Carolinian token conservative columnist Melissa Westmoreland describes the landscape:
Most of the conservative students that I asked say that in class discussions, it is usually apparent what side the teacher agrees with, and this discourages students with different viewpoints from saying what they believe. Some students would never dare admit to a teacher that they voted Republican in the recent election for fear it would start an argument. A few conservatives even pretend to be liberal in class, so their professors won’t grade them down.
The liberals that I talked to all admitted that they have never felt as though their viewpoint was not welcome, but they could see why conservatives might feel that way. Some even said that they had heard complaints from other students that felt their grades relied on the stance they took in class. One liberal student told me that he felt making liberal statements in class actually helped him “get in good” with his professors.
