When I stepped foot on my college campus six years ago, I naively believed it would be a place for free thought, where a wide range of ideas could be exchanged and debated. As a young conservative woman, I found that navigating my misconception about the system of higher education quickly became my daily reality. How would I be perceived for sharing my views? Could liberal bias affect my involvement in clubs, fair grading, friendships, and mentorships? Obviously, I could have used a copy of Karin Lips's You’re Not Alone: The Conservative Woman’s Guide to College.

Lips founded the Network of Enlightened Women at the University of Virginia as a college student in order to provide a space for conservative women to share their values and discuss policy issues. It's now a nationally recognized organization that encourages intellectual diversity across college campuses.

Her guidebook takes a step further than her previous work, She’s Conservative: Stories of Trials and Triumphs on America’s College Campuses, a collection of personal narratives from NeW members about being a conservative in college.

According to Lips, 58% of women in college are liberal, while only 15% are conservative. You’re Not Alone serves as a road map for young conservative women navigating their college journeys. From high school graduation to landing their first job post-college, Lips addresses the unique challenges conservatives face as the ideological minority on campus.

One of the most important and perhaps daunting decisions for high school graduates is choosing where they will spend the next four years or so of their lives. And for conservatives, that means considering factors beyond their academic aspirations. Lips's advice to prospective students is to seek out an “intellectual home for conservatives on campus.”

For some women, this meant choosing a private Christian university that supported their values. For others, including Dickinson College student Jordyn Ney, it meant attending a school where the majority disagreed with her.

“When choosing a college, choose a place where you can grow academically regardless of the political demographics of the students,” Ney said. “It will open your mind to new perspectives. Not to mention, when you are put in an environment where you have to defend your conservative point of view, you will realize just how important those values are to you.”

What we can take away from Ney’s conclusion is the choice nearly every conservative student must inevitably make: either to defend her perspective against the echo chamber of the majority or to stay silent.

Self-censoring is a symptom of the decay of free speech at universities. Citing the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression's 2022-2023 College Free Speech Rankings, Lips reveals an alarming 63% of students self-censor due to concerns about ruining their reputation, leading conservatives down a long road of silencing their perspectives for the sake of their safety, to maintain friendships, and for fear of being canceled.

The book’s most effective strength lies in its use of personal stories, which are woven throughout the guide and offer diverse insights on how to approach political interference. In her struggle to organize an event on Title IX and women’s sports, former NeW chapter president at Boston College Emma Foley revealed the obstacles conservative student organizations experience and the importance of persistence in the face of administrators who seek to undermine them.

Facing liberal bias from a college administration is rather unsurprising when Lips shares that for every 12 administrators, only one is conservative.

While encouraging women to stand for what they believe in, Lips admits there is a strategic way to approach it. She reminds women that, at the end of the day, their identity shouldn’t be overshadowed by a political stance, and there are instances when not sharing your perspective is a powerful choice. When describing how conservative women should adapt to being met with disapproval by their peers, Abby Daniels from American University put it this way: “Lead with your personality not with your politics.”

At a time when college campuses are saturated with liberal ideologies and free speech is treated as insignificant, Lips's guide is an effective antidote to this plague of self-censorship, empowering young conservatives not to bend the knee to institutions that want to suppress their viewpoints.

Lips proves a fulfilling college experience is attainable, even for conservatives. It just takes a little more effort, a spark of initiative, and reassurance from women who have emerged on the other side with success and a sense of purpose.

Peyton Sorosinski graduated from Sacramento State University in May 2023 and was an editor for the State Hornet. Peyton is a student reporter for the College Fix and has written for the Galt Herald.