybe your situation calls for a different approach. Maybe it’s best to be more vocal, or maybe it’s best to keep quiet. (Yes, sometimes saying nothing speaks volumes.)

All I can tell you is that by the time I’m finished with my doctoral classes, I will have nearly 400 credit hours to my name. I have been in virtually every class under the sun, I’ve seen almost every kind of pompous professor there is, and I’ve experienced almost every situation a liberal college can offer. I’ve even turned around and done it again in Europe.

So rest assured, the following advice is tried and true.

————

1. Be the best student in the class

This is probably something that one wouldn’t think needed to be said, but in reality, it does.

Being at the top of your class is the best way to convince a professor to go easy on you when you speak up. By the end of the first month or two, the teacher already knows the best and brightest in the class. You want to be that student.

When you’ve been sitting there like the good little comrade they expect you to be, absorbing everything they say and writing diligently in your notebook every notable quote they can spit at you, they automatically like you. So when you disagree with them later or ask a question that makes them look semi-stupid, they won’t forgive you but they’ll take into account that you’re smart enough to pass their tests and will more than likely give you a pass on your not-so-socially accepted behavior.

At the very least, they realize you can think enough for yourself that you could probably navigate the university bureaucracy and get them in trouble and will therefore leave you alone.

2. Understand why they do what they do

Stop and think about this for a minute. Why would someone with a PhD teach when they could get out in the marketplace and potentially make so much more cash?

One explaination is that they truly enjoy teaching. I personally think this describes most teachers to one degree or another. It’s the other motives that should be a concern to a conservative student.

So, what other motives might a professor have?

Well, where else are they going to find impressionable young minds that will agree with whatever whim they decide to talk about that day? Where else are they going to be able to say that sexual predators are really committing crimes because of a biological imbalance and not their own immoral desires and get a large majority to not only agree with them, but gush back the same idea on a test?

This is what many students already understand but refuse to acknowledge; a large majority of professors get their self worth from hearing students validate their ideas and opinions. They aren’t satisfied with their own thoughts…they crave validation from others.

And what better place to get that validation than someone who needs a grade from you that you hold solely in your hands?

Please realize I don’t say this to scare you into regurgitation of an idea you are absolutely opposed to. On the contrary, I discuss this because it will benefit you greatly to understand why professors tell you something in class. When they discuss something off topic in class, it isn’t just about promoting that idea, it’s also, to a large extent, about promoting themselves and validating that they are smart and worthy of their position.

So remember, as one huge liberal once said, “I’m good enough, I’m smart enough, and doggone it, people like me!”

3. Test the boundaries before you open your big mouth

Now, I know what you’re thinking, “What about those darn literature classes or speech classes they make everybody take? How do you avoid a bad grade when the grading can be so subjective?”

Those types of classes do present a problem, but by asking the right questions before the assignment is due or the test is taken, even those classes can be turned into a conservative free for all.

Take, for example, a literature class where most of your grade is obtained through writing term papers. Be proactive in asking what is expected of you. What will you be grading over? If I do X, will points be taken off for that? Is there a rubric that you’ll be grading from? What sources do you find acceptable?

Be sure to sprinkle in some easy questions to throw the teacher off the track a bit. How much does spelling count? How long does the paper have to be?

4. Write down everything. I said everything. What’s that? Yes, when I said everything, I meant everything. And keep it for-ev-er!

Be absolutely sure you get the expectations of the professor in writing, whether it be in a course syllabus or in your notes as he speaks. If it isn’t in writing, it never happened. If for some reason you would need to defend your actions later, you’ll need that documentation.

So, taking great notes will not only help make you a better student, but it could potentially save your rear later.

In short, the best way to avoid a bad grade in a subjective class is by knowing from the beginning what is expected of you and therefore knowing how far you can go. Test where the boundaries are and then you you’ll know exactly how far to push them. Or, if you find the boundaries to be too constrictive, you’ll have the documentation to fight with later.

————

These are just a few ideas that can help get you by in the day in and day out liberal boot camp we call college.

But I personally find that I learn so much more from some quality examples. So, next time, I’ll share some of my personal experiences and how best to deal with angry teachers and uncooperative administrators.