Welcome to sunny UC Santa Barbara, my friends. Where the weather is fine, the surroundings are beautiful, the professors are amazing and the students are… babies?
Don’t get me wrong, I love my school. But in the wake of spring elections on campus, I’ve noticed a side of my peers that I’m not too fond of. In fact, it’s not just in Santa Barbara where this phenomenon is happening. The act of shutting down the opposition is a phenomenon happening all around the United States.
The second that a person tries to even make a joke (be it funny or not) they are faced with vicious backlash for no apparent reason other than the fact that their joke didn’t mesh well with the opposition. Students have resorted to middle-school tactics by attacking people via social media through fake Facebook accounts. Students are bullied via meme pages and belittling status updates.
Students who are running for elected positions at my school are shut down by their peers and bullied for voicing an opinion. People feel unsafe talking about what they believe in because their beliefs are immediately tied to an agenda.
It seems as though if you don’t share the same opinions as certain groups, you are met with a ton of hatred. I’m sick and tired of dealing with people who are not open to a difference in opinions. I am tired of dealing with babies.
So let’s try something out, shall we? Let’s work through a process for how each individual can advocate for change given the diversity of opinions on campus without utilizing vicious baby-tactics.
Bear with me as I explain “How to Advocate Like an Adult 101.”
First, let’s talk about how we talk about people with differing opinions. Instead of demonizing people with entirely different viewpoints, work on promoting yourself as a positive voice. This will make sure that we all treat each other like the human beings that we are.
This next one may be revolutionary to some. Be kind. Just because someone may not share the same belief system as you do does not mean that they are evil. When someone wants to have a discussion about why you believe in something that you do, it might be just that, a discussion. Your first response should not be aggression. There is no need to be distasteful and rude.
Be mature. Harassing people on social media isn’t going to get anyone anywhere. Trolling Facebook reflects poorly on yourself and is just plain annoying. As my mom always says, act your age, not your shoe size.
Remember that not everything is an “us versus them” fight. Don’t divide our campus based on student’s belief systems or the color of our skin. Don’t categorize me just because I may have skin thats a few shades lighter than your own. How about we accept the fact that some people have differing opinions and work together for the greater good. Nobody’s own cause is more important than another.
This last one is really important. Don’t be hypocritical. If you’re going to preach inclusivity, then you damn well should be inclusive. This means, wait for it, accepting opinions that are not your own. Further, attacking people’s appearances on social media seems very “Donald Trump” of someone, if you ask me. This is ironic (read: hypocritical) because this comes from the very same crowd who bullies students who may (take a deep breath) support Mr. Trump.
Look, what I’m trying to say is that nobody’s freedom of speech is more valuable than another person’s. If you’re allowed to utilize your First Amendment right, then you better not silence others who are exercising their same right.
In the end, we’re all college students. And although we haven’t all experienced the same things, we all do care for each other and the greater good. If we were all just a bit more kind and mature, we would be able to get far more done.
