A liberal arts education is meant to broaden students’ horizons and knowledge. Through our education as liberal arts students, we develop strong written and verbal skills, an ability to argue both sides of a debate, and the responsibility to act as an informed member of society. According to the college website, the goal of a Connecticut College education is to “learn how to evaluate and synthesize information, solve complex problems, reason cogently, and communicate effectively”. In the past couple of months, I have noticed that instead of being the open-minded, eager-to-learn student body advertised to prospective students, we have become closed to the opposition.
As the 2012 Presidential Election approaches, students are signing themselves up for Team Obama or Team Romney like we are part of a Twilight-esque political fantasy world. People care more about whom you are choosing to vote for rather than why you made the choice in the first place. We have created an environment where saying that you are voting Republican is a dirty word. I think that as a student body we are capable of better than that. In the next days leading up to the election and the following months, I challenge Connecticut College students to do the following:
Think for yourself and make your own decisions. In forming your beliefs, whether it is about the upcoming election or about whether you like the most recent movie release, try to think independently from your friends and parents. For example, in the upcoming election too many people are voting the way their parents or friends are voting simply because it is the easier path to take. Take the initiative to discover what is important to you and base your vote off of these discoveries. It does not matter what anyone else thinks, you need to make your own decisions.
Educate yourself about both sides of an issue and be able to understand both arguments. Think about how you develop a hypothesis: you come up with an argument, consider the alternative, and convince readers that your position is the strongest. This requires in depth knowledge of both sides of an issue, not just the one you are presenting. Spending time to explore the views that you initially do not support could provide more clarity and promote understanding.
Respect the decisions and views of others. Threatening to move out of the country in protest of who becomes the next president of the United States is not productive when trying to express your distaste for a political party. You can constructively disagree with someone while working together to move forward to achieve a common goal. These next four years will be a challenge for whoever is elected to office on November 6. It is completely okay to have different views on issues and this should be encouraged. If everybody thought the same all the time, there would never be an opportunity to learn and grow.
Remember, as students at a liberal arts college we have been taught to be leaders. In these next weeks, I encourage you to respect the views of your peers regardless of whether you believe in them yourself. Our Connecticut College community should foster mutual respect, regardless of who believes what. We have created a safe environment where people can openly express their opinions regarding race, gender, religion, and sexual orientation. We should work to foster an environment where students feel just as comfortable expressing their political views.
