Your opinion matters. It just doesn’t need to be constantly heard. I fully stand behind the notion that every individual should have the right to speak up and use their voice while being comfortable to do so. What I cannot endorse is the never-ending unfiltered — and often unfounded — plethora of opinions contaminating all conversations regardless of the topic. As college students and responsible citizens, our shared ideas and perspectives should be honed in true belief and knowledge, not quips to fill the silence, to allow purposeful dialogue to flourish.

For generations, American voices have been powerfully amplified in D.C. through political leaders, movements and protesters, so it’s understandable why many of us at GW yearn to contribute to this setting in a similar way — especially in programs intensively focused on current events and political science.

I’ll never forget stepping into my first political science class at GW, Intro to American Government and Politics. As around 200 first-years filed in, our somewhat eccentric professor took the reins and consumed half of the lecture time to discuss current events, offering analysis. Three years ago, I was excited to be exposed to new perspectives through discourse that could arise in my first semester, but as I ventured beyond that intro course, the pattern continued with a couple of students circumventing the whole class into their own debate. These interruptions were mostly unfounded or thoughtless due to their oblique relevance to the topic and narrow stances tailored only to their beliefs.

Recently, just days after Election Day, a student blamed President Donald Trump’s second win solely on hatred and negative forces, tainting the argument as they relied on morality through avid emotion. The move was surely a tactic in Trump’s ability to win the votes of far-right conservatives but certainly not all 77.3 million votes. Whether it’s a liberal taking an unrealistically idealistic immigration stance or a conservative arguing a completely defunct understanding of trade, excessive comments are inescapable in politics, but politics are not contingent upon them.

This trend progressed with my education at GW in any given course — whether political or not. In a World War II in Asia history course, three ego-inflated students often go off on tangents based on their own perceived expertise which loosely relates to the topic of discussion, leaving the professor in a procedural position of cutting them off.

Class discourse is what I value most in the classroom, and I often contribute to these discussions. Harnessing my thoughts to tie together class content and lecture dynamics allowed me to give thought-provoking contributions to enhance the discussion rather than facilitate a combative one.

The consistent outpouring of opinions expectedly also happens outside of the classroom, from organizations to social circles. Hearing students’ unwavering takes on systemic issues or institutional decisions such as student org funding, it’s apparent that most do not have any context of decisions and knowledge of factors that led to certain frameworks or decisions.

In the case of student organization funding, the Student Government Association allocates funding, which the Board of Trustees monitors with more intricate procedures in both of those systems. Not understanding these system dynamics and procedures when complaining about low funding is not only problematic but ineffective. My realization comes after working in the SGA Governance and Nominations Committee, where I took part in these funding conversations. The continuous degrading dialogue regarding our university’s institutions provokes students to take derogatory stances on processes they don’t understand and therefore results in a whiny conversation, which won’t contribute to meaningful change.

GW’s location in part explains why some people are extremely argumentative, but the trend is also part of a larger cultural phenomenon. Fueled by social media and the ability to see a constant flow of widespread voices via friends, family, influencers, politicians and news sources, the constant opinions of others provoke us to regularly and unnecessarily provide our own. 

Growing up in the United States and having the opportunity to study at GW in D.C. where I have the right to express myself and my thoughts is an immense privilege that deserves to be harnessed educationally and proactively. The setting cultivated at GW instilled a false notion that our thoughts and takes need to be shared perpetually as a combative way, instead of an opportunity to foster an insightful conversation.

In today’s landscape, it is crucial to take time and personally develop, expose and research issues before contributing to the consistent circulation of information. Striving toward this goal can be accomplished through the responsible embrace of diverse voices, dependable sources and open-minded conversation, allowing you to be more well-rooted in personal ideals and well-spoken in any environment.