Game Changers and Policy Makers

New Roads is a school at the crossroads of progressive politics.

New Roads refers to itself as the Rainbow Tribe; full of diverse and unique viewpoints, with all students free to speak their minds and state their truths. But does the Rainbow Tribe truly represent this supposed vast array of opinions? And are all students comfortable sharing these opinions? Students in their social science classes recently took a poll surveying their political affiliations and comfortability sharing them.

New Roads is often labeled as a liberal school. Undoubtedly, from outward appearance, the student body does seem to tout liberal affiliations, more than your average Angeleno high school. When asked about their political affiliations on social issues, a whopping 78.6% of the student body affiliated as either “somewhat liberal, liberal, or very liberal/progressive.” The conservative coalition was much smaller with only 4.6% of students identifying as “somewhat conservative, conservative, or very conservative,” with the remaining students split up between “centrist” (8.7%) and “no answer” (8.3%).

Money makes the world go ‘round, and students at New Roads were less progressive on the economic front. The student body saw a sizable decrease in liberal affiliation on the economic front, with 66.5% of students identifying as “somewhat liberal, liberal, or very liberal/progressive/leftist.” An even starker shift was in those who marked themselves as being the furthest to the left. On the social axis, 42.6% of students classified themselves as “very liberal/progressive” while on the economics question, only 26% of students were willing to classify themselves as “very liberal/progressive/leftist.” 

While no economics or government classes are offered at New Roads, the student body is still well-known for its activist spirit. The school mission statement goes as far as to say a priority is to “[raise] generations of powerfully compassionate advocates.” When asked on a scale of 1-10 how politically involved the student body feels, the majority (42.6%) of students ranked themselves as somewhere in the range of 4-6, with 40.9% between 7-10 and the remaining between 1-3. 49.6% of the registered student body are registered as a Democrat, while just over a tenth are registered as Independents, suggesting possible discontent with the two-party system. Only one student in the entire school is registered as a Republican,  and one other as Green, making up less than one percent of the registered student body. Disappointingly, 38% of the eligible student body is not preregistered or registered to vote. 

Only 16.5% of the student body are “Proud to be an American”…

Even fewer students believe that the United States is the greatest country in the world…

When students were asked if their political beliefs were similar to their parents, a rather large chunk of students said their political affiliations were either “similar or very similar” to their parents…

Looking at all these statistics – and as any person who has spent a day at New Roads can tell you – it is impossible to ignore the fact that New Roads is undoubtedly a liberal-leaning school. As culture wars rage on, a talking point of the right has been the liberal biases present on school campuses. The right has gone as far to strongly advocate for all people who have the ability to enroll their children in private institutions to shy them away from liberal biases in public education (despite the fact that public schools are jam packed with right-wing American rhetoric). And while New Roads is, in fact, a private school, the liberal biases are strong, yet when asked “Do you believe all people, regardless of political affiliation, feel comfortable sharing their beliefs at New Roads?” 47.1% of students responded with no.

Additionally, 27.7% of the student body agreed that there had been a time where they felt uncomfortable sharing their personal beliefs…

Outside of parents, teachers are some of the most impactful people in young people’s lives, literally tasked with molding their minds. When asked “Do you believe teachers at New Roads teach from a neutral political standpoint?” 42.1% of students said no. A slightly smaller chunk of 38.8% of students said somewhat, with only 13.6% of students agreeing that New Roads teachers take a neutral approach…

Students were next asked if they believed teachers should teach from a neutral political standpoint. 37% of students agreed, followed by 36.6% of students who said that teachers didn’t have to teach from a neutral perspective but should recognize and state their biases. Another 12.8% of students said no and also believed teachers didn’t need to state their biases.

To further gauge, and obtain a more personal understanding of how some students feel attending New Roads in regards to their political beliefs, students were asked if they would like to be interviewed, anonymously. While many conservative-leaning students originally left contact information, many later decided against participating in  the interview despite the assured anonymity; speaking to the uncomfortable feelings some students have in sharing their beliefs. One interview was conducted with a student who identified themselves as “Liberal, but not New Roads liberal.”

During the course of the interview the student was asked about what it was like attending New Roads as someone who feels disconnected from mainstream New Roads political norms.

“You just have to be conscious of where you are,” they said. 

“My friends and I know that there are some things, where you talk about them…you may have to leave it outside of New Roads. Everything at New Roads is seen in such a binary, either you’re very far to the left or seen as very far to the right, and the issue is that I believe things aren’t a binary. Things aren’t black and white. There’s a lot of gray area in the middle, and that is where the truth most often lies.”

Referring to a recent incident when a school administrator gave a speech at Town Hall condemning Kanye West’s anti semitic remarks as “tragic,” the student (who is Jewish), said they would never let words have such an impact on them, and that Kanye West will always be “a ball of noise,”  but could never subject themselves to feeling like such a victim. 

When asked if they believed inflammatory words could lead to violence the student agreed that it was possible, but went on to say “I honestly don’t think that Kanye can be blamed for that violence since he wasn’t the one out there physically doing it.” 

As the 2024 presidential election looms in the foreground, people have speculated about the potential prospective candidates. Since many current students in the upper school will be able to vote in the 2024 election, the student body was asked who they would like to see run. While most students didn’t have a particular candidate in mind, some students had some interesting takes to share. Twenty students, or 15.3% of respondents to this optional question, wrote they would want to see a non-specified woman, person of color, person in the LGBTQ+ community, or young person as president. Nineteen students, or 14.5% of respondents said they’d want to see some sort of celebrity in the White House. The individual person who received the most nominations for president was the darling of progressive politics, Representative Alexandria Ocasio Cortez, with 14 votes and 10.6% of student nominations, followed by Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg, with 12 votes and 9.2% of the vote, and 1933-1937 Governor of Kansas Alf Landon straying far from the polls only picking up one nomination. Six students did not indicate a particular politician by name,  but specifically said they did not want Donald Trump to run for reelection. Along with myriad candidates receiving scattered votes, a few familiar faces on campus appeared in the survey. Teacher Sean Brookes received two nominations, an anonymous student nominated a united ticket of sophomores Rebecca Horrowitz for president and Sam Cozolino for vice president, with Cozolino also picking up an individual nomination, along with seniors Zaraya Jordan, Clementine Warner and Bella Witt, freshmen Edgar Silva and Mia Attie, and sixth-grader Lucious Popolizio.

The Rainbow Tribe is undoubtedly a community like no other. Full of a diverse student body filled with inquisitive minds and a future generation of “game changers and policy makers,”  as Assistant Dean of Student Life, Kenya McGee, has been known to say. Still, the data suggests that, to some of those in our Rainbow Tribe, New Roads still lacks in one key area of diversity: political beliefs.