College conservative speaks out on threats against Trump supporters on campus: 'Widespread pattern'

As the 2024 presidential election draws near, some university officials have become more emboldened to lash out at supporters of former President Trump, a conservative watchdog reports.

Earlier this month, a University of Kansas instructor was placed on administrative leave after he was caught on video making a violent threat to men who didn't support female presidential candidates.

"It’s what frustrates me, there are going to be some males in our society that will refuse to vote for a potential female president because they don’t think females are smart enough to be president. We can line all those guys up and shoot them," the instructor, who has now left the university, told his students.

Campus Reform correspondent Emily Sturge told Fox News Digital that this incident wasn't a one-off but part of a "widespread pattern" of hostility towards Trump supporters in higher education.

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In another incident, an admissions officer at Gettysburg College in Pennsylvania was caught calling Trump supporters, "no different than the piece of s--- human you stand behind," in a heated social media repost.

The post also accuses Trump supporters of tolerating "rape," "xenophobia" and "homophobia" among many other accusations.

In a statement, Gettysburg College distanced itself from the post's claims and told Fox News Digital it "does not endorse or condone the views expressed" through the reposting by the admissions officer.

Sturge described other recent incidents when conservative students were allegedly singled out by school leadership at various schools.

"Being a conservative on a college campus immediately puts a target on the backs of some students," Sturge told Fox News Digital. "Students are receiving backlash and verbal abuse from peers and from professors for their views. Some students receive lower grades from professors because of those conservative views and in many cases are treated differently by university administrations."

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Despite this hostility towards conservatives, Sturge believes Trump is making inroads with members of Gen Z, some of whom will be first-time voters this election.

Gen Z values "authenticity" from candidates, Sturge said. She believes Trump's media strategy of talking off-the-cuff on podcasts with social media influencers "is really appealing" to her generation.

Sturge also said that the economy and inflation are the top voting issues for these first-time voters, issues which polls indicate Trump has an advantage with voters on, over Vice President Kamala Harris.

"I talk to members of Gen Z every single day. They're talking about how the Biden-Harris economic policies have made their lives so much more difficult under this administration," she said.

According to research organization CIRCLE, 41 million members of Gen Z will be eligible to vote in this year's race, meaning eight million will have "aged into the electorate" by the time Trump and Harris go head-to-head this November. 

New York Times and Siena College polls released in August indicate a large gender gap in the political leanings of voters ages 18 to 29, with more women favoring Harris for president while men in the same age range prefer Trump. The 51-point gap between Gen Z male and female voters is vastly larger than any other gap of any other generation in polling to date.

Fox News' Yael Halon contributed to this report.