WATCH: Professor speaks about being an advisor for conservative student group
Campus Reform Reporter Alexa Schwerha spoke with a professor at the University of Houston about how she supports conservative students.
While conservative students on college campuses might struggle to find a support system, one professor at the University of Houston is fighting to change this narrative.
Dr. Seema Nanda, a clinical professor at the University of Houston, helps young conservatives find their place on campus by serving as the UH Young Conservatives of Texas advisor.
She told Campus Reform Reporter Alexa Schwerha that the role allows her to help the students “expand and grow” the movement on campus and in the Houston community.
[RELATED: Why so few conservative clubs? Faculty are unwilling to sponsor them.]
“I had them plant the seed, [n]ow it’s my turn to fertilize and watch it bloom,” she said.
Nana explained that a goal of the group is to get together “more and more students that have the same philosophy, [who previously didn’t] even know that they have a place on campus that they can go and talk.”
But it takes more to influence the conservative pool on campus, Nanda explained. With the help of community members and supporters, she explained that the chapter often invites conservative speakers to discuss a variety of topics on campus.
The chapter has hosted a range of guests ranging from local politicians to political commentator Ann Coulter.
“I’m kind of blown away [by] how much it’s grown,” she said.
Student organizations must have a faculty advisor to be recognized as an official campus group. Securing recognition provides groups the ability to reserve campus spaces for meetings and access student funding.
Nanda said that advising a student group is one way professors can help enrich students’ experiences. She alleged that many students fear speaking about their values on campus because of the “2% of the population [that tells] the 98% what to do.”
“It’s given me another purpose,” Nanda shared. “These are going to be our future doctors, future lawyers, future politicians, future teachers.”
Watch the full interview above.
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