Column: This Side of The Fence; Disagreement in college is unavoidable Both sides in BYU protest have reason to be proud
There was a protest at BYU over the last few days. A faculty member was fired for writing a letter to the editor of the school paper disagreeing with certain practices and policies of the school that deal with how their student government is elected. The administration claimed this action was a showing of disloyalty toward the school, and for this reason, along with other unmentioned reasons, the faculty member was let go.
This caused uproar among some of the student body. They felt the newspaper should be able to serve as a forum of free expression, a place where everyone’s opinion can be shared without retribution from the school. With this ideal in mind, several students took the appropriate measures to plan and organize an official protest. Students stood with duct tape-covered lips and cleverly penned posters stating, “BYUSSR. We want a leader, not a tzar!”
As much as I have always held that Cache is really the happier valley, this protest surprised me a little bit. I have always thought of college as a place where we learn to disagree. Everyone goes through elementary, junior high and high school all learning the same things with little exception. But college is different. Everyone takes their own road, their own majors and fields of study. Some learn to draw, some learn to write, some learn to divide quadratic equations and thus, everyone receives a different education. And with all these different minds coming together, each with their own thoughts, there is bound to
be some disagreement.
But that’s OK because we have the First Amendment to protect our rights to free speech. We have every right to tell the world what we think. Of course, they don’t have to agree, but they do have to listen.
This is one of the major functions of the free press system. It allows everyone the opportunity to express an idea or criticize ones they don’t think quite hold up, hopefully without retribution. Ideally, the plan is for the media to function as a safe zone for the dreamer and the critic. But even the best-laid plans can be poorly executed at times.
So, as a journalist, a media consumer, and lover of my First Amendment rights, I am proud the students at BYU took the initiative to speak their mind on this important subject.
However, I am also proud of the BYU administration. Rather than fighting or arguing the politics, they openly told the students, “Let’s talk this thing out.” Not only did they give students permission to protest, but they were also willing to take the necessary steps to hear student concerns and hopefully, in the future, find a reasonable solution. Too often when disagreements arise, especially in a situation like this, every party jumps on the defensive and rather than a solution, we have a pissing match.
Everyone isn’t going to agree with each other all of the time. But we already know that, so there’s no reason to fight it.
Mikaylie Kartchner is a senior majoring in print journalism. Comments can be sent to mikayliek@cc.usu.edu.