“I want to debate a Republican.” These are words I don’t usually hear myself say, especially considering how frustrating political debates tend to get with my grandparents. But leaving my politics seminars at Occidental, I find myself wishing for someone across the aisle to challenge me. I’m a Democrat. I support social spending, reproductive rights, gun control and immigration reform. But I also recognize that these aren’t universally held beliefs. The lack of conservative thought at Occidental limits intellectual diversity and hinders students’ ability to engage with differing perspectives.
Political diversity, especially conservative thought, is almost nonexistent at Occidental. I’m not advocating for some far-right, Trumpian version of conservatism. Many of Trump’s policies don’t even fit traditional conservative principles. I’m talking about ideas like Austrian economics and free-market policies — perspectives I encountered in Professor Daron Djerdjian’s economics class.
The first time I sat in Djerdjian’s class, I walked out with my views turned upside down. Before that, I thought I had it all figured out. I had a high-schooler’s understanding of Marx, railing against capitalism and promoting socialism as the solution. One class with Djerdjian made me realize how much I was living in a political bubble. College, after all, is supposed to challenge our thinking. Yet when Occidental didn’t renew Djerdjian’s contract, our campus lost a key source of intellectual diversity.
Occidental prides itself on diversity, but the way it handles political diversity is contradictory. Despite calls to foster a broader range of viewpoints, the letting go of Djerdjian felt like a dismissal of free-market and conservative ideas. More than 400 students and alumni signed a petition to keep him, expressing how valuable his perspective was — even for those who didn’t agree with him like me. The students knew they needed more than just one side of the debate to develop a comprehensive understanding of the world. With his departure a major source of dissent from the left-leaning orthodoxy that dominates our classrooms is gone.
This situation at Occidental echoes what the Princeton study on ideological diversity argues: the lack of political diversity in academia hampers universities from fulfilling their core mission of advancing and disseminating knowledge. Philosopher Immanuel Kant once said that enlightenment requires courage — the willingness to seek truth even when it challenges our assumptions. But how can students at Occidental develop that intellectual courage if they’re constantly surrounded by like-minded views?
Intellectual homogeneity breeds complacency. When everyone agrees on the same set of beliefs, the drive to question, challenge and refine those ideas diminishes. It becomes all too easy to reaffirm the beliefs of those around you rather than critically interrogate them.
For those of us who want to enter the world of politics, we must not only understand how the opposing side thinks but also be able to compromise with them. This is especially critical at Occidental, where many students are pursuing careers in public service and politics — fields where success often hinges on understanding both sides of an issue to achieve meaningful policy change. One of the most effective debate techniques is the steel man technique, taking the best form of the other side’s argument and then engaging with it.
I’m not advocating for a right-wing push to take over universities, nor am I saying Occidental is being overrun by a “woke mind virus,” or that we should recruit conservative students or professors for the sake of fulfilling quotas. What I’m calling for is a commitment to intellectual diversity, one that aligns with Occidental’s mission of fostering a learning environment where ideas can be debated and refined. Including conservative, libertarian and traditionalist voices would benefit learning, because it would force students to challenge their beliefs and improve their ability to argue their own side effectively.
So, what can be done? Occidental needs to offer courses that engage with conservative ideologies, like Professor Djerdjian’s Austrian economics class did. These courses would provide a structured space for students to explore and debate these ideas. Creating academic spaces for conservative thought would open the door for campus-wide discussions, potentially leading to clubs, events and real-world applications. I also challenge professors to occasionally take sides during class discussions that they might not agree with for the sake of education.
There is already a student desire to break out of ideological bubbles at liberal arts schools. Wesleyan University, for instance, launched an initiative supported by a $3 million endowment to expose students to ideas outside the liberal consensus. Their academic departments offer courses covering topics like “the philosophical and economic foundations of private property, free enterprise and market economies” and “the relationship between tolerance and individual rights.” Occidental could take inspiration from this approach by providing similar opportunities for intellectual diversity, ensuring students engage with a broader spectrum of ideas.
Exposure to conservative ideologies would challenge students’ beliefs, foster intellectual growth and better prepare them for real-world political discourse, where compromise and understanding opposing views are essential. Conservative thought is not some fringe ideology — it represents a substantial portion of the American populace and its intellectual tradition. By not including these perspectives in our academic discourse, Occidental is doing a disservice to its students. It’s time for the college to reflect the diversity it so proudly promotes.
Contact Tejas Varma at varmat@oxy.edu
