America's elite law schools are letting students down because they're too liberal, conservative Harvard Law student Joel Alicea says in a Washington Times op-ed.
Alicea complains the "intellectual homogeneity" at top law schools alienates his fellow conservatives whose positions aren't taken seriously by lefty professors.
More disturbingly, liberal students don't learn to question their left-leaning views, he says.
"The liberal academic monolith not only harms the intellectual development of students; it does grave damage to the nation’s capacity for future leadership," he says.
Alicea is fighting an uphill battle if he's trying to get a ton of conservative professors into the nation's best law schools. Lawyers tend to be liberal, and so do professors.
In 2008, 78.2% of the money raised by law and lobbying firms went to Democrats. The percentage given to Democrats dropped in 2012, but it was still more than 60%.
Professors also tend to be a liberal group. A 2005 study found 72% of professors teaching at U.S. universities were liberal, and 15% identified as conservative.
In 2010, a study by two prominent sociologists found universities were filled with liberal professors because liberals were drawn to the profession. The study found discrimination against conservative professors wasn't a widespread problem.
As a result, the "intellectual homogeneity" at places like Harvard is probably here to stay.
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