Author:
Zach’s critique of the articles concerning political diversity (Letters to the Editor 11/19) was well-articulated and incisive yet it only reinforced my belief in the lack of diverse political thought at Oxy. In addressing the narrow differences between the two major political parties, Zach points to “the Peace and Freedom Party, Socialist Party USA, Communist Party USA, the Green Party, and the Workers World Party” as other political parties that we should consider. Notice that this includes only left-of-center parties and neglects to mention even one right-of-center party such as the Constitution Party or Libertarian Party. It’s true that political diversity is not limited to the two major parties, but the point is that at Oxy political thought is dominated by left-of-center political ideology in general.
Personally, I don’t really care. I came to Occidental knowing that it was fairly liberal. I find it interesting though that, as a moderate to conservative Democrat, I have often been the “conservative” voice in my politics, history, and, yes, even in economics courses. If anything, this helped challenge and develop my ideology. Many times it enabled me to strengthen the arguments for my views and at other times I “saw the light.” Unfortunately, I don’t have any advice for my leftist comrades to do the same. I would find it impossible as a liberal to challenge my views at Oxy where classes are populated with liberal students and professors. But then again maybe liberal students don’t need to have their views challenged. I mean, as long as you live in Los Angeles, Seattle, Portland, or Boston you’ll never find anyone to argue with anyway, right?
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