Sunday, February 21, 2016

Heard any "scary" talk lately?

You know the kind I mean: conversations about racism, gun violence, abortion, immigration, sexual assault, LGBT issues, terrorism--topics likely to provoke discussion and debate and maybe make people squirm a little.

Those conversations are happening pretty much everywhere these days, in newspapers, on television, on the Internet, in college classrooms, even on the Presidential campaign trail.  And why not?  The issues are more important than ever, way too critical to ignore.

Yet many students seem to be trying their best to do just that.  In the food court the other day I overheard two students complaining about a discussion in their English class about white privilege. One student said the topic made her nervous and she didn't "want to think about it." The other said she couldn't understand why people kept "bringing it up," for talking about it wouldn't change anything.

It wasn't the first time I'd seen students resist discussions of "hot" topics, especially when hearing views and ideas that challenged their own beliefs.  Rather than jumping into the conversation and explaining their own take on the issue at hand, they too often fall silent, refusing to speak up and--worst of all--usually tuning out the other side's point of view.

College isn't supposed to be like this.  In fact, at its best, college invites you to browse the marketplace of ideas, to see what others have to say, to examine or re-examine your own beliefs, and in the end to make up your own mind.  It's an important part of your college experience and good preparation for the rest of life, where you're going to hear views that may seem pretty out there at times but that may also contain something important to think about. Being part of these conversations in college is a valuable lesson in thinking and reasoning.

A recent column in The New York Times http://www.nytimes.com/2015/03/22/opinion/sunday/judith-shulevitz-hiding-from-scary-ideas.html?_r=0 was critical of students who not only avoid conversations about topics they find upsetting but try to persuade their schools to not even talk about them. The columnist, Judith Shulevitz, wrote, "...while keeping college-level discussions 'safe' may feel good to the hypersensitive, it's bad for them and everyone else. People ought to go to college to sharpen their wits and broaden their field of vision."


I'll second that. You obviously don't have to agree with everything you read or hear in college. But listening with an open mind won't hurt.  Nor will taking part in exchanges of ideas (after all, nobody ever died from being exposed to one!).  If anything, such moments will make you more equipped for the conversations to follow, better informed about those issues practically everyone around you is talking about.

So listen, think, and speak up.  No need to be scared or silent......

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