Ideology At Eastern: What Do Students Believe?

Mathew Biadun | News-Editor

What are the politics of Eastern students?

That question was posed to students on a Fizz poll last month. Respondents were allowed to choose between 'Democrat', 'Republican', 'Leftist', 'America First', 'Other', and 'Not Into Politics' as their answer. An astonishing 2119 students responded, likely providing the largest and most comprehensive look into the political beliefs of Eastern students yet created.

A thin majority of students chose an option on the left, with 30% (629) students selecting 'Democrat', and a further 21% (455) selecting 'Leftist'. On the right, 13% (277) chose 'Republican', and a further 5% (100) chose 'America First'. 15% (325) chose 'Other', while 16% (333) chose 'Not into politics'. The responses are represented below in a pie chart, with reddish colors to represent the right, blueish colors to represent the left, and greys to represent the others.

While most students appear to be some form of left-wing, the chart also displays a fair amount of intellectual diversity, with 18% on the right, and 15% simply responding 'Other'. Other could fit into any of the existing categories, but could also be a mix of several. Some students left comments explaining their decisions:

"Independent, leaning either way on certain issues"

"unaffiliated"

"I'm an independent who leans more left, but I center my political beliefs around empathy and creating a world where social programs provide people with the bare minimum needed to live"

"I'm not sure what I would label myself as but I know what's right and what's wrong!" They elaborated in a response to themselves: "I am a registered democrat but I'm not sure if I agree with some of their policies so would I still be a democrat or something else? Idk"

"Further clarification America First but not the Nick Fuentes America First because I support taking care of our own first"

Two users refizzed the post. One reflected on the large number (about 700) reflected in the poll to be right-wing. "About 20% of us, 5% being far right. So maybe the republicans club is needed lmao. Thoughts?" The user theorized that number to actually be greater, saying in the comments: "Also think how unpopular Trump has become, even among Republicans. The number of people on this campus that voted or supported him in 2024 I imagine has to be much larger than 20% of our student body They're just quiet lol 'silent majority'."

The other Refizz expressed frustration with the amount of students unengaged in politics: