I thought the friendship was able to be prioritized over differences in political beliefs.
Which, Nangle says, is asking too much for me.
Being a young woman on the right can be socially isolating.
But I have discovered a different story.
And alongside the intense political discourse, there is also intense disaffection.
The conversations Ive had with college students around the country paint an image of campus culture in crisis.
Kieghan Nangle, a graduate of the University of Alabama, is now media affairs coordinator for the Republican National Committee.
The result: a political untethering that could reverberate for generations.
According to theGlamour/YouGov poll,just 56% of 18-to-29-year-olds are registered and intend to vote.
This is the lowest percentage of any age group by a wide margin.
Lucy Cox, who is a junior at the University of California, Berkeley, studying political science and history, falls “a bit more on the conservative side.”
When it came to Israel-Palestine, it was completely different.
It was so, so charged.
The experience can also be insular, riddled with privilege, and self-righteousness.
Isabel Hiserodt, president of the campus chapter of Young Democrats at Arizona State University.
In turn, it can sometimes be easy to dismiss the experiences of students on campus.
But today there is a new set of circumstances, and so muchmaybe too muchpressure on those four years.
And a hyperpolarized climate that insists democracy is at stake but sees students shunning their right to vote.
Ellie Porte, a graduate of American University, on the school’s campus in Washington, DC
It was so, so charged, Nachega recalls.
I tried not to take it personally…but there is absolutely no middle ground.
I thought he had been brainwashed, and he thought I had been brainwashed.
Ellie Porte, a graduate of American University, on the school’s campus in Washington, DC
Nachega described what some students feel is at stake.
But there are others who recoil at the pressure they feel from the social normality of student protest.
I think people are starting with politics first and then becoming friends.
Those dynamics have impacted the calculus around who she hangs out with too.
Thats because I knew what relationships to build.
Cox hates having to be so cautious.
And I feel like a lot of people dont embrace that.
When it comes to the election, Cox is undecided.
Im very worried about my generation.
Isabel Hiserodt, president of the campus chapter of Young Democrats at Arizona State University.
Asked why, Hiserodt says her concerns lie with hateful rhetoric, not stifling free speech.
Its given me a new community.
Its certainly impacting students interactions with their peers.
That comes from college, she says.
By the time I got to American, I did know that I was more conservative.
Im never going to compromise my values because other people dont agree with it.
I wish I could say I was allowed to be a student again.
But there is that peer pressure of, Oh, youre not paying attention to this?
Youre not doing anything?
What does this mean, then, for the electionand beyond?
Its become more hush-hush sharing your opinions.
She particularly dislikes the pressure to pick a side.
It makes politics feel very binary.
Like theres a yes or a no, and theres a right and a wrong answer.
She also highlights the consequences of the constant political dialogue on campus.
I wish I could say I was allowed to be a student again.
But there is that peer pressure of, Oh, youre not paying attention to this?
Youre not doing anything?
I feel that Ive lost the ability to be a carefree student.
Finding moments of joy is extraordinarily difficult when your campus feels like its internally ideologically warring with itself.
So I take a stab at refrain from sharing my political opinions….
The fact that I have to do that, its a little sad.
When students self-censor, emboldened voices on both sides fill the gap.
The perception of how young people may vote is tainted by moderates absence.
Many young people have abandoned voting altogetherand thats a warning worth heeding.
Ellie Porte: Photographed by Alyssa SchukarNangle: Courtesy of Kali Sturgis; Hiserodt and Cox: Courtesy of subjects
