The Racquet Press reached out to two members of the University of Wisconsin  – La Crosse’s student body to discuss their experiences expressing their political affiliations on campus and how comfortable they feel expressing their beliefs with the UWL community, a historically liberal space.

Kaitlyn Dempsey, a member of College Republicans and Kendra Bramsen, a member of College Democrats, shared their story. 

Do you feel comfortable expressing your affiliation on UWL’s campus?  

“Not all of the time. I came from a two-year college as well so I don’t think it is just this campus by itself, I think it is the college culture in general,” said Dempsey who identifies as Conservative. “When you are in the liberal arts it is more of a left-leaning field so you have to be careful with what you say as a Conservative because there are a lot of stereotypes about Conservatives and if you come out with a different view than what is in the class you may paint a target on yourself.  

“I do actually, I’m part of College Democrats,” said Bramsen who identifies as a Democrat. “That is something I’m pretty involved with because it is a comfortable space I feel like a lot of students relate to in the club and just being a part of it I’m not afraid of any backlash or anything like that.” 

Do you feel supported when or if you express your political affiliation? 

“It depends, so far since I’ve been here in most cases when I come out as Conservative I have been pretty supported I’d say,” said Dempsey. “I am working with a professor this semester because I disagreed with some of the content and so she is working on alternate assignments for me.”

“I don’t feel afraid to be out in spaces and express how I feel. I don’t feel like there is any backlash from other students or professors,” said Bramsen.

What is it like to have your affiliation here at UWL, has it affected your learning experience or your connection to campus? 

“Well I guess one of the things I did first when I first transferred here last semester was I went and looked through the clubs and affiliations on campus to get a feel for what is here, and I knew there was a lot coming in – that was one of the reasons I came in the first place was because I knew UWL had a lot of opportunities,” said Dempsey. “So I love being in clubs and being involved on campus so I was delighted that there was a College Republicans student org on campus because my former campus didn’t have that opportunity, so it has been nice to be able to pursue that and learn more about politics. We are really well situated to be able to do that, to have opportunities.”

“Sometimes in classes, I do bring my political affiliation in with me,” said Bramsen. “I feel like it is an open campus where people can express their views no matter what their affiliation is.” 

Is there anything on campus that has made you feel more or less comfortable expressing your political affiliations? 

“Well obviously in the clubs that I belong to it is easier to express myself because they are like-minded individuals. There have been some cases where I have, in classes, said ‘I am Conservative’ and stood up for Conservative values and so far it has been going well,” said Dempsey. “I have had past experiences where it has not gone well, so I have to be very careful and kind of feel out the class to see how it is going to go if I come out as a Conservative or if I just need to play it under the radar to stay safe.” 

“It really shouldn’t be that way in this country, we should be able to express ourselves freely but unfortunately some of that expression has been misused and has drawn some negative stereotypes. So if you come out with certain views they say, ‘you’re also racist and sexist’ and it’s not the case,” said Dempsey. “I just say my political affiliation and they don’t even get to know me. I don’t judge people on their political affiliations and I would appreciate it if people gave me the same opportunity to present myself and my beliefs so we can have conversations and actually make a difference.”

“I feel like everywhere on campus is pretty open to those who are Democrats,” said Bramsen.

Is there anything you’d like the student body to know about your political affiliation or other students who have similar views?

“Just be open, we have to be open to other ideas. On campuses like this, we get a lot of exposure to more left-leaning ideologies and I think it is just common courtesy to be open and hear out the other side,” said Dempsey. “Don’t shoot down people with different views, just hear them out and learn from them. I’ve learned so much from other people who have opposite views than me so I think we all have something we can learn from each other.”