Three anonymous Harvard University students have alleged that the campus environment is hostile toward right-wing viewpoints, citing instances of academic reprisal, social ostracization, and perceived institutional bias. They described strict enforcement of rules against right-leaning organizations while left-wing groups faced fewer restrictions, and a classroom culture that discourages dissent. The students highlighted instances where the Republican Club faced greater scrutiny for hosting events compared to Democratic counterparts, and noted a tendency for professors to display ideological slant in their teaching.
One student described an experience where they felt socially ostracized for expressing right-wing views, and another referenced a panel organized by Harvard Kennedy School which featured only Democratic speakers. The student pointed out that the panel, titled ‘Across the Divide: Organizing to Build Bridges in Partisan Times,’ included speakers who were all Democrats: former Massachusetts Rep. Joe Kennedy III, Derrick Johnson, president of the notably left-wing NAACP, and former New Orleans Mayor Mitch Landrieu. The student described the panel as a ‘lampoonish’ example of institutional bias.
Another student described social repercussions they faced from other students after mentioning that they were considering joining a right-leaning organization on campus. ‘They give you dirty looks. They don’t want to be associated with you anymore. They start arguing with you, they start attacking you,’ the student said. While noting that some fellow students approach political discourse in good faith, the student said most are hostile. ‘Most say, ‘Well, do you support Trump’s racism? Do you really support the deportation rates that are separating families and, you know, leaving kids without parents?’ the student said.
The student noted similar attitudes among faculty. ‘I believe that the faculty of this university, both through their views publicly and in the classroom, have proven that they are not tolerant to the views of conservatives,’ they said. ‘These professors are very ideologically slanted in one direction, and they very clearly share through their public and private comments in class and do not respect the views of conservative students.’
A broad sentiment shared by all three students was what they viewed as the current attempt by Harvard to appease the Trump administration by appearing to embrace right-wing ideals. None of the students believe the effort is sincere. ‘Harvard is under a conservative magnifying glass right now,’ one student said. ‘And so the administration of Harvard has kind of tried to posture itself to make friends with conservatives, or at least appear that way. It’s all for show, right? Their words are necessary measures that they’ve taken to try and soften the blow of the [Trump] administration’s funding cuts.’
The student referenced Carole Hooven, who spent 20 years teaching biology at Harvard until 2021. In an appearance on ‘Fox and Friends,’ she said that the terms ‘male’ and ‘female’ are indispensable to science educators, and they should continue to be used despite the push by ideologues to banish the words. Her language was branded as ‘transphobic’ by a DEI coordinator in the school’s Department of Human and Evolutionary Biology. The situation spiraled from there, with students attacking her and the administration refusing to stand up for her, as she described in a commentary piece last year. She retired from teaching in 2023, never having recovered from the reputational damage done by her comment.
‘So obviously when they had Biden on their side, they’re … soft firing conservative professors, pressuring people out,’ the student said. ‘If they’re, like, emboldened by whatever liberal presidential administration is serving at the time, they kind of go crazy.’ The student then contrasted Hooven’s case with that of Dean Gregory Davis, who has recently come under fire for anti-White and anti-police social media posts. He is on leave for the semester, but still employed by the university, proving, according to the student, that anti-conservative bias is alive and well on campus.
Another student said that when President Donald Trump won the presidency in 2024, it felt like a brief weight was lifted, and some conservative students openly flaunted their support for Trump while the school’s administration focused on open dialogue. But it was too little, too late, the student said. ‘To us, that seemed really like, OK, it’s a little late now,’ the student said. ‘It was completely hostile, and now to save face and so that your donors and the [Trump] administration don’t get mad at you, you kind of change your tune.’
The student also brought up Davis’ controversial social media posts to suggest a left-leaning bias on campus. ‘This recent event with this dean, I think proves the point,’ the student said. ‘It’s all performative, because when there is a guy in a position of power who … has a history, and even a history within the last year, 2024 there was an Instagram post where he’s talking about hating police, as a person who’s directly sort of making violent statements, they wouldn’t remove him, right?’ ‘Any service they’re doing us right now and trying to make us feel better about the whole situation and trying to say, like, ‘we do represent all views’ and stuff like this, it’s all performative, and it’s because they really have to deal with the federal investigation and the different situations,’ the student said later.
The Trump administration this year has probed Harvard for antisemitic discrimination on campus. Despite what the students view as anti-conservative bias, one predicted a conservative uprising, citing the assassination of Charlie Kirk as fuel for more right-leaning college students to speak out. ‘I will say that I think amongst the small contingent of conservative students, in the face of the fire, in the face of the enemy, as you may say, or at least in the face of the opposition, I feel like there is a zeal that is stronger than ever.’