<p>I was wondering if most people are very conservative at Duke. Im not gay or have anything that would make me fear conservatives, but I did grow up in Chicago and its a pretty liberal, relaxed environment. I get tense around conservative bible people and was wondering what the general political atmosphere is at duke. Thanks</p>
<p>Haha don't worry I am very liberal and though there are more conservatives here than say Wesleyan or Oberlin, liberals outnumber conservatives here and the kids who are conservative here are mostly all socially liberal. I actually like that not everyone has the same point of view because it means that people are respectful and can have some interesting debates. Among my friends here there is like nobody who is religious, it's pretty funny. If people are religious they don't really talk about it. Remember that though Duke is in the South, the vast majority of kids don't come from the South but rather are from the mid-atlantic, northeast, west coast, etc. Duke has hundreds of very liberal people so don't worry about that, it's very international/national and so its student population is not going to be that different from most top-10 schools..</p>
<p>ryan, there definitely is that conservative religious element here more so than at other schools, but it's not too overwhelming. I'd say generally, Duke is more balanced than most other colleges (but that's like being to the right of Michael Moore, so take that as you will). I don't really remember getting into too many political debates, but there have been a lot of political demonstrations lately for Sudan, for the laundry worker's union, for the Palestinian Conference, and for numerous other causes. Judging by the newspaper, Duke has a fairly significant liberal bent (I can think of maybe two or three conservative columnists out of ten), but I get the feeling that conservatism is supported by a "silent majority"</p>
<p>that's a good question, ryan. and thanks for your answers, incollege88 and amused. they helped me, too. i grew up in chicago as well, and come from a very liberal jewish family. good to know they're not all conservatives!</p>
<p>well, I'm a higly outspoken liberal, hopefully I'll affect the politics at duke</p>
<p>Go liberals!</p>
<p>yeah!!! hahah</p>