“I really wanted to challenge this prevailing orthodoxy that if you are Republican, you are racist; if you are conservative, you are sexist; if you fall on the right, you are a homophobe.”
By Thomas Fuller, New York Times:
On this famously liberal campus, it is easy to dismiss Berkeley Republicans as an oxymoron. Being a Republican at the University of California, Berkeley, is hard, conservative students say, a crucible of ideological combat. Some said they had been mocked, spat on and punched.
Founded in the 1960s, the Berkeley College Republicans have remained a small and tightknit club, today numbering a few dozen active members. But Republican alumni have gone on to prominent jobs: Michael Anton is a senior national security official in the Trump administration. Alex Marlow is editor in chief of Breitbart News. Claire Chiara, a graduating senior and past president of the Berkeley College Republicans, was one of the youngest delegates to the Republican National Convention last year.
The College Republicans made national headlines in recent weeks when the group invited Ann Coulter, the right-wing writer and provocateur, to speak. In February, anarchist protesters had violently broken up a planned speech on campus by the right-wing journalist Milo Yiannopoulos, and the university’s administration and the club haggled over a date and a “protectable” venue for Ms. Coulter; she ended up not coming.
Berkeley’s Republicans have turned the tables on liberals at the campus, championing free speech and putting a conservative claim on one of the university’s proudest liberal legacies. Last month, the group and another conservative student organization sued administrators for what they said was discrimination against conservative speakers. They have co-opted the language of the left, portraying themselves as fighting intolerance. Not all Berkeley Republicans agree with their tactics — some describe it as unnecessarily provocative.
Five students described what it’s like to be conservative in a bastion of American liberalism. Their answers were shortened and edited for clarity.
‘I have had drinks thrown on me’
Naweed Tahmas, 20, political science, Oceanside, Calif., external vice president of the Berkeley College Republicans
We are almost like an exhibit or zoo animals. Whenever someone finds out I’m a Republican at Berkeley, they pick my brain. People are genuinely curious. Nonetheless, their image of a white, male Republican is shattered when they see me. [Mr. Tahmas is of Persian descent.]
As a Republican on campus I am targeted frequently. I have been spit on on several occasions. I have had drinks thrown on me. I have been punched in the face.
When I was punched it was election night. I was not wearing Trump gear, but I was recognized. It was after Trump’s win. Two individuals came up and punched me in the face. This was my first semester at Berkeley.
For Republicans in the club, it’s all pro-Trump. I have yet to meet a member of the Berkeley College Republicans who is against Trump.
Right now the leadership of the club is passionate about fighting for conservative ideology.
There’s a program on campus called the undocumented student program that legally assists so-called undocumented students, which I find very unfair. Many of them get their tuition paid for, which is equally unfair. There are university-sanctioned rooms dedicated to them, and they have their own counselors.
There are so many diversity programs that are essentially draining the school budget.
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