| Freshmen Poll |
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| October 2005 | |
| Written by Helen Rittelmeyer | |
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Yale '09 Liberal, YFP Astounded The liberal elite are well-represented in the class of ’09 according to the annual YFP freshmen poll. Almost nine out of ten respondents labeled themselves “liberal,” “leftist” or, worse, “socialist.” When asked to list their political heroes, the left-leaning frosh favored Democrats like Bill and Hillary Clinton. The Clintons combined scored 97 fans to Pope Benedict XVI’s meager nine. In answer to the question about least favorite politicians, President George W. Bush scored a 51 to Ted Kennedy’s five, despite the fact that Kennedy actually killed somebody. Notable write-ins include Lech Walesa and Barbara Lee on the positive side and Muamar Kaddafi and Yassir Arafat on the negative. One student felt the need to declare his dislike for Hitler.  One anonymous freshman explained his politics this way: “I believe that the government should only perform two tasks: Ensure that our rights are protected and attempt to correct social injustices.” Another student proposed a plan for accomplishing these two small tasks: “If everyone would just chill out and be less stingy, democratic socialism would be a viable option.” Both students would be well-advised to examine Sweden’s national debt. In the section on favorite books and philosophers, the students’ liberalism was less evident. Søren Kierkegaard, for example, received as many votes as Socrates, despite being a Christian. Yale’s most promising young freshman chose James K. Polk as his favorite philosopher, embracing such conservative ideals as imperialism and lowering tariffs. Other top picks included Sartre, Kant, and Locke. Unfortunately, dialogue between the two sides is not a likely prospect, partly because the moderate students who would serve as mediators seem to have left-leaning biases. One self-professed moderate says, “The truth usually lies somewhere in the middle, but conservatives are usually wrong.” “Risky business is sometimes needed in order to help,” says one student. A more sensible student, realizing that the only safe politics is no politics, calls himself “politically abstinent.” Mre alarming than the overwhelming dominance of liberalism was one student’s response in the free answer section. When asked “What is the most important book you have read in the last three years?”, the student answered A Walk to Remember. Hellen Rittlemeyer is a sophmore in Silliman College and Fundraising Director of the Yale Free Press. |
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