HLS Federalist Society/Political Culture
Hey all! I’m an incoming law student here and had some questions about the vibes at HLS. For reference, I’m ideologically libertarian, solidly liberal compared to the national average, and conservative compared to most Boston-area college students. In and since undergrad, I was involved with several initiatives to work across the aisle, which meant that I was very involved with a conservative campus group in addition to more liberal groups despite aligning more with the liberal groups. I genuinely enjoy speaking to people I disagree with and seeing how they frame issues. My undergrad school wasn’t very politically involved, so this rarely caused social problems.
Based on what I’ve heard (from limited anecdotal sources), Harvard’s culture is much more politically cliquey. To what extent is this true? I’m interested in getting involved with the Federalist Society, both because I’m curious about how conservative law students think and to see if there’s space for my level of libertarianism. Is this something that students tend to be judgmental or exclusionary about? Even if I don’t hold very right-leaning views, would being affiliated with a more conservative group close social doors? (I’m planning to go into a field of law largely unrelated to partisan politics, so this is truly about the social scene and not networking.)