I am a more or less centrist member of the student body a Georgia State University, leaning slightly to the right if anything. Having centrist views, let alone views that go slightly to the right is something that, based on the attitude of the other students and even teachers of this school, is unacceptable. I am seen as intolerant and ignorant because of my political beliefs. Despite this, I refuse to remain silent. I am frequently eager to engage in civil discourse and I do many things in the way of starting a conversation, even to the point of wearing politically provocative clothing. My prerogative is not to offend or chastise, but to reach a logical and sensible consensus in an effort to find the objective truth of a given matter. I’m sure this wouldn’t be such an issue to me if I wasn’t a political science major, but as it happens I seem to care way too much about this and I’m kind of tired of being demonized by the majority of this school for merely having different opinions when it would be beneficial for the school community to have a healthy mix of diverse ideals.
Library South on Atlanta campus of Georgia State University is a place that is used by students for a variety of purposes. It is a very versatile space that many students, myself included, find themselves in from time to time. Time spent there could range from trying to knock out an assignment for an upcoming class, just wanting to unwind and watch a little Netflix or simply messing around on a computer, whether it be your own or one of the many provided by the school. Some people do come here by themselves and normally just sit on the comfy chairs littered around the back of the library near the windows, but for a lot of people that isn’t necessarily the case. People come here with their friends and study or just hang out a lot of the time. So what exactly is wrong then?
] GSU Library South, average day on the spot.
The atmosphere is relaxed, but that’s a normal thing when everyone is in their comfort zone. There are people chatting amongst themselves, some people studying, some people just come here to play games on the laptops that they swore to their parents would be used strictly for school work, some people even come here to eat with their friends. A group of black students are sitting around, keeping to themselves and paying no mind to the other groups of students. Similarly, a group of asian students are at a table studying and talking, but there are only asians at that table. And the white kids? Yup, there are tables full of white kids too, sometimes they mix with the hispanic kids and occasionally with the black kids too, but for the most part they’re just with each other too. The Indian crowd seems to be the most exclusive, not a single one of them is sitting with anybody of a different race, be it white, black, hispanic, or asian. It seems absurd to blame a certain group for being racist when the people who make such claims are themselves unwilling to interact with a different race. So what’s wrong then?
This school is eager to market itself as having an abundance of “safe spaces”, but what good is a so-called “safe space” when it is only what it claims to be for the people this place is so clearly biased to? The idea that the library is a “safe space” is something that is only true because people tend to come to the library only with people who are their friends, people who tend to be the same race as them, and to a greater extent, people who have the same political opinions as them. Being in the heart of Atlanta, it is quite obvious which way people are more likely to lean politically, so it is absurd to label somewhere as a “safe space” if someone who merely voices their minority opinion on said campus would be ridiculed and written off as an ignorant racist. It follows, then, that the onus should be on the administrators of the school, the deans, the presidents, the heads of departments, etc., to ensure that the agenda of the minority is not the only thing that is taught and seen as acceptable. It must be their responsibility to provide said “safe space” that is so frequently given to the students who share the same liberal/leftist views should also be given to the students who hold more conservative or right-leaning views. THAT’S what is wrong.
