College Grads' Political Shifts: Identity, Not Indoctrination

New research challenges the notion that college turns people liberal and exacerbates political divides. Scholars from UNC and Wake Forest found that the growing gap in voting between college grads and non-grads is not due to changing policy views, but rather tied to how graduates label themselves politically. Despite holding more liberal stances on issues like abortion and immigration for decades, college grads voting patterns have shifted, with 56% supporting Kamala Harris in the last election, compared to 56% backing Donald Trump among non-grads. This divide reflects personal identity and life situations more than education alone, with party loyalty often shaping views afterward and economic outlooks playing a role. Students today also shift their political self-image more during college than they did thirty years ago, with English and arts majors leaning left, business and engineering students moving right, and women shifting more than men. Critics dismiss claims of widespread liberal indoctrination, pointing to diverse campuses and the fact that professors struggle to get kids to read assignments. This work highlights how party lines have flipped over time, with Democrats now drawing more educated voters and Republicans gaining working-class support, reminding us that higher education exposes people to new ideas without forcing beliefs, keeping the real story behind voting gaps more complex than it seems.

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