Student president of Harvard Republican Club touts increase in membership, says it's 'never been a better time' to be in the GOP on campus

Michael Oved, the president of the Harvard Republican Club (HRC) says only 5.2 percent of students at the storied academic institution support the GOP but nonetheless wrote in The Harvard Crimson, “I can state unequivocally that it has never been a better time to be a Republican on campus.”

A number of students who don’t identify as Republicans were not exactly quiet about their dislike of President-elect Donald Trump or his supporters on election night. Many left-leaning students expressed their feelings on Sidechat, a social media site where anonymity rules.

“No matter who wins tonight, the fact that so many vote for Trump is f*cking terrifying,” one poster declared. Other posts listed the usual nouns that the far left uses to describe conservatives or Republicans: “freaks,” “misogynists,” “fascists,” and the “stupidest people on campus.” The Republican enclave was even exhorted to “unenroll please.”

“Notwithstanding these petty efforts to undermine and intimidate campus Republicans into suppressing their viewpoints, as president of the Harvard Republican Club, I can state unequivocally that it has never been a better time to be a Republican on campus,” Oved wrote.

Oved explained the reasons for his enthusiasm: a massive increase in the student mailing list, a career mentorship program, more events and greater attendance at these events.

Oved says he has also invited a number of well-known of speakers to the club, from Peter A. Thiel to Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who have inspired and challenged attendees. “While I may not agree with every mentor or speaker’s opinion, their diverse perspectives and ideas reflect the broad, open-minded, and welcoming organization the HRC has built over the past year,” Oved wrote.

He noted that the club has become like the Republican Party, “A similarly broad coalition that propelled Trump, whom we proudly endorsed in July, to a spectacularly decisive victory — a group of people with varied ideas about America’s future united behind their Republican identity.”

Oved said that both the club and the party are increasing their success as they, “Embrace heterogenous opinions and allow for robust conversations.” He later added, “Those surprised by Trump’s victory earlier this month might assume that Republican life at Harvard is dead. But that couldn’t be further from the truth.”