Approximately 50 students gathered Thursday evening to listen to journalist Katie Pavlich discuss what she sees as an age of millennial entitlement at an event organized by the Boston University College Republicans with help from Young America’s Foundation.
BU College Republicans developed the event because they feel it is valuable to have conservative speakers on campus, said Corey Pray, the club’s president.
“It’s important for students to have the opportunity to hear a different point of view because in Boston, sometimes we live in kind of a bubble where the left-wing view predominates,” the College of Arts and Sciences senior said.
BU College Republicans Executive Director Ava Mack said they wish to tell students with conservative beliefs that “you’re not alone, and there is a path forward.”
Pavlich, a journalist at Fox News and an author of two books, spoke about the importance of the free market, the dangers of a far-left mentality from the millennial generation and the need for students to stay true to their opinions on campus.
“Millennials have come into prime working years under Obama, and they’ve had years of little hope and few opportunities for employment,” Pavlich said. “As a result, they’ve placed their grievances on a free market system rather than where they belong, on big government overreach.”
When discussing the policies of Bernie Sanders, Pavlich said young people have a misunderstanding of socialism.
“The reality is that socialism not only destroys economic freedom, it severely limits the capability of everyone,” Pavlich said. “[It] doesn’t provide more, but instead provides less.”
After the presentation, the audience had the opportunity to ask questions and move to a neighboring room for a meet-and-greet session with the reporter.
At one point, a student asked Pavlich about her opinion on the reported liberal leanings of millennials. Pavlich responded that she felt that this was heavily influenced by young people trying to create problems.
“Some of the stuff we’re seeing with the millennial generation, and especially with college campuses, is a result of first-world problems,” Pavlich said. “They don’t have real problems, so they make up problems and attack the very things that make their lives as great as they are.”
When asked to give advice to conservative college students on a liberal campus, Pavlich told students to voice their beliefs.
“You have a right to say what you want to say,” Pavlich said. “We’re the ones who are really fighting inequality as a minority here, and we also believe in diversity of intellect not just diversity of skin color.”
Several students said after the event that Pavlich encouraged them to speak about their beliefs. Emily Bacon, a sophomore in the College of Fine Arts, said Pavlich’s words were useful for students who feel as though their opinions are not taken seriously on campus.
“It was very helpful, and it’s nice to be recognized as having legitimate ideas [instead of] just as being the bad guys in the university,” Bacon said.
For some attendees, the talk came at a time when they feel it is necessary for more students to hear new perspectives.
Michelle Verkhoglaz, a sophomore in the Questrom School of Business, said both sides of the political spectrum should be considered equal.
“It was something that more people need to hear because a lot of what we’re learning today is only one-sided,” Verkhoglaz said. “I’m not saying that people have to agree with what she’s saying, but they should listen to it.”
