The students interviewed have requested to remain anonymous, out of concern for their own physical safety, and in the best interests of the continuation of their academic careers at Lakeside School.

Unfortunately, certain parts of this interview have been redacted by the administration.

Interviewer: How long have you held conservative views, and when did you realize you were “different”?

Student 1: First of all, the way you phrased that question was incredibly rude. Having conservative views is perfectly  . My conservative views first developed when I was in middle school. We were having a class discussion about political candidates and major voting issues in the 2020 election, and I found myself disagreeing with the [liberal] perspectives of my peers, much to the   of my teacher.

Student 2: I’m largely influenced by the eloquence and charisma of my lord and savior Charlie Kirk, and our supreme leader Donald J. Trump. I believe that everything they say is the absolute truth, and should be what everyone in our nation believes in as well. Their wish is my command.

Interviewer: How did you survive at a school where your views are in the minority?

Student 1: It’s frankly   at a school where  
  and there are   if I speak my mind,  .

Student 2: I try my best to stay out of politics and   during discussions of controversial issues, because I’m afraid that  
 ,  ,
and I may very well be  . I thought Lakeside was supposed to be  
  look at me   I’m a murderer  .

Interviewer: What’s the most “Lakeside” moment you’ve witnessed that made you feel like an outsider politically?

Student 1: My English teacher is Ms.  . The assignment was to write a reflection on our unit about the gender roles and hierarchies in Nervous Conditions by Tsitsi Dangarembga. I decided to be honest, trusting that she would evaluate my work fairly, and wrote that  . I got an   on that assignment, which led to me  . I still haven’t  .

Student 2: My “welcome to Lakeside” moment was during a Harkness discussion during history class, when we were talking about the signs of fascism and its resemblance to the current political and socioeconomic state of our country. I shared that  
 , expecting my peers to engage in a healthy and constructive discussion about it, but instead they  
  me, and  .

Interviewer: In your opinion, what needs to be changed about Lakeside as an institution?

Student 1: Personally, I believe that  
 .

Student 2: Lakeside needs to learn to accept  . Just because someone is conservative   make them a bad person. It   make them racist. It   make them a Trump-supporter. Our inability to accept other opinions is  , and   progress as an academic community. There can be  
 .

Interviewer: Is there any topic where you actually agree with the liberal majority at school?

Student 1: As a matter of fact, yes!  
 
 .

Student 2: Absolutely. I   on several political issues, such as  
 .

Interviewer: Are you nervous to be interviewed about your political views, even anonymously?

Student 1: Yes. As I’ve said before, I don’t feel comfortable sharing my political opinions, out of fear of  , and possibly even   from this school. Please keep my name anonymous, and do not tell anyone about my identity.

Student 2: Without a doubt. People might start speculating about me, and if they find out I’m a conservative, I’m doomed for life.

Interviewer: What is a common misconception about conservative students that you would like to clarify?

Student 1: There are so many things I would love to clarify!   conservative people are super arrogant and unkind,  ! Being conservative   mean that you oppose immigration, abortion, or other hot-button issues. It can mean that you support  . People often hyper-focus around a few specific issues, and pit themselves against conservative students when they self-identify as such under the assumption that they’re quite literally the worst of their kind, but that’s simply  
 .

Student 2: A common misconception is that conservative students are all homophobic, racist, gun-wielding rednecks from Texas. This is absolutely   true. Conservative students are  
 . It   mean that we hate liberals   we support ICE,  .

This interview has been edited for clarity.