We have to talk to the elephant in the room. And in a responsible way. As a community, we relish in our liberal majority, but not all political discourse is created equal. You’re in a classroom and your professor takes a break from a lecture and goes for political comic relief— what comes out is a sophisticated version of cafeteria humor. These comments by students and professors alike resonate with our campus’ silent majority, but their political implications hit everyone’s ears differently. Republicans exist, even at Barnard, and, especially in the wake of this election, they deserve respect.
President Spar, at her fireside chat about the election, asked the question “Does it make anyone uncomfortable that there are no Republicans in the room?” But even she took part in this type of humor in her inaugural keynote address with a quip that evoked a partisan response. “…we are witnessing an unprecedented national election—one that has seen women come closer than ever before to reaching the White House - in one way or another - and one that may see our country’s first African-American president.” The end of her sentence was barely audible; after the italicized comment (that was added to her speech ad hoc) the whole church erupted in laughter.
The difficult part of analyzing such a comment is that the comment itself is wholly dependent on atmosphere, tone and, in this case, the audience’s reaction. This ambiguity drives the discomfort that many Republicans on campus feel. It’s not what’s said, but where and how it’s said.
As our centerpiece uncovers, 43 percent of Barnard students polled feel uncomfortable expressing their personal political views; that percentage is nowhere near the number of students who identify as conservative or moderate. This environment breeds disrespect that affects liberals as much as it does the rest of the student body, and in turn we’re politically polarized.
Liberal arts doesn’t always equal liberal.
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