How national politics are affecting student views and future plans

By Yong-Yu Huang

Evanston is no stranger to the impacts of recent shifts in federal immigration policies. As Fall Quarter began, the government announced new restrictions on H-1B visas — including dramatically higher fees for employers sponsoring skilled workers — increasing uncertainty for international students and workers. At the same time, increased federal immigration officer activity in Evanston and the surrounding areas has led the community to rally in support of vulnerable members.

NU leans liberal — but conservatives are still present

The Daily found that over 78% of Northwestern students identify as somewhat or very liberal.

Moderates make up 10% of the student body, and somewhat or very conservative students account for 7.4%. Around 4% of students say they have no opinion.

Northwestern’s campus leans heavily left, but that pattern divides along gender lines. Cisgender men lean more conservative than cisgender women. Responses from students of other gender identities were too limited to analyze separately.

Conservative students are more open to attending controversial speaker events

Among schools with strong sample sizes, Weinberg has the highest conservative presence. Just under 10% of students in Weinberg identify as somewhat or very conservative.

If presented with a controversial speaker they disagree with, almost a quarter of somewhat liberal students and 36.9% of very liberal students would not attend, no matter the topic. About half of liberal students said they would consider attending depending on the topic.

Based on a small sample of conservative students, 43.8% of somewhat conservative students and 59.1% of very conservative students would attend an event with a controversial speaker they disagree with.

Most students are unsure whether the University is doing enough to support those affected by immigration policy

Over half of students say immigration policy hasn’t touched their lives, and many say it hasn’t influenced their decisions either.

Among students who know someone directly affected, only 10.3% made statements and 18.9% attended events. Meanwhile, 18.1% chose not to make a statement.

Out of the small sample of students personally impacted, 22.5% have reconsidered careers in the United States, 10.3% changed travel plans and 14.9% refrained from making statements. Only 3% made a statement, 13.6% attended events and 8.9% sought resources.

Across the student body, 51.7% of students are unsure if the University is doing enough to support those affected by federal immigration policies. A quarter think the University should do much more. Only 3.8% think current efforts are sufficient.