The types of conservative college students who went to CPAC

This past weekend, 15 Yale students were sent to the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) by the William F. Buckley, Jr. Program, and I was one of them.

Hosted by the American Conservative Union, CPAC is the largest gathering of conservatives in the country. In 1985, President Ronald Reagan said “CPAC is the opportunity to dance with the one who brung ya.” It is typically a campaign spot for all Republican presidential candidates, a moment to shine for upcoming conservative politicians, and a platform for conservative members of the media like Mark Levin and Sean Hannity.

For conservative college students, CPAC is like the Jewish tradition of birthright: we’re going to “the birthplace of modern conservation”, sharing our values, and possibly pairing up to raise good ole conservative families. It also serves as a reminder that although our campuses are heavily liberal, there actually is a significant amount of college students who identify as conservative.

Almost everyone who spoke at CPAC mention the young conservatives in attendance. John Kasich called us “special” during his speech, and Marco Rubio said this election was about our future. Everyone seemed to have an opinion about how the conservative movement can reach out to millennials–some even going as far to say we were the generation to repeat the Reagan Revolution and elect a conservative to the White House in a dominating fashion.

Kasich’s not a regular dad, he’s a cool dad

And while it can be agreed that millennial voters are an important demographic in this election, they’re by no means a cohesive group. Even amongst conservatives, a few different groups of college students stood out: the frat star, the future First Lady, the devout Christian, and the young candidate.

The frat stars were the easiest to spot: bowties, boat shoes, and a pair of the American flag sunglasses sponsors are handing out for free. At the official GOP booth, they bought another Reagan Bush ’84 t-shirt and a pair of official George H.W. Bush socks. They were the first ones at every open bar event and captioned their photos of the weekend with things like “ain’t no party like the GOP PARTY”. When Ted Cruz arrived to give his speech, they started the “Ted! Ted! Ted!” chants and wouldn’t let up. While politically they love Cruz, they’re the first ones to cheer for Trump and told anyone who would listen that we need to support him if he won the nomination.Their hotel rooms were loud all night, and the maids had to empty trashcans full of beer bottles the next morning.

Official H.W.-approved GOP socks

Walking out of the frat stars’ hotel rooms in the morning were the future First Ladies. These students will tell you about their women leadership clubs and wear tight elephant-print skirts, bows, and a pink GOP elephant pin. Do not be fooled. These are not the female students who will argue in the Senate or lead a Tea Party rally; they’re the ones who will dutifully stand by their politician husband – even after his sex scandal. They’ll spew the classic Reagan love, talk about strong family values, but if you actually try to discuss political ideology and policy, they’ll give you a blank stare.

The future Mrs. Rubio?

Unlike the first two types of college students at CPAC, the devout Christians did not take advantage of open bars and slept in their own bed. They might not be members of the NRA, but they’re the ones who gave thunderous applauses during pro-life panels and anytime someone made a comment in opposition of same sex marriage. While they’re not the most fun to be around – and will occasionally shoot you a dirty look for cursing – they’re well respected among all the attendees at CPAC.

The young candidate had already been run two campaigns at the local level. He was able to list every Senator and their home states. He could break down the delegate numbers to tell what it would take for each presidential candidate to win the GOP nomination. He wasn’t at CPAC to have fun or enjoy the experience, he was there to network and launch his political career before earning his bachelor’s.

Some college students were already planning their own paths to the White House while listening to the 2016 candidates speak

Although these types of attendees stood out throughout the conference, the majority of the young conservatives were your average, run-of-the-mill college students who hadn’t been alive when Reagan was president and weren’t able to vote in the last presidential election. Their weekend was full of finding free food, Snapchatting with as many different geofilters as possible, and enjoying a few days away from class.

A radio host was giving out free cupcakes to attendees

One of the many geofilters available during CPAC