The Elephant in the Room Listen

Author: Stefan Claypool

With graduation looming, "The Elephant in the Room," like all good things, must come to an end.

Today, in this final column, I have no topical commentary to offer, no pithy comments to make. Instead, I will just say this: there are brilliant minds at this institution who are being ignored and brilliant voices that are being silenced.

Any institution truly committed to diversity would encourage these voices to be heard, and would dedicate itself to creating an environment in which right and left can converse with each other and learn from each other. And I believe that only by understanding our differences rather than ignoring them can we hope to truly live up to the Middlebury ideal.

I will not call for bipartisanship or post-partisanship in this column, nor will I urge empty compromise or token arguments. Instead, I call for a healthy, truly open discussion on this campus. I ask for an environment in which conservatives do not feel the need to remain silent because they oppose the majority's positions. I wish for a community in which conservative students are given the opportunity to engage in public discourse without fear of being bullied or ostracized. I call for an open, honest intellectual environment in which no opinion is ignored and no voice is needlessly silenced without first being heard.

I call upon the conservatives on this campus to take action to ensure that they will be a part of the discussion. I urge them to write letters to this newspaper, to attend College Republican meetings and to engage their classmates. I ask them to educate themselves and to keep reaching out to the College community, even when it seems futile. I beg them not to give up, and to make their voices heard.

And I call upon the liberals on this campus to listen to what the conservatives have to say and evaluate their arguments on merit. I ask them to extend a hand to conservatives, to help bring them into the discussion and to help enrich the College's intellectual environment. I urge them to not buy into the stereotypes about conservatives which have been perpetuated by the intolerant, and to realize that our goals are the same - it is only our methods that differ.

And conservative or liberal, I urge you all to listen.