Matthew Fabian
mfabian1@uwyo.edu
It is no far stretch to believe many students, faculty and administrators are looking forward to the upcoming hiatus after the end of a rampant fall semester.
Given an opportunity to reflect on the last four months, it was a trying stretch for our community. There were constant talks of budget cuts, people losing their jobs, administrative deception and that is not to mention the issues plaguing us at the state and national levels. Sects of students felt frightened by the outcome of the Presidential election, considering a future without their preferred leader. Other students felt relieved by the election, believing the economy of Wyoming had been saved, along their families’ way of life. Both groups – whether justified or otherwise – missed the boat throughout the entire process. Both believe sitting down with the other is not worth their time, and disregard their dissidents as nasty or deplorable.
Some are relying on a new Presidential administration to ‘heal the divides’ that currently exist in America. Others are taking to social media and the streets to wake up a population from an impending doom. Both worldviews are incorrect, and ethereal at best. Trump, like the Presidents before him, will not end bigotry or prejudice. The correct response to seeing or hearing something awful is not to start demanding a law be made. The correct course of action is to starve these ideas out of their own existence. Do not give warrant to legitimate hate by creating a misplaced sense of superiority. Nobody wants to see another sit atop Mt. Pious and lecture the masses about their ability to see the moral light. It is up to people, individuals to find these ideas and root them out of our communities. Inclusiveness does not start and end with our elected officials. It starts and ends with us.
My hope for next semester is that you are willing to reach our to an individual or group that you otherwise would avoid. Attend a leadership series from the Rainbow Resource Center to learn about the Laramie LGBT community. Talk with Young Republicans, and start building an understanding of how young conservatives feel about the future of America. Have lunch with the International Students Alliance and gain a new world perspective. Continually be kind to fellow students in class, make new connections you’ll be surprised at the people you meet.
Or you can ignore that last 400 words and keep hoping for a new culture in America. You can keep sitting idly by while the divides grow ever so slightly, without trying to promote a diversity of thought (which is the true form of diversity, the others tend to fall in line when diversity of thought is followed first).
Next January, let’s all come back to Laramie as being proactive instead of reactive in our attempts of inclusiveness. Go Pokes.
