In the UT Multicultural Information Center, Pam Chamberlain, a consultant for the left-wing watchdog organization Political Research Associates, spoke Monday on the problems facing progressive and conservative activists throughout campuses nationwide.
Chamberlain described her report, crafted over 18 months, which indicated national trends and highlighted the failures of student activism on the left and right of the political spectrum.
The report shows that progressive groups outnumber conservatives 4-to-1, but conservatives gain more media attention. This occurs by what Chamberlain calls "megaphoning," where a few people can attract large media attention by being provocative and controversial. An example of this would be the "illegal immigrant hunt," which was utilized by the North Texas chapters of the Young Conservatives of Texas, she said.
The report shows that conservative groups, as a whole, are more organized than their progressive counterparts. Conservative groups are few in number because they are organized and focused around the fight against the liberal bias of the student majority. These groups often have a clear top-to-bottom hierarchal leadership. Progressive groups, on the other hand, are numerous and lack cohesion because they focus on single issues. They also lack hierarchies and tend to use a democratic model to make collective and consensual decisions, according to the report.
Chamberlain said both the left and right ignore the center and tend to "preach to their own choirs." Debates are viewed as competitive, not informative, so they are avoided. Also, few students have the skills needed to effectively debate.
The ultimate goals of progressive and conservative groups also differ. Progressives organize moderate numbers through meetings and demonstrations to build larger national movements for change, while the right demonizes and scapegoats their opposition by utilizing mass media to initiate discussions with an overall effort to develop national conservative leaders for the future, Chamberlain said.
The report came from a study started by Political Research Associates in 2003, which looked at the activity of progressive and conservative organizations in eight universities and colleges. UT Austin was chosen from a pool of 144 schools to take part in the study based on its size, level of student activism and regional location.
Approximately 12 student activist leaders were chosen to participate in detailed interviews about the political environment of the University.
Chamberlain explained that the report was based on the social movement theory, where the collective action of a group either attempts to change or support the status quo.
Be the first to comment on this article!