<p>Just like any college campus (especially liberal arts schools), the majority of the students at Penn I know are liberal. But does anyone kow exactly how divided it is? There's a Democrat group, but nothing on the other side of the aisle. Are there many conservative students, and do political issues ever get too heated at Penn (I ask because this was a problem in HS)?</p>
<p>Idk…I am a staunch conservative myself, and I’d say about 70% of the kids I’ve met are conservatives as well. However, I sincerely doubt that is truly reflective of the Penn student body. I believe Wharton kids tend to lean conservatively fiscally and liberal socially, and that Penn as a whole is fairly liberal. Though, I have also heard that conservatives are not outnumbered by liberals in extremely large droves.</p>
<p>Conservative here as well</p>
<p>fiscal conservative with social liberal is the dominant political thought pattern on campus from what I can gauge.</p>
<p>to OP: don’t worry, most of the people are fairly fiscally conservative (Chris Dodd’s version of the bank reform bill was not really that exciting) which means “socially liberal” is a meaningless descriptor that makes us feel good.</p>
<p>There is a republican group, College Republicans, but they just don’t do anything.</p>
<p>Are these comments pertaining to Wharton, or all 4 schools? I understand might be more fiscally conservative, but what about everyone else? And I’m confused, because I had heard elsewhere (though I’m not sure anymore where from…) that Penn was fairly liberal.</p>
<p>And is it hostile, or does everyone just agree to disagree?</p>
<p>I’d say that most people are very liberal, myself included. At the same time, though, one of my closest friends is a hardcore Republican, and it’s no big deal. We, as you said, just agree to disagree.</p>
<p>Let’s not kid ourselves. 96% of Penn voters registered on campus cast ballots in 2008, and 80% of them voted for Obama. Penn is predominantly liberal, though I would suggest that the majority of Wharton students are fiscally conservative. That said, you will run into the occasional conservative.</p>
<p>Please, though, for the love of God, do not equate conservative with Republican or liberal with Democrat. They’re completely different things, and a conservative who is registered Republican is FAR different than a Republican who is conservative! And yes, I am quite fiscally AND socially conservative, though I think of myself more as someone practical and consistent beyond anything else. </p>
<p>I have been in classes where the overwhelming feeling was that prisons are evil because they take people away from their families… including people who murdered others, thus taking them away from their families in a much more permanent way. I’ve also been called a chauvinist because I’m pro-life. So if you are socially conservative, expect to be one of fairly few on campus. And of course, with that said, there are places you can go if you need to find like-minded people. College Republicans is surprisingly active, and one of my buddies is on the exec board next year!</p>
<p>I think that the main difference between Penn and other peer institutions is that Penn has a smaller amount of far-left loonies (among undergrads I’d say almost nil, which is a stark contrast from, say, Brown or Columbia). Faculty are, well, faculty, but at least the presence of Wharton keeps the far-left loonies under control :)</p>
<p>Why aren’t the college republicans listed on Penn’s website? Are they not funded by the UA?</p>
<p>And I didn’t intend to intimate conervatives and Republicans are the same; I associate more with the former than the latter myself. I justed wanted an idea of the general atmosphere.</p>
<p>what is a far-left looney? where are they in the faculty and how can i find them?</p>
<p>I think the College Republicans were having problems with their website, so that might explain something. Also, one of the biggest problems that the College Republicans face is that they debate more with their fellow members than with the College Democrats. I’m not saying this to criticize the College Republicans at all-- I get along really well with most of them. It’s just that this seems to have been their problem.</p>
<p>As a general note, Penn is incredibly civil with regard to politics, and everyone respects each other’s right to his/her own opinion.</p>
<p>And, pennmanship, as at any college, there are some professors who are really far left. A lot of times you can just tell from the course description.</p>
<p>Some departments lend themselves to left-wing looniness…check sociology, gender studies, africana studies and other identity-politics “studies” programs.</p>