A bleeding liberal heart

Let’s get one thing out of the way: I am liberal. Although I tend to pick and choose my opinions from both sides of the political spectrum, I ultimately classify myself as leaning to the left. (A liberal IDS columnist — big news, right?)

I’ve held firm ideological convictions since I was quite young. I can vividly remember arguing with one of my friends about the Bush/Gore election — in fifth grade. Unsurprisingly, my political views are quite similar to my parents’, but I’ve done my best to carve out my own, too.

However, I respect the right of others to hold their own opinions and am thankful that we live in a country where open, lively debate is not only welcomed, but generally prized.

When I was trying to decide where to go after high school, I visited many small, liberal arts colleges around the Midwest. One of the first things I would ask on campus tours was the general political leaning of the school.

That’s not because I was looking for a liberal haven where I could live harmoniously with fellow progressives and plot a pro-choice, gay-friendly, big government takeover.

Rather, I wanted a place where people of all opinions could make their voices heard and political debate was actually divided.

So, here I am at Indiana.

While our campus and town are decidedly liberal (at least from my point of view), I appreciate the fact that many different thoughts are represented here.

At a school that I visited several years ago, my tour guide referred to conservatives as an “endangered species” on campus and said any who might exist were probably “closet Republicans.”

This was troubling to me. I feel that higher education (especially proclaimed liberal arts schools) should be a place where all opinions are shared and valued.

So while I may grumble at basically any legislative news coming from the Indiana Statehouse and sigh whenever Sarah Palin opens her mouth, I’m thankful to go to a school where debate is more than looking in my ideological mirror. Fellow Hoosiers, argue on.

­— biglehar@indiana.edu