Racism, censorship, and sexism: The price of being conservative in college – Washington Examiner

Faced with racism, censorship, and sexism, life for a conservative on an American college campus is harder than ever, according to students from around the country.

With few allies for them at school, conservative students have come to the 2022 Conservative Political Action Conference in Orlando, Florida, to tell their stories.

"It's not fun. We've been persecuted several times," Preston Parra, a 20-year-old student at the University of West Georgia said. "I actually had to take a case up to the vice president. I didnt report anyone specifically, but I was called a racial slur on campus."

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Everyone expects white conservatives to be racist, he said, but Parra, who is of Colombian descent, endures the most attacks from his campus's self-proclaimed liberals and other people of color, including the individuals who called him the slur, he said.

"They happened to actually be black. You see all the time in the media that white people are portrayed as the enemy and the most racist, but growing up as a brown kid in middle school and elementary school, I got bullied more from people of my own color or black people than I ever did by white people," Parra said. "So it's very important we see there is such a double-standard when it comes to racism. People are going around saying the N-word on the liberal side of things, but if you ever heard it on the conservative side, it is a blowup."

"I, myself, am brown. I come from a minority community, and I reported [the incident] to the vice president. I told him, 'Hey, this is going on on campus. Its got to stop.' He nominated me as chairman of the code of conduct board," he continued.

Many conservatives do not feel comfortable speaking up, but doing so can put them in positions to make change, Parra said.

Sexism is another major challenge facing conservatives, especially women, on America's campuses, according to Rachel Ress, a student at Florida Atlantic University.

Ress, 19, said she was originally slated by the school to live in the same residence as a male student.

When she explained to school officials that the arrangement made her uncomfortable, she said they said the only thing wrong with the situation was her attitude.

"I was housed initially with a boy and told that I was the problem because of my Christianity and not wanting to embrace the situation," according to Ress.

"I was like, 'I'm a girl. I want to be with girls.' I had never had an experience like that. I'm glad we sorted it out, but it was hard to be shamed for traditional values in such an untraditional setting."

Georgetown University is an example of a left-leaning school that can be unwelcoming to tradition, according to 22-year-old Andrew Alfonso.

"Theres definitely a lot of assh**** and a lot of real aggression coming from kids on more of the Left," Alfonso said. "I know one time we had a conservative speaker on campus, and a lot of kids ended up protesting that, and it got pretty ugly.

"Weve kind of been siloed," he continued. "It can definitely be difficult at times."

Inside the classroom, life doesn't get easier for conservatives, several students lamented.

"There are some times where I will want to write an essay about one thing, and then I have to hold myself back," Deanna Mancuso, a 20-year-old FAU student, said.

Censorship, whether it be imposed by professors or the students themselves, is a common denominator among America's institutions for higher learning, students agreed.

"I definitely feel at times I cant portray who I am completely because of the fear of judgment," said 19-year-old Dalia Calvillo of FAU.

"But that is something you have to deal with, and you always have to stand up for yourself."

Parra echoed Calvillo's sentiment.

"Many times, professors have tried to censor us on campus. Were not letting that happen," he said. "We're fighting against it, we're shining a light on it, and were publicizing it. Thats the key. You have to publicize all this stuff."

CPAC offers young conservatives the chance to learn about tools they can take back with them and use to make a difference at their schools and in their communities, according to Parra.

"I came to CPAC last year and took back a lot of values then," he said. "So now Im running for [state House] District 64 in Georgia, and were just doing everything we can to make sure we are preserving all the values that are important to true God-loving Americans."

Both Calvillo and Mancuso said they want to use what they learn in Orlando to become better leaders on campus.

"I hope to learn a little bit more about what it takes to be a great leader and show that at my university," Calvillo said.

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It's not just important to be a leader, Mancuso argued. A leader "has to be someone who is unapologetically who they are."

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Racism, censorship, and sexism: The price of being conservative in college - Washington Examiner