Dear liberal campus,

I moved into my residence hall freshman year with a very liberal mindset, but I was following a crowd. I did not understand what it meant to be affiliated and registered with a specific political party. Throughout my freshman year I realized that I was not being true to myself politically.

Being a Republican in Western Carolina is not uncommon, but being one of the few on an extremely liberal campus is not common. There is a Republican supporters club that hasn't been very active on campus in a long while. I have witnessed firsthand other political parties tables and how they organize events on campus, but I believe the party I affiliate with is too afraid of being bombarded. It's intimidating to that if you set up a table or have an event on campus others will respond by jumping down your throat about views we may or may not believe.

Some of my views align with your liberal views, but yet you still demean me to the point where I don't want to tell anyone who asks what my political party is. When a campus that believes it is accepting and diverse, yet rips down another person, consciously or unconsciously, it is an unhealthy practice. When a professor does not stay objective while educating the people that will ultimately be taking care of them when they are old and dying and puts down a certain mindset, it is unsettling.

Looking back on my hometown and moving to a liberal campus, I needed that small push that moved me towards the political party that I currently affiliate with. The downside of finding out who you side with for the majority of topics is a liberating and scary experience.

My liberal campus: I am not a racist; I am not homophobic; I am not what you stereotype my political party as. I urge you to look past the affiliation on my registration card and listen to what I have to say.