Ben- I think you are misinterpreting the tone of Andrea's paragraph regarding "conservative mantra." It is clear that it is not *Andrea* who believes that homophobia and creationism are "archaic and ridiculous." Rather, she is addressing the fact that Uni's "uber-liberal" population immediately dismisses every idea that is not indisputably democratic and new-age. This, as Andrea proceeds to point out, is the problem with Uni's student body.