Study finds nearly 90 percent of students fake progressive views to appease liberal professors
College students at Northwestern and the University of Michigan increasingly hide their conservative beliefs, with 88 percent admitting to faking progressive views to succeed academically or socially.
Researchers warn that this climate of ideological conformity suppresses authentic expression and encourages performative morality among both students and professors.
A new study has concluded that college students are increasingly faking conformity to liberal opinions in order to academically succeed.
The study, published on Aug. 12, was spearheaded by Northwestern University researchers Forest Romm and Kevin Waldman.
Between 2023 and 2025, the researchers conducted 1,452 confidential interviews with undergraduate students at both Northwestern University and the University of Michigan to examine how ideological pressure influences students’ beliefs.
They found that 88 percent of students admitted to pretending to harbor more progressive views than they genuinely endorse with the aim of succeeding academically or socially.
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“We do not fault students for perpetuating a climate that is hostile to intellectual integrity,” Romm and Waldman wrote about the results. “We fault the faculty, administrators, and institutional leaders who built a system that rewards moral theater while punishing inquiry.”
More than 80 percent of surveyed students reported submitting classwork misrepresenting their true beliefs.
Regarding controversial topics such as gender, politics, and family, students consistently censored themselves. While 77 percent said they disagreed with the idea that gender identity should override biological sex in contexts like sports and healthcare, virtually none felt safe voicing that view.
Romm and Waldman argue that the climate of compliance in higher education undermines identity formation—replacing conviction with performance.
“These students were not cynical, but adaptive,” they wrote. “In a campus environment where grades, leadership, and peer belonging often hinge on fluency in performative morality, young adults quickly learn to rehearse what is safe.”
Waldman told Campus Reform that one of the “most compelling” findings of the study is the “role of fear” in the findings, and that the same influences affect students and professors alike.
“Our data suggest that many professors, concerned about professional repercussions or cancellation, engage in performative displays of progressive orthodoxy rather than authentic expression,” said Waldman.
Romm added that, without open inquiry, “we risk continued erosion of social cohesion, growing distrust, and a decline in the cognitive skills necessary to navigate complex societal challenges.”
Conservative students have historically faced backlash for their beliefs on college campuses. Last year, Fox News interviewed college students who said they felt unable to express conservative opinions at their respective institutions.
Belmont University student Mya Conrad described being “yelled at” by professors, while Wisconsin students William Blathras and Gaby Gerard reported fearing academic consequences.
Campus Reform has contacted Forest Romm for comment. This article will be updated accordingly.
