Though UCLA may have a more liberal atmosphere compared to the rest of the country, conservative students on campus say they feel comfortable stating their views and having discussions with their peers.
Third-year applied mathematics student Nick Meves said that, though most students are more liberal than he is, they are open-minded to other ideas in political discussions.
“I’m very comfortable stating my point of view. … The people I’ve dealt with, they’re more politically accepting. We have civil discussions,” Meves said.
Second-year political science student Jeff Tomasich agreed, saying fellow students have never been hostile about his more conservative political leanings.
“I feel most kids are kind of open, I don’t feel like there’s a ton of bias,” Tomasich said.
Daniel Kim is a fourth-year physiological science and Spanish student who describes himself as a “fiscal Republican” with more liberal beliefs socially. He said students here are generally receptive of different political views.
“I think everyone here is intelligent enough to where they want to hear what the opposition has to say,” Kim said.
Kim said he has lived in very liberal environments along the West Coast and very conservative places, including his family’s current home in Louisville, Ky. He said living in Los Angeles has softened his point of view on some issues.
“I personally have found that my views have changed a little bit since I’ve been here,” Kim said.
Logan Allec, a third-year linguistics and anthropology student, said a generally liberal campus sometimes makes it difficult for right-leaning students to stay as conservative.
“I think that being in an environment like UCLA where you’re constantly bombarded with liberal ideas … makes it tough to, I guess, maintain my political beliefs,” Allec said.
But in the end, Allec said being at UCLA has had the opposite effect on him.
“After thinking about what the liberal side of things are, it’s actually made my conservative beliefs even stronger,” Allec said.
However, he feels comfortable voicing his opinion around other students, even if they are unpopular.
“If people ask my views on things, I’ll give the truth. I’m not the first to pipe in on political discussions or anything, but I’ll definitely give my views, regardless of whether I think people will have the same views or not,” Allec said.
Conservative student groups make their presence known on campus, but there are plenty of right-leaning students who aren’t fliering on Bruinwalk. Allec said he just is not that interested in politics, though he does identify as very conservative.
“I have very conservative beliefs, but as far as getting into the nitty-gritty, I’m not very concerned about the details and would rather keep my beliefs but not get involved with liberal/conservative politics or anything,” Allec said.
Other students identify with the political right but do not necessarily consider themselves Republicans.
Tomasich said he feels liberal students are much more active on campus than conservatives.
“There are some (Republican groups) that I’ve seen that are somewhat active, but it’s not the same degree to which the Obama people are,” Tomasich said.
Tomasich said he is registered as an independent voter but in general has a more conservative point of view.
“Voters that don’t identify with a political party are on the rise now. I would say I lean more right than left. I wouldn’t classify myself as a traditional Republican,” Tomasich said.
Tomasich said that, overall, students here are pretty accepting, regardless of their personal views.
“People are going to say their opinions and how they feel,” Tomasich said.