Sierra Foltz
Certainly there is an argument to be had in favor of diversity of thought. It’s hard to disagree that allowing only one voice to prevail consistently and perpetuating one narrative, unquestioned, is not only bad on the intellectual front, but also potentially dangerous for those voices being silenced. However, the reverse can also hold true in that allowing a particular voice to be heard in some settings can be dangerous or even harmful to those subjected to it.
This issue is most salient in discussions that invoke political ideology. In a world where the personal is the political, your political ideology represents a lot more than innocuous opinions. What you might think is an “opinion” is actually and substantially affecting entire groups of people.To believe otherwise is not only ignorant, but potentially deadly as well.
That said, I don’t feel sympathy for someone who feels disenfranchised in academic settings due to a perceived liberal bias. Academic institutions tend to foster a more liberal environment because they aim for progress and inclusion. There is a positive correlation between one’s level of education and their likelihood of taking predominantly liberal positions on issues. That is not to say that to be educated you must lean to the left or vice versa.However,itisworthnoting both because it might explain why one might get the sense that some professors tend to present material through a left-leaning lens and because it brings into question what the root of liberal or conservative ideologies might be, respectively. If you feel uncomfortable sharing your opinion, ask yourself why that is.
The College was absolutely right to immediately remove and investigate white supremacist propaganda on campus. Allowing that sort of hate speech puts students of color at immediate risk. Antifa propaganda,on the other hand, does not pose a threat to particular groups or identities.
So, if you feel disenfranchised because of your political ideology on this campus, consider how students of color feel just existing without ever having said a word because of a dangerous ideology in a culture that largely allows such beliefs to be perpetuated. Think about how your own identity and position in the world has allowed you to hold that ideology in the first place.