The article which The Stanford Daily recently published today regarding my email asking for help with the Stanford College Republicans’ party during Admit Weekend was badly misunderstood, and I would like to submit a clarifying remark.

I was not in any way trying to dissuade students of color from joining College Republicans or even implying that the club doesn’t already have any. In fact, I feel safe saying that we are one of the most diverse clubs on campus, contrary to popular caricature. The friend who helped me put up posters is in fact a first-generation low-income child of Mexican immigrants, and another friend providing help is a black Muslim. I, obviously, am a woman, and the past two presidents of SCR have both been students of color.

However, just as some white students will doubtlessly wish to attend the Latinx student event, some Latinx students may not wish to attend. For instance, my many friends who are both conservative and of color almost certainly chose not to. Why? Because the official programming for minority groups at Stanford takes an approach focused on social justice and instills a victim mindset that conservatives of all nationalities do not find appealing. Thus, in my email I referred to the events very consciously as “race-based” since they speak about issues from a racial perspective distasteful to conservatives. Those in SCR know that I made the statement partially in jest: And it was funny because it was true. Conservative students, no matter their color, are not interested in such events and in fact usually feel alienated by them.

I remember being worried about discrimination against conservative beliefs when I came in as a freshman and organized this party because I wanted conservative students also to have a place to go during this time slot and meet people with similar interests. The Daily’s article, which willfully misread an email intended for a small audience, proved that such discrimination exists, but I know that students who attend the party will discover that although small, Stanford’s conservative community is close-knit, intellectually stimulating and yes, incidentally, also vibrant and racially diverse.

I hope that I’ve rectified this misunderstanding and sincerely apologize if my words taken out of context caused anyone any consternation.

Yours sincerely,

Annika Nordquist, ‘21