Among students, a majority of Democrats feel comfortable expressing their opinions without fear of negative consequences, while less than half of Republicans feel that way.

Virginia King, a freshman at Texas State University from Dallas, told me about the peer pressure conservative students face on campus.

“Being a conservative on campus during an election season is isolating and nerve-wracking,” she said. “As usual, our Network of Enlightened Women conservative club chapter flyers get taken down by students about a day after getting put up. I have noticed students on the Left are more intolerant of opposing political views than students on the Right are.”

During an election year, the campus environment often gets worse for conservatives. Many students are quick to pressure their peers directly and indirectly.

“Since early voting has started, candidate signs fill the busiest parts of campus,” King continued. “The Trump-Vance signs put up on campus by the local GOP were kicked down by students almost immediately after being put up, despite Harris-Walz signs seemingly remaining untouched. I see students confidently wearing Harris-Walz merch around campus, but I have never seen any students wearing MAGA hats or merch because of the backlash one would receive, and I have heard complaints from conservative peers about the double standard. I wish my peers on the Left treated conservative students with the same respect we show them.”

And this is from a school in Texas.

Election years make campuses even more polarized, and that polarization can peak on Election Day or the few days following as students must come to terms with the election results. After former President Donald Trump won in 2016, Cornell University students held a “cry in” over hot chocolate, blankets, and tissues.

Make sure to check on conservative students on Tuesday. And depending on who wins, you might want to send a few extra text messages over the following days too.

On top of the everyday stresses of any college student, conservative students may face ostracization from peers and professors.

In the 2022 midterm elections, federal Democratic candidates and causes received 96% of donations from Ivy League professors. Among faculty donations from Sen. J.D. Vance’s (R-OH) alma mater, Ohio State University, between Jan. 1, 2023, and Oct. 19, 2024, 99% were given to Democrats. 

While some professors foster an educational environment that welcomes intellectual diversity, others use their podium to attack Republicans. A University of Kansas instructor was placed on administrative leave after saying about men who won’t vote for a female president, “We can line up those guys and shoot ‘em; they clearly don’t understand the way the world works.”

A Bellarmine University professor was fired after posting about the failed assassination attempt on Trump: “If you’re gonna shoot, man, don’t miss.”

The election is finally here. After you vote on Tuesday and put on your sticker, do one more thing: Check on conservative college students you know. 

Karin Lips (@klips) is the founder and president of the Network of enlightened Women and a senior fellow with the Independent Women’s Forum.

This piece was originally published by the Washington Examiner.