According to a survey of students conducted by Vandal Health, Education, Recreation and Wellbeing in 2024, 11.3% of respondents on the University of Idaho campus feel discriminated against for their political beliefs.
The survey was fielded during the fall 2024 semester and coincided with the November presidential election. Over 1,000 responses were collected from UI students. This was the first time the office conducted this survey made by the American College Health Association to evaluate 14 dimensions of wellbeing, according to their report.
“We’re seeing a lot of research and anecdotal feedback on campus about concerns like belonging, connectedness, loneliness and lack of engagement. There’s a lot of research coming out post-COVID about those factors. And so, we wanted to learn more about what that meant for our students,” said Emily Tuschhoff, associate director of programs and wellbeing initiatives.
One of the 14 dimensions involved levels of discrimination, including gender identity and sexual orientation, which saw 6.8% and 6% of students, respectively, feeling discriminated against. The survey found that 4.5% of students felt discriminated against for their racial or ethnic background, 6% for religious affiliation, 4.3% for socioeconomic status and 4.8% for disability.
Tuschhoff said, in response to the percentage of students who felt discriminated against, “There were definitely some things throughout this assessment where we were like, ‘huh, is there something going on with students?’”
“I’m really glad that we did this in fall of ‘24 to have some baseline data before our equity and diversity unit was closed. And so, we hope to do this again next fall…So we can see if we notice any effects on wellbeing due to those policy changes,” Tuschhoff said.
Diversity, equity and inclusion offices were shut down on Dec. 18, 2024, after UI made the move to close these offices preemptively, based on a pending state Board of Education decision at the time to close DEI offices statewide.
Another survey, conducted by the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression in spring 2025, found that 25% of students on the UI campus felt that some amount of violence was acceptable to silence speakers “at least in rare cases.”
“I think it’s all related. … Our current landscape in our country is leading to stress, wellbeing issues, connection, belonging. I mean, people are for sure afraid to speak up,” Tuschhoff said.
The FIRE survey also reported that 39% of UI students have self-censored themselves on campus.
An anonymous student from the UI class of 2028 reported to FIRE, “There are many times where I have to hide not only my beliefs, but also who I am as a person because I know for a fact that I am not safe around many of my classmates.”
The 2024 survey is now being used to inform the Student Affairs Strategic Plan, which includes a pillar focused solely on student wellbeing. The university has also adopted a focus on student wellbeing in its university-wide strategic plan.
“We might not be doing everything right, but we are trying to put the pieces in place to make change,” said Tuschhoff.
Mackenzie Davidson can be reached at [email protected].