In liberal Boston, College Republicans see club membership triple
| BOSTON
Perhaps it was only inevitable that in America鈥檚 , Nilo Asgari鈥檚 elephant sticker would get her in trouble.
Amid the intense fervor of the 2016 election, the Boston University student was eating lunch when a fellow student spotted the Republican emblem on her phone case and accosted her.
鈥淗e came up and started yelling at me,鈥� says Ms. Asgari. 鈥淗e didn鈥檛 know anything about me.鈥�
Like the fact that her parents immigrated to the US from Iran, for example 鈥� and that she opposes the Trumpist rhetoric about immigrants and foreigners.
鈥淭here are some values that people associate with the Republican Party that can be really offensive to certain groups,鈥� says Asgari. 鈥淧eople assume that just because someone identifies with the Republican Party that they share those views and it鈥檚 not necessarily true.鈥�
Confronted with such pushback, conservatives at Boston universities are flocking to College Republican clubs 鈥� causing membership to double or even triple. Some of the new members feel inspired by Trump to up their political engagement, but often it is to reaffirm to themselves 鈥� as well as others on campus 鈥� that there are more strains of conservatism than just Trumpism.
鈥淔eelings about politics are running very strong,鈥� says Virginia Sapiro, a professor at Boston University who specializes in political psychology. 鈥淚 think pretty much everyone who cares about politics feels vulnerable for various reasons. And for those in the minority, seeking a safe and congenial space to have conversations with like-minded people would seem attractive.鈥�
Clubs double, triple in size
According to , 57 percent of Millennials identify as Democratic and 36 percent identify as Republican. Democrats also claim more female and college-educated voters. That can make conservatism a tough sell.
During the Obama years, the Northeastern College Republicans had about 30 members, with 10 to 15 attending the weekly meetings. Since the election, the club has grown to almost 100 members, with 35 to 50 attending each meeting.
The Boston University (BU) College Republicans and Tufts Republicans cite similar increases. BU鈥檚 attendance has tripled in recent months from 10 to 30 students, and Tufts鈥� attendance has doubled over the last year, with about 40 students attending each meeting.
A weekly reprieve
Once inside the safety of a Northeastern University classroom, a handful of students swap winter beanies for the iconic red hats stowed in their backpack: Make America Great Again. One student opens a laptop emblazoned with a "Johnson-Weld 2016" sticker, and another shows off a new camouflaged NRA baseball cap.
This is the College Republicans club 鈥� a weekly reprieve from liberal campus life, if only for an hour. 鈥淭his is the only place on campus during the week when you can say whatever you want and nobody will judge you,鈥� says Nathan Kotler, the club鈥檚 secretary.
During an overview of the week鈥檚 media coverage, club leaders play a Fox News segment, 鈥淯Conn professor claims Trump voters motivated by white supremacy.鈥� All 40 students laugh in unison at what they see as the lame responses of the professor to Tucker Carlson鈥檚 questioning.
At the end of the meeting, they put their red hats and 鈥淭RUMP for President鈥� T-shirts back in their backpacks before leaving the classroom.
鈥淲e are a minority on campus,鈥� says Noah Tagliaferri, president of the Northeastern College Republicans. 鈥淚t is cool when students find out there is a group on campus where they don鈥檛 have to feel like an outcast.鈥�
Showing another side of conservatism
Despite the camaraderie of College Republicans club, young conservatives say they feel scared or embarrassed to publicize their political beliefs for fear that other students will ostracize them or professors will grade their assignments differently.
鈥淣obody wants to be called a name or have no friends because they are 鈥榯he Republican kid鈥� in the group,鈥� says George Behrakis, a freshman economics major at Tufts University and president of the Tufts Republicans club. 鈥淎nd if you write something in class and you show any sort of bias toward conservatism鈥� people feel like they will get lower grades.鈥�
Patrick Collins, executive director of public relations at Tufts, says the university "encourages the free exchange of ideas, diverse opinions and beliefs" and supports an environment "in which all students feel free to express themselves."
Since the election, Asgari says she has removed the elephant logo from her phone case and any other public Republican paraphernalia. But she says she is still a proud Republican: She interns with the Massachusetts Republican Party and she is the membership director for BU鈥檚 College Republicans.
Like Asgari, young Republicans at Boston universities are trying to distance themselves from the stereotype of a Trump-supporter 鈥� racist, sexist, opposed to same-sex marriage, and so forth.
鈥淭here are different strains鈥� of conservatism in Northeastern鈥檚 club, says Mr. Tagliaferri. Some members 鈥渁bhor Trump,鈥� and some identify as libertarians. 鈥淏ut I will say none of them are the strain that are on Buzzfeed or Vox giving the Nazi salute.鈥�
Mr. Behrakis says he wants to start challenging preconceived notions on campus by chiming into the political debates with a moderate conservative viewpoint. And when professors make jokes at Republicans鈥� expense in class, he plans 鈥渢o call them out.鈥�
鈥淲hen we try and do outreach we try to change the narrative on campus about who Republicans are,鈥� says Behrakis. 鈥淚f we can prove some people wrong, that is a step in the right direction.鈥�
Club members believe they could be a majority on campus someday 鈥� if only the Republican Party would mirror their clubs鈥� platforms and let go of a social ideology that opposes abortion rights, same-sex marriage, or allowing transgender people to use the bathroom of their choice.
鈥淭hose are ageist issues,鈥� says Tagliaferri. 鈥淭hose are issues for 75-years-olds who sip their bourbon and yell to their grandkids about how Bulgarians are ruining the country.鈥�
鈥淏ut for some reason the old-school Republicans won鈥檛 let it go,鈥� adds Mr. Kotler. 鈥淏ut the younger Republicans,鈥� he motions to the classroom, 鈥渢here is nobody in this room that opposes gay marriage.鈥�
