We often hear that Penn students are the next generation of business and political leaders of the world. For political science students like me, this inevitably creates expectations that we should be sure of what we stand for. But how can we do this when Penn presents material from an overwhelmingly liberal perspective?
In high school, I thought that spending four years in one of the best academic institutions in the United States would allow me to gain a better understanding of what exactly different political affiliations stood for and how I could personally advance key debates. Yet, as my third year is close to coming to an end, I still find myself at a loss regarding many important global issues. I can’t help but feel that I haven’t been exposed enough to a variety of political perspectives. As a leader in political and academic thought, Penn should be more inclusive of different political perspectives in its curriculum.
Throughout my first couple of semesters at Penn, I was required to enroll in a variety of introductory courses for political science. The syllabi mainly covered key theories of international relations and political systems, with assigned opinion pieces on current events meant to complement the theory. I quickly realized that these articles almost always criticized more conservative policies, rarely exposing us to pieces that scrutinized the liberal side’s arguments. In fact, only one of the over 20 readings from my introductory international relations class examined the potential benefits of a conservative approach to foreign policy.
I soon realized I was not the only one perceiving this lack of academic diversity. On social media, I’ve seen claims from different students in the Ivy League asking for a wider range of perspectives in their curriculum. For example, Larissa Truchan, a liberal student at Harvard Law School and influencer, recently posted a video sharing her experience, claiming that her classes were often taught with a “liberal skew.” The problem with this lack of academic diversity is that when only one side is properly represented, students are left with only critiques and no real understanding of alternative viewpoints.
Being an international student, I perceive this gap even more. Sometimes, the classes feel biased or U.S.-centric, even when they are supposed to be exposing us to a global issue. For example, one of my classes that was supposed to be focused on Latin America left out an important part of literature on Colombian politics. For example, the achievements of the Uribe administration in reducing guerrilla-related violence or the negative effects of the 2016 peace agreement on drug trafficking. As someone who grew up there, I had to sit with the fact that a lot of important perspectives — ones that I’ve lived through and experienced — would simply go unmentioned.
Looking at data on Penn’s faculty, this gap in intellectual diversity starts to make more sense. In 2024, The Daily Pennsylvanian found that 99% of political donations made by Penn faculty went to the Democratic party. This is a wider pattern in American higher education as well, with 60% of University faculty nationwide identifying as liberal. This can unintentionally influence the way we learn in the classroom: it shapes readings, lectures, and even essay prompts. And while I have no problem learning about liberal viewpoints, I still feel that students should be exposed to a full spectrum of ideas.
I believe that part of being both a political science student and a well-informed, global citizen is having the ability to see an issue from all possible angles. It doesn’t matter if I personally agree or disagree with certain perspectives — as someone going into policy, it’s crucial for me to be able to articulate the pros and cons of all the different approaches.
Beyond political science, Penn must encourage broader intellectual diversity in all areas of study. We should be getting exposed to all schools of thought — spending four years in higher education is perhaps the one chance we will get to learn and see as many perspectives as possible. Diverse ideologies should not be seen as a threat, and only by engaging with competing viewpoints will students be able to truly understand what they stand for and articulate what they believe when they enter the real world.
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MARIANA MARTINEZ is a College junior studying political science from Bogotá, Colombia. Her email is marmari@sas.upenn.edu.
