Dear New Harvard Republicans

It was the fall of 2012. A choking waft of liberalism filled the air as eager freshmen lined their windowsills with blue Obama posters. And as I stood in the middle of the yard, drowning in this sea of cerulean, only one phrase rang loudly in my head: “You’re gonna come back a liberal.”

I superstitiously began wearing my Texas necklace everyday to ward away liberal spirits. A Bush-Cheney bumper sticker was hidden away in my desk drawer—a false reassurance that I was not abandoning my roots. And to prove that I was just as politically inclined as my new Harvard peers, I got hold of a Romney poster…which was proudly displayed under a stack of textbooks in the corner of my common room.

I was the ultimate closet Republican.

Or at least for four days I was. Lured in at the Activities Fair by the “Behind Enemy Lines Since 1888” shirts and a Reagan-red election map, I found myself copying my new Harvard email address onto the GOP-open mailing list. And just like that, I began my new college life as a member of the Harvard Republican Club.

At the time, the HRC was at the forefront of right-of-center politics on campus. But then there was also The Salient. And Right to Life. And the Libertarian Forum. Every day, it seemed like I was peeling away the blue and being made more and more aware of a vibrant, thriving right-leaning community at Harvard. In my confusion, I returned to my original equations: First, college equals liberal. Second, Harvard equals college. I was never very good at math, but even I could reach the logical conclusion: Harvard equals liberal. Why would we be an exception?

In one way, I was right. Harvard is undoubtedly one of the most liberal colleges in America. But in more important ways, I was very wrong. We are absolutely exceptional. After all, only Harvard has the honor of housing the oldest college Republican Club in the world—125 years and counting. And we can thank the school’s liberal petri dish for spawning in reaction so many different right-of-center groups that accept all people in whatever shades of red (or in some cases purplish-blue) they come in.

In fact, it is Harvard’s left-leaning bias itself that has created an environment extremely conducive to the growth of a very unique kind of community—one that strives to bring together individuals in the hopes of embodying a stronger, more cohesive vision for political diversity. Harvard may be a liberal college, but its extremely blue existence is not mutually exclusive to, nor is it in any way diluted by, an undeniable existence of a strong Republican Harvard.

If you are reading this, chances are I really do not have to convince you why you need to be a Republican. What I do need to convince you, however, is why you should be a Harvard Republican. Michael Bloomberg in his 2014 Harvard commencement address made the point that “a liberal arts education must not be an education in the art of liberalism.” His admonition was not directed solely at Harvard professors and administrators. We students have a responsibility to those around us, and to our beliefs themselves, to proudly broadcast our views via vehicles like the HRC. At a campus like Harvard, it is easy for a Republican feel on the fringe. But we believe in real values and ideals that are held by roughly half in this country, and to even temporarily abandon them is to lessen the greatness and diversity that is Harvard.

Some of you might already know that you want to get involved with Republican activities on campus, and I applaud you for your strength of conviction. But I know that there will be a greater number of you who, like me, will be wary of branding yourself so early in your college careers. To this I say, do not write Harvard off easily. We as Republicans, or for that matter anyone holding a minority viewpoint on this campus, should not fall into a habit of complaining about lack of open-mindedness before testing the bounds of inclusivity on which Harvard prides itself. Give your fellow Harvardians a chance, and they might just surprise you.

Two years ago, I thought I feared the people around me, and even more so, I thought I feared the ramifications of my own political beliefs. The same deafening roar kept ringing through my head: “You’re gonna come back a liberal.”

But soon enough, even that horrid noise was toned out by an overwhelming sense of calm. You know, the one that finally said, “Welcome to Harvard.”

Devi R. Nair ’16 is a government concentrator in Quincy House. She is president of the Harvard Republican Club.