The line between free speech and respecting others’ opinions is not always clear, especially at a university where many of the most prominent voices are liberal. Free speech on campus is something that most college students can agree to value and fight for, but students must also recognize the importance of respecting diverse opinions.

The recent approval of a chapter of Young Americans for Freedom on campus will provide young conservatives more opportunities to openly express their opinions at SU and expose students to more diverse political thought.

Young America’s Foundation is a national group that promotes conservative values and the Constitution, with an emphasis on free speech. It encourages the promotion of individual freedom, national defense, free enterprise and other traditional values through conferences, seminars, speakers and other interactive educational sources.

By creating an engaging environment for other young conservatives to speak openly and freely about their values, it promotes free speech among students with similar views and also among students with varying views.

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Conservative views are often marginalized on college campuses. Many students believe their opinions are too different for them to share with a room where they represent the ideological minority.

Justine Brooke Murray, the new YAF chapter president on campus, said that YAF is “trying to make a difference on campus by opening students up to different perspectives that otherwise they would be closed off to.”

YAF’s goal is not to politically convert students, but rather to encourage listening and exposure to points of view that might be harder to find at SU.

“You could despise everything that conservatives have to say, but to be respectful and to at least listen to what we have to say is more important,” Murray said. “You don’t have to agree with us, but we want people to listen because actually if liberals do listen to us, maybe they will find an argument that we have that we can find common ground on. Or maybe it will better their own argument.”

One of YAF’s primary goals is to teach students about how to fight for their freedoms. Educating young people on the Constitution and the freedoms it is meant to uphold better positions students to defend their rights when they are being limited. The presence of organizations like YAF at SU and on campuses across the country provides young conservatives opportunities to become more politically active and confident.

Syracuse University needs clubs and student groups with diverse opinions to represent the ideas of inclusion that the university values so strongly. People do not need to share the same opinions, but they need to be able to listen to and learn from those on the other side of the aisle.

Skylar Swart is a freshman political science major. Her column appears bi-weekly. She can be reached at saswart@syr.edu. She can be followed on Twitter at @SkylarSwart.

Published on October 14, 2019 at 12:34 pm