By: Emily Long
Have you ever said in a classroom, or made a comment that sounded like:
“We all hate Trump!”
“Republicans are the worst!”
“We all agree that in this political climate (insert idea here) is awful!”
If you answered yes to any of these questions, then keep reading, because, in this week’s column, we are going to have a conversation on diversity of thought.
Being on a predominantly liberal campus, it’s a common assumption that everyone is liberal.
However, as evidenced by my writing, that’s obviously not true. In fact, there are many conservatives at Lasell. This misconception leads to classroom and social discussions leaning towards a liberal perspective instead of being balanced.
Although a dominant liberal perspective is assumed, it’s not right or inclusive of all viewpoints in a classroom.
We always talk about diversity in terms of race, sexual orientation and socioeconomic status, but rarely do we talk about diversity of thought. We can be diverse in every other way but if we all have the same views, is it really diverse? What good do you get out of a discussion if everyone is just nodding along with each other?
This brings me to inclusion. Yes, we can bring people who have different thoughts to the table but do people who think differently actually feel comfortable enough to speak up and voice their opinions? Is their perspective valued and acknowledged as valid or are you just tolerating it?
When the above assumptions are made students know that they are not free to express themselves politically in the classroom without significant pushback. When I hear this, I know I have to sanitize my views into something more mild or middle of the road.
Although you are within your rights to say the questions above, but what value do they add? Is rallying against Trump for the millionth time actually going to do anything? Making an assumption about a Conservative before actually getting to know them is only going to make them resentful and we’re here to build bridges, not walls.
By using these phrases and assumptions, you effectively silence conservative students from speaking their truth.
So how do you allow diversity of thought into your classrooms and conversations? Consider the following:
Don’t : Assume everyone has the same viewpoints.
Do: Consider that you have your opinion and everyone has a different view of the world.
Don’t: Attack Conservative students when they bring up a conservative viewpoint.
Do: Ask clarifying questions that allow you to understand their thinking and why they believe what they do.
Don’t: Bring politics up in the first place. Unless you are having a conservation that’s explicitly about politics, you really don’t need to bring up Trump and the current administration.
Do: When politics do come up, be prepared that some people may speak in support of the President.
By welcoming different viewpoints into your everyday conversations, you’ll be able to learn about different experiences from other people. If you are limited to one viewpoint, you’ll never learn anything.
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