In a recent video, BBC News highlighted the struggles conservative students face on college campuses. Students described feeling lonely and having over-generalizations put on them.

There is no doubt that these are divisive times. But to put blame on an entire group of people — to demonize and deride them — is feeding into the very mentality that got us here in the first place. It is feeding into the practices that so many "liberals" so ardently condoned before and after the election. I shouldn't even have to write an article about how not all conservatives are alt-right radicals.

On the topic of college conservatives, several college republican groups openly came out condemning Donald Trump during election season. The Ithaca College Republicans, for example, openly announced that they would not endorse Donald Trump. Conservatism is changing as young people are, and, of course, Tomi Lahren and Donald Trump do not encompass all conservative ideology.

To degrade conservatives simply for their party affiliations is to essentially deride democracy. Disagreement and party politics are healthy for the nation. From differing views come important and healthy compromises. Undoubtedly, there was opposition from the conservative end regarding Obamacare, but Obamacare still passed. It's not the universal healthcare democrats were hoping for, but it was still an important compromise. Democracy relies on these differing opinions.

The Democratic Party is also not one to be exalted. It failed to recognize its own disconnect with certain voter populations — the same ones that came out and voted for Donald Trump. These include the white working class, who feel left and disenfranchised by the Democratic Party. The Party also failed to recognize the success of Bernie Sanders, an outsider in his own right, and gave the nomination to a relatively unpopular candidate. The left was too comfortable in its position, and was a major factor in Trump's victory.

Conservatives are not the only ones at fault. There were so many factors — too many to count — that went into the eventual election of Donald Trump. To demonize an entire group of people is just inherently wrong. But to demonize all conservatives on the basis of the election is especially risky, because it feeds into the same poisonous rhetoric that perpetuated the election in the first place.