UCLA student and nationally syndicated columnist Ben Shapiro spoke to Boston College students last Wednesday regarding liberal bias on college campuses as part of the BC Republicans' Collegiate Leadership Series.

Shapiro, a senior at UCLA, is no stranger to the spotlight. Having entered UCLA at age 16 Shapiro has made a name for himself as the conservative voice on campus, most evidently when he was the only dissenter at an affirmative action rally at UCLA that drew 1,500 supporters. At 20 years old, Shapiro has already penned his first book titled Brainwashed: How Universities Indoctrinate America's Youth, and came to BC last to discuss exactly that.

Shapiro focused on liberal bias in the professoriate, which he said prevents students from gaining a well-rounded, balanced education. He began his lecture by asking all the science majors in the audience to raise their hands. When three hands went up the air, he remarked "at least three of us here are actually learning something."

Along with anecdotal evidence Shapiro cited many statistics to support his argument that college professors are overwhelming liberal.

"Seventy-nine percent of college professors feel that George W. Bush is too conservative. Forty percent of college professors are in favor of slavery reparations. Sixty-five percent are against tax cuts," he said.

Conservative thinker David Horowitz, who has authored an "Academic Bill of Rights" calling for more conservative opinion on college campuses, has investigated the voting record of college professors at nationally respected universities - information Shapiro shared with the audience.

According to Horowitz's research, registered Democrats outnumber republicans 54 to three at Brown University, at UC Berkley 59 to seven at UC Berkely, at Stanford University 151 to 17, and at the University of California San Diego 99 to six, and at Chicago 45 to nine.

"However you may feel about David Horowitz, when he presents empirical date such as this, that's something that can't just be dismissed," said Shapiro.

Continued...

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