The day after the election, my public relations professor walked in front of the class and proceeded to warily ask, “Do we want to talk about politics?” He was met with crickets. In a lecture hall of about 100 students, no one spoke.
In such a polarized, politically charged time, political discourse on campus is noticeably lacking, especially compared to other large universities. A few weeks before the election, a Trump rally at Penn State University reached such high attendance that it had to be shut down before he could take the stage. On the other hand, the first signs of political discussion I saw at UM happened the day before the election.
It may seem like students at UM don’t care about politics, but that’s not necessarily the case.
The quiet on our campus doesn’t reflect a lack of care around the election, it reflects a fear to voice one’s opinions. The political polarization that divides our country fuels a harmful cycle that is apparent on our campus: many refuse to consider or listen to opposing viewpoints, which in turn makes others reluctant to voice their opinions, choosing silence to avoid conflict.
“I’ve observed that our campus is pretty quiet about a lot of political topics even in my business classes.” Said sophomore economics major Olivia Pretto. “It is more of a thing that is joked about rather than talked about in a serious manner.”
Teachers have commonly adopted the phrase, “I try to keep politics out of my classroom,” or use similar lines to avoid any related topics. If our own teachers, our role models and leaders on campus discourage debate, why would students actively seek it outside the classroom? It seems as if the discussion has become one that is socially unacceptable.
It doesn’t help that the University didn’t allow any official watch parties on campus. The Rat closed early on election day, discontinuing its tradition of election watch parties. By doing so, UM suppressed opportunities for open discussion, discouraging students from discussing politics on campus. Even POL 401, the Election Class, was forced to cancel its election night party, despite a semester of engaging students in political conversations.
“I don’t think it’s the university’s right to not allow students to come together to watch the election, especially for a political science class,” said Ella Lundgren, a freshman studying political science. “I think the university is trying to minimize contention within the two political parties and the student body.”
A university is a space where learning, collaboration, and debate are at the heart of knowledge and growth. Discouraging discussion hinders the learning experience for many by preventing students from gaining insights from others and from learning how to interact with those they disagree with — a valuable life skill.
Discouraging debate in times of elections only deepens the divide in our country. It’s time we learn, especially as college students beginning to vote, how to engage in respectful discussions, rather than reverting to methods of self-censorship and avoidance.
According to a Pew Research study in 2021, 59% of Americans say having conversations with people they disagree with is “stressful and frustrating,” and the Cato Institute says 62% of Americans have “political views they are afraid to share.”
Amercans often won’t even date people who support the other political party. A series of studies have shown that less than 10% of all marriages and romantic couples in the U.S. are politically “mixed.”
Americans also struggle to form relationships because of this. In 2020, the Hill reported that only 21% of marriages involve spouses from different parties. That was down by almost a third since 2016.
Given the hostile language surrounding this election, students often fear expressing their opinions, knowing they could be met with either agreement or aggression.
Inside Higher Ed reports one-third of students are scared to share their political opinions on campus for fear of negative repercussions like losing friends or damaging their reputation. For some students, discussing politics is like walking on eggshells.
There’s no denying that this election carried significant weight with social justice issues at the forefront of debate, making it personal for many. However, as adults, we should be able to listen and respect our peers because close-mindedness is just as harmful as silence.
This silence we saw on campus before and after the election poses an important question: How do we start the conversation again?
It starts with respect and understanding that no one is going to agree with you 100% of the time. We must work to make campus a safe space for conversations where we can learn to navigate our differences, not just for elections, but for life.