Conservative minority students at Harvard face resistance from ethnic groups and political allies.

Some people aren't sure how to react to Amanda P. Williams '96, a black woman who is also an outspoken Republican. But for one man, it was simply a matter of reading the signs.

"I was postering for the [Harvard-Radcliffe] Republican Alliance," Williams says. "A black fellow came up to me and shook his head and said, 'That's a damn shame.'"

Williams, who is the group's president, says it wasn't the first time someone had reacted negatively to a black woman with conservative political views.

"When I tell people that I am president of the Republican Alliance, they laugh because they are shocked to see a black woman so openly and visibly aligned with the Republican party," Williams says.

Williams says she considers herself "out of the ordinary." But she is certainly not alone. Williams is only one member of a small--and often silent--group of conservative minority students at Harvard.

And despite the recent prominence of leaders such as Colin Powell and Clarence Thomas, many of Harvard's minority conservatives say the old stereotypes of the mainstream conservative pitted against the bleeding-heart liberal minority are alive and well.

False Expectations

"It's a shock every time you find another black conservative," says Holly A. Foster '97, who is black. "There's a growing contingency, but it's still taboo."

Foster, who describes herself as a "liberal Republican," has worked in a Republican politician's office and wrote for the Salient, a conservative bi-weekly student publication, as a first-year.

She traces her political views to her conservative upbringing, but says that her racial identification has nothing to do with her political opinions. "Neither party has been for my race," Foster says.

Still, Foster says she sees herself as bucking social expectations. "For too long people have said that if you're black or a woman you must be a Democrat," says Foster. "Now if I'm against abortion, why should I ally myself with a party that continues to promote abortion?"

Arvind M.R. Krishnamurthy '97, whose family is South Asian, says he agrees with Foster that there is social pressure to sign up for the Democratic Party. "In popular circles, if you're a minority, you're supposed to be liberal," Krishnamurthy says.

But, he says that pressure has dissipated over time--it is now "more acceptable" to be right-wing.

"It's cooler to say that you're conservative than it was 10 years ago," Krishnamurthy says.