UNM's College Republicans say there is a biased political atmosphere and climate on campus.
The group released the results of a four-month study Wednesday that found 83 percent of registered professors at UNM are Democrats, 11 percent are Republicans and 6 percent are classified as other.
"There is a one-sided body," said Scott Darnell, chairman of the College Republicans.
He said the report shows there has been a breakdown in the way truth, fairness and unbiased academic freedom and discussion are promoted at UNM, which prides itself in diversity.
"This lack of freedom and fear of professors with different political bents has to end," Darnell said.
Although he said it is not a problem the College Republicans need to solve, members said they hope the results will start a dialogue about the problems arising from differences in political ideologies.
Get content from The Daily Lobo delivered to your inbox
According to the results, nearly half of UNM's departments have not one registered Republican professor. In a supplementary study, results showed 100 percent of registered professors at UNM's Law School are Democrats.
A UNM teaching assistant, speaking on the condition of anonymity, said she would love to see the energy invested in this campus to hire professors with a wide range of political ideologies. But, she said to advocate something on the basis of political affiliations makes her question what types of education College Republicans have.
"(The study) is one of the most frightening things I've experienced on campus in three years," she said, adding the results suggest she is a target on campus.
Joan Marjean, a UNM graduate student, said conflicting ideologies are part of the culture and that professors as well as students have to accept it.
"They write the textbook, the press publishes them and we buy it," she said, saying there is a liberal bent on assignments given at UNM.
If there were offsetting forces within the community of professors in the United States, Darnell said the result would be a push for accuracy and balanced representation of all aspects of college life, including what makes its way into history books.
He said the results show importance at both the student and societal levels.
"It is not the preaching of agendas, but the side comments and subtleties professors make," Darnell said.
The object of the study was to uncover the truth about the political leanings of professors at UNM. Faculty, associate, assistant and part-time professors were studied as well as lecturers, largely from undergraduate schools.
"I don't think it's news," said Brian Eagan, a UNM graduate student. "The faculty is generally members of the Democratic Party, especially at a public university."
He said he has never had a class where the professor has argued one way or another and most of his professors have balanced discussions.
Members of the College Republicans said they feel attacked because of their belief system at UNM and that the problem can be fixed with a more ideologically diverse professor population.
"I hope it plants seeds in the minds of professors or administration to this problem," Darnell said.
