A university is no place for intellectual honesty.
So discovered Forest Romm and Kevin Waldman, researchers in clinical and applied psychology at Northwestern University, after conducting 1,452 confidential interviews with undergraduates between 2023 and 2025.
They questioned students at Northwestern University and the University of Michigan on their political beliefs, asking, “Have you ever pretended to hold more progressive views than you truly endorse to succeed socially or academically? (RELATED: Elite Universities Just Implemented DEI For Wimps)
“An astounding 88 percent said yes,” Romm and Waldman report.
Leftists will read this and still not understand they’re the establishment. https://t.co/jB9TQKqvwq
— Roman Helmet Guy (@romanhelmetguy) August 15, 2025
It’s less astounding when you consider the articles of faith demanded by ivory tower elites. Men are sometimes women. White people are evil. Heterosexuality is suspicious.
The logical burden of those beliefs is immense. But a college degree, especially from a highly ranked school, remains associated with a host of benefits. Connections. Employment. Even learning a real thing or two.
To reap those benefits, simply convert to liberalism. Or do your best impression of a devotee.
“Seventy-eight percent of students told us they self-censor on their beliefs surrounding gender identity; 72 percent on politics; 68 percent on family values. More than 80 percent said they had submitted classwork that misrepresented their views in order to align with professors,” the researchers write.
The vast majority of undergraduates (87 percent) identified as “exclusively heterosexual and supported a binary model of gender.” Another nine percent were partially open to “gender fluidity,” and seven percent heralded “the idea of gender as a broad spectrum.”
And though 77 percent of undergraduates said they disagreed with the notion that “gender identity should override biological sex in such domains as sports, healthcare, or public data,” they would “never voice that disagreement aloud.”
Of course not. Because that would entail immediately casting oneself out of the good graces of peers and professors alike.
When I first arrived at Yale, another student quietly told me “Whatever people say in public, you’ll usually find that in private their views shift about three notches to the right.” https://t.co/97sz1oHFbY
— Rob Henderson (@robkhenderson) August 14, 2025
A similar pressure exists, with varying strength, in most areas of American life. You’ve probably felt it in the office. Or at a party. At least temperatures have cooled since the height of George Floyd mania. Hot blonde women are allowed to be hot and blonde again (to some). A FOX news personality can appear on Jimmy Fallon without inciting much backlash. The least funny show in late night will soon be the least funny show formerly in late night.
The immediate rewards of honesty may seem small. But telling the truth — or at the very least, not telling a lie — saves you from long-term moral injury. Affirming what you know to be false is a good way to induce psychological strain. Except for the rare psychopath.
That’s not to suggest universities should — or even can — maintain a friendly attitude towards ideas of every sort. Academic freedom has always been something of a myth. Or at least, a term with unspoken strings. (RELATED: World’s Wealthiest University Waves White Flag To Trump)
Taboos are universal. Some are better than others.
Harvard adopted the motto “For the glory of Christ” in 1650, as translated from Latin, according to Harvard Law School. Their seal featured three books. Two were face up, representing the Old and New Testaments. One was face down, gesturing towards the Book of Truth, a divine record known in full only to God.
The motto is now simply “Truth.” The three books of the seal all face up.
Christianity was once the de facto foundation of study. Some breed of secularism has taken its place. It’s a rotten foundation. It’s probably not long for this world, though conservatives have yet to offer a sturdy replacement.
Insincere liberals, get out while you can. Try saying something you actually believe. You might like it.
Follow Natalie Sandoval on X: @NatSandovalDC