"Affirmative action is not a hand up, but a chain around one's ankle, wrist and mind that keeps people from achieving their God-given abilities," Ellis Washington, a DePauw alumni, said in his recent essay, "The Birth of an Intellectual Conservative- Parts One and Two."
On Feb. 8, Washington, who graduated in 1981, republished some of his essays from his time in Greencastle, exactly thirty years from when they were first published in The DePauw.
While at DePauw, Washington went through a transformation and describes his experience as an epiphany. Since graduating, Washington was editor of the Michigan Law Review, a law clerk at the Rutherford Institute, has had seven books published in six different languages and currently writes for the Ellis Washington report and wnd.com.
Washington grew up in Detroit and attended Cass Tech High School. He later received a scholarship to DePauw playing the French horn.
"Everyone always complained when people were being loud or practicing in the halls but Ellis would practice his French horn and no one would complain," Alan Hill, one of Ellis's friends and another DePauw alumnus, who is now the vice president for enrollment at Franklin College, said.
Orcenith Smith, the director of orchestra at DePauw, also remembers Washington.
"He was always effective," Smith said of Washington's playing.
He also recalled his embouchure, how Washington held the horn to his lips as unusual, but Smith said Washington, "made it work."
Aside from music, Washington was also the president of the Black Student Association on campus and a member of the Student Republican Party.
In addition, Washington attributes his drastic change in political views to his time at DePauw.
"I was like Peter in the bible - a total paradigm shift," Washington said.
Growing up, Washington was always a democrat but when he came to DePauw, he felt the faculty was too one sided towards democratic views and that he was not getting an even perspective.
"I thought the liberal arts education was supposed to give you a balance of views, liberal, conservative and middle," Washington said. "That's what made me go out and find my own views."
During a Christmas break, he started reading books and articles on Ronald Reagan, and it changed his worldview.
"I knew by doing that I was going to isolate myself from my fellow blacks," Washington said.
A fellow musician and now a renowned trumpet player, Pharez Whitted doesn't recall Ellis ever being very conservative and was taken aback by his change in views.
"I wasn't quite ready for the direction he went," Whitted said. "I knew him then very well. The Ellis today, I'm not quite sure yet."
Although Whitted acknowledges his and Washington's differences, he still recalls Washington's engaging personality.
"He had a comical way of being serious," Whitted said.
Washington went to DePauw at a time when there were less than thirty African Americans on campus. Although many did not see eye to eye on his beliefs, they were still very supportive.
"They were happy for me in taking this step out" said Washington.
Hill recalls Washington instigating many political talks.
"He was a smart, smart guy," Hill said. "Because he was from Detroit, he seemed more political savvy."
After graduating, Washington did not go straight into journalism or political writing. The year after graduation, Washington won an audition to travel with the Mexico City Orchestra in Toluca.
From there, he became a graduate student at Harvard University in 1988 and was there the same time as President Barack Obama. After one year, he left and became an editor of the Michigan Law Review, by taking a blue book test, where he scored higher than more experienced third and fourth year law students to get the job.
"I transcended affirmative action," Washington said.
Although their political beliefs are starkly different, Washington acknowledges a lot of similarities between himself and president Obama. They are both African American, they both were editors of Law reviews, they both went to Harvard at the same time, and they both have wives and daughters around the same age.
Washington feels his views are so different from the norm that people have a hard time hearing it.
"How can we get a new point of view if the powers to be don't want to publish new opinions?" Washington said.
On his own page, Washington currently has a spot called, "Socrates Corner," where young republican intellectuals can post their thoughts on his website.
"I want to do for my son and other conservative intellectuals out there what wasn't done for me," Washington said.