Diversity is an important issue on this campus and we all know great strides are made to foster a community of equality and appreciation, regardless of students’ race, gender, religion, or sexuality. But somewhere, somehow, the line has been drawn that political beliefs do not fall into this category of respect and lack of persecution.
As a conservative and simply as a human the political hate messages on this campus deeply sadden me. For example, I once had a professor that did not know I voted for Bush tell me that anyone that voted for him did not have a brain and was a complete idiot. Obviously, I felt terrible, especially considering we were not even discussing politics at the time. And this is to say nothing of what I and others like me endure in our classes. People need to remember that even though we may not all share the same beliefs we should be always be careful to express our own values while respecting those of others. After all, diversity promotes education.
When I open the Clock I feel this persecution toward Conservatives and I was wondering why the Clock does not do its best to promote both sides of the issue- as news outlets typically strive to do. Yes, some media outlets fail in this and we all know who they are, but they at least make an attempt. In the Clock I do not see this. I would like to see articles in the Clock positively portray Conservatives and Republican candidates just as it does Liberals and Democratic candidates. I also beseech the faculty and staff of this great institution, those who often preach acceptance, diversity, and tolerance, to look within themselves and try to remember these hallmarks of higher learning when they are tempted to slander those who have different political agendas. If you think there are only a handful of us on this campus you are wrong.
I once did a study for my Psychological Measurement class where the questionnaire anonymously asked the responder if they consider themselves to be Republican or Democrat. Approximately 60% of the random students questioned stated they consider themselves to be Republicans. They also agreed with answers that correspond with the Republican viewpoint such as questions regarding capital punishment. This very much surprised me, but the point of it is I am not the only one feeling alienated and hurt by the constant barrage of conservative hate on this campus. This is our school to and we should be respected for our differences, not having to defend ourselves at every corner.
I ask The Clock to try and be more sensitive to others viewpoints and enforce what this school so fervently promotes, DIVERSITY. The Clock could do this by promoting or attempting to promote fair time as other media outlets do. This means for every piece written on one candidate a piece is written for the opposing candidate. Also I would like to ask that that opinion laden articles be labeled as such; they are not news pieces but editorial commentaries.
Finally, I’d like to say thank you to Michael Nevelen for submitting his letter to The Clock last week. His letter is the inspiration that (finally) got me to take out the time to write mine. And to anyone else that feels this way, and I know you are out there, I ask you to stand up for yourself and submit a letter as well. Free speech is one thing, hate, disrespect, and lack of diversity appreciation is another. After all, this campus belongs to all of us- conservatives and liberals alike.
Louise M. McBey