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What are the political and social leanings of most students and faculty? Is it easy to express opposing views?

Goodness, where to begin on this topic during the heated election season...

 You will find no shortage of liberals and conservatives at UT. Both the College Democrats and College Republicans are very active student groups on campus, and somehow or another you will find out what they are doing. 

 Many intellectuals are by nature liberal. Now, this is not a good or a bad thing, it is just what it is. There are many liberal teachers in academia, and UT is no different. However, after 3 years in Knoxville, I have never had a professor attempt to push their political beliefs on me. 

 The liberal section of the campus population is very vocal, but that tends to be the case in times like these, where the incumbent party has retained power for the maximum amount of time and both side desperately want to win. 

 However, that is not to say that a conservative/republican won't feel right at home in Knoxville, as there are many that hail from all over the state.

 In my time here, I have found the UTK is very open to both sides of the political spectrum and the school proved that when in the 1970s, when many schools kicked their daily newspapers off campus, Tennessee actually gave more funding to The Daily Beacon, and kept it on campus.