The phrase “perception is reality” rings as true today as it did when it was coined by Lee Atwater in the 1980s. What this means for a spectrum of conservative Sonoma State students now, is that they’re pretty much in the same boat on a variety of issues. To say the least, their boat sucks. 

Multiple students and observant professors have come forward with their feelings and personal experiences. So far, the testimony has confirmed their collective frustration, pain and fears. 

For second year Communications major Sarah Morgan, her story involves being stereotyped.

“Just ‘cause I’m republican,” she said, “it doesn’t mean that I hate women. It doesn’t mean that you’re a Trump-loving, black-hating, homophobic asshole . . . You have to be aware that there’s a spectrum.”

Morgan is not alone. In fact, in an anonymous survey of 18 Freshman Year Experience students, 15 agreed that conservative opinions are not widely accepted on campus.

According to second year student Macy Howell, she once lived with a girl who made her feel like she couldn’t be herself. Appallingly, whenever the girl learned of a person’s conservative identity, she would make a vomiting sound. How unfortunate that any student should find themselves in a situation like this anywhere, let alone at Sonoma State. 

Another second year student, Kennedy Davis, detailed a living environment that mirrored Howell’s almost exactly. “I feel like I’m not welcome at Sonoma State,” she says, “One of the girls I live with won’t speak to me because she knows I’m conservative.”

According to Davis, Howell, and others like them, it’s both Sonoma State’s professors and students that employ the use of these largely inaccurate stereotypes.

A portion of Sonoma State’s faculty is also aware of this issue. Freshman Year Experience Coordinator Scott Miller was just one staff member that admitted his knowledge of political intolerance on the side of liberals on campus. “I know students feel lumped in,” Miller said, “and that’s a shame. But it’s going to happen because there’s so much hurt right now.”

Freshman Year Experience Professor and member of the Kinesiology Department Dr. Lauren Morimoto also chimed in with her take on the root of this problem. “I think people don’t really know what conservative means,” she said. “Conservative isn’t necessarily Donald Trump. In fact, a true conservative might not believe the things that the GOP is putting out there right now.”

On the other hand, there are some students and professors who have admitted to not noticing political issues or to seeing misconceptions being spread by both sides.

“I don’t get a sense that students are involved in political affairs,” said history professor Jesse Markay. “When they are, it’s generally on the liberal side, but there are a lot more Trump supporters than I imagined. We’d make a mistake if we assume that a vast majority of students agree with us.”

For the most part, faculty agree that they’re rightfully attempting to take charge of both academic and moral responsibilities. Regarding the academic side, Dr. Morimoto said, “I don’t want to influence what they think, I just want to influence them to think.”

Ultimately, everyone is in pain. The words liberal, Democrat, conservative and Republican are just labels. Sensitive snowflakes and racist gun-lovers are just generalizations. Everyone’s boat has splinters and holes in it, and we can’t fix anything by creating increasingly nasty stereotypes. 

In saying Sonoma State should be a ‘marketplace of free ideas, it is worth having a full discussion for students to develop the necessary critical thinking skills with a diversity of viewpoints so that they can express them in a respectful manner.

Miller concludes: “Campuses ought to be the places that teach the world how to talk to each other. My dream is that, out of the pain of this reality, we can build the means of having the right kinds of conversations.”