The past year has been an interesting one. One filled with new experiences, new friends and new challenges. While writing for The Sun has not been a challenge per say, the feedback from my columns has kept me on my toes. Whether you call it “hate mail,” “constructive criticism” or crazy anonymous postings on The Sun website, I cherish every last one. Here are some of my favorites:
• “For now, ‘moderates’ should give up already on recruiting real decision-makers into their semi-gelatinous band of droning, impotent, spineless, finger-pointing echinoderms.”
• “This girl is way off, I wrote a blog about it: http://wharfandweft.blogspot.com/2006/10/faith-based-initiative.html [1].”
• “First off, stop being conservative. You’re female and in college. If you get knocked up, you’ll regret that stance immediately. Second, women don’t get elected because the whole country is sexist and racist, and no one likes being bossed around by a chick.”
• “My choice for the three best role models from the six women listed in your article would be Sandra Day O’Connor, Britney Spears and Paris Hilton. Here’s my real-life logic. Sandra (choice #1) is a natural; no problem there. Condi and Nancy, on the other hand, sacrificed their virtue upon the alter of ambition. A lot of people died because of their willingness to look the other way, so that rules them out. Both Britney and Lindsay have a substance abuse problem, but news accounts suggest that Britney’s problem is only that of being an exhibitionist drunk. Lindsay’s problem appears to be far more serious, thereby making Britney (choice #2) the lesser of the two evils. We are left with Paris, who is choice #3 because, although both she and Britney are exhibitionist drunks, at least Britney does not appear to be both a promiscuous and exhibitionist drunk. Additionally, Britney was a Mouseketeer, which has to count for something.”
Clearly, there have been many other gems. I have been called out in classes, yelled at in the Palms and stopped on Ho Plaza. Some comments have been hurtful and some completely unnecessary, yet some have made me reconsider my arguments and positions on both political and social issues. When I started writing this column, I told Carlos that I wanted to make people think, not make people angry. I wanted to add to the conservative discourse at Cornell (what little there is) and offer another point of view for Cornellians who are not familiar with ideas outside of the liberal agenda.
Over and over again during my four years at Cornell, I have been disappointed by the University’s commitment to intellectual diversity. Racial, sexual, ethnic diversity, all of these abound. But students with conservative ideologies are continually marginalized. At an institute of higher learning, this seems to be self-defeating. How can you learn to defend your beliefs and ideals if they are never challenged? If nothing else, Cornell has given me an arena to test out my ideas and arguments, making them stronger in the long run. I’ve debated Cornell’s best and brightest liberals in classes, in student groups and even among my friends. But most students are denied the opportunity to solidify their positions on topics ranging from global warming to the abortion debate, because they are so seldom in contact with non-liberals at Cornell.
The case of Prof. Jeremy Rabkin is a terrific example. Cornell boasted one conservative professor in the Government department. ONE!, which is appalling enough in and of itself, but then, the administration did nothing to thwart his departure. How can students expect to receive a complete and well-rounded education when only one side of the issues is being presented? Especially within the Government department? Apparently the administration thinks fostering intellectual diversity is as important as having an engaging Convocation speaker. Not at all. Yet I’ve made it through. I will finish my four years with my conservative ideology intact, and maybe I will have painted a little bit of Ithaca “conservative red” in the meantime. Cornell didn’t break me, no matter how hard it tried.
As Erin Geld ’07 noted in her last column, the world of a Sun columnist is an isolated one. I’m not sure who my readers are, just that most of them don’t agree with me. But some of my readers have offered me new and exciting experiences because of my work for The Sun. I have engaged in discourse with professors on campus, gone to office hours to defend myself, been asked to speak at clubs and meetings, been on television, been the subject of a blog, been asked to join a society or two. And hey, if nothing else, writing for The Sun has given me an excellent cache of writing samples for job applications.
So a huge thank you to all of my liberal readers who stuck with me, despite our disagreements. And thank you to my more supportive readers as well. Carlos you’ve been terrific. And Olivia, thanks for putting up with me. Thank you to my professors and classmates for offering countless examples and article topics. 301 LOVE, I know you don’t actually read my articles, but thanks all the same. To Chris, my most faithful reader, thank you. And a special thank you to my Mom and Dad who proofread every single article, multiple times, until I no longer needed to be censored.
Hannah Stearns is a senior in the College of Arts and Sciences. She can be reached at hes32@cornell.edu [2]. Paint the Town Red appeared alternate Mondays.
Links:
[1] http://wharfandweft.blogspot.com/2006/10/faith-based-initiative.html
[2] mailto:hes32@cornell.edu