REPUBLICANS HESITATE TO SPEAK OUT

BY JOSH LEHMAN
Staff Writer

Brendan Ford says his conservative views are met with intolerance. PHOTOS BY DAN ELDRIDGE / GUARDSMAN

Surrounded by salt water on three sides, and with a larger liberal presence than perhaps any other American city, San Francisco is almost an island — both physically and politically.

The city has become a beacon for cultural minorities across the country. Every year, more counterculture refugees migrate here in search of a diverse, accepting environment.

Every culture has minorities, however, and San Francisco is no exception.

“In San Francisco, saying ‘conservative’ is like the new cuss word,” said Brendan Ford, a first-semester City College student and a self-proclaimed conservative. “I feel uncomfortable giving my political views a lot of the time.”

A native San Franciscan, Ford said he feels marginalized as a Republican in his hometown, particularly at City College. “As far as school goes, it wouldn’t be very popular for me to state my conservative views here.”

Ford maintains an active political life outside school, including responsibilities as chapter president of Rock for Life, an anti-abortion group with a musical bent. He has looked for a republican club to join on campus, but hasn’t been able to find one.

There are many active political groups on campus: The Young Democrats and the Anarchist College are both registered with the Inter-Club Council, and representatives of the International Communist League hand out copies of “Workers Vanguard” in front of Conlan Hall.

Missing from the school’s political spectrum, however, is an established group for conservative students.

Catherine Murphy, president of the Young Democrats Club at City College, said she believes in the value of open debate and would encourage conservative students to organize a formal club.

“I think having an opposing view would really strengthen both sides,” Murphy said.
Angie Koetje, also a conservative student, said she doesn’t hesitate to voice her opinions in class, but she knows she’s clearly in a minority.

“A lot of teachers are very vocal about what they believe in,” Koetje said. “You know whether or not they like Bush —it’s very clear, just from their sarcastic remarks. Every single teacher I had last semester was anti-Bush.”

Although Koetje said she developed an “immunity to rejection,” she could understand if other conservative students were hesitant to voice their political ideas.

“If your teacher is very open about what they believe and you say something contradictory, then you’re going to have this fear that you won’t get as good a grade because your teacher is biased — because you’re a Republican and they’re a liberal,” Koetje said.

Ford said that in a town with a reputation for liberal tolerance, he thought it was ironic that he is often faced with aggressive intolerance from liberals.

“Sometimes it bothers me when people are being extremely opinionated and they say something ignorant, like ‘all conservatives are morons.’ I’ve gotten that one before,” Ford said.

Koetje encourages conservative students to feel comfortable voicing their politics.

“I think even a little voice can help,” Koetje said. “You may not know how loud the republican voice is on this campus. It may be loud, but we don’t know it because they’re all quiet now. So, it takes that one person to step up.”

e-mail: jlehman@theguardsman.com