Column: Politics cannot continue like this

Enough. Just enough.

Politics on campus have gotten out of hand. Well, at least among those who are active in campus political and activism groups.

Every time I see a story involving protesters or a political group on this campus, I zone out. I ignore the cause they are fighting for and instead focus on the actions conducted by these individuals.

Wednesday night’s UNC College Republican event with Ben Shapiro is a textbook example of this.

Rather than staying to hear Shapiro’s points regarding race in America, protesters purposefully filled Carroll Hall only to walk out of the room not 10 minutes into his presentation and protest his arrival outside.

While this left a quarter of Carroll 111 empty, it was quickly filled with people who were waiting in line to attend. Their efforts were null.

Yet it is not just one side at fault. During my four years at UNC, I have seen conservatives claim discrimination over not being invited to a dinner focused on non-political issues, protesters derail Board of Governors meetings and a town hall focused on solving race issues on campus come to a halt as students rattled off a list of unrealistic demands.

This is, of course, not to ignore the score of controversial student voices who have shoved political points down people’s throats in protests and numerous publications.

But what has been the end game of this? What has resulted from acts like this? The only positive result from any of these actions has been Chancellor Carol Folt and other administrators met privately with protesters regarding race, and even then we do not know when and if this will result in anything significant.

Plus, these acts are only relevant in the short term. Sure, you can get a spot on WRAL and blow up Overheard at UNC and Yik Yak. But what is the end result? Most of the time, the only remains of such acts are hostile threads on Overheard.

Also during my four years here, including time in leadership roles in two different conservative organizations, I have yet to see a protest produce solid results.

This is by no means the fault against the idea of free speech and protest, but rather the absurdity and immaturity of many political actors on campus.

Such as the case of last night, walking out of Shapiro’s event will absolutely not produce change; for campus conservatives, it will likely enforce a stereotype of liberals and like-groups are intolerant against opposing views. I did not agree with much of what Shapiro said but I found Shapiro worth listening to as well as a worthwhile speaker.

Raising hell may be fun, but turning the University into a hostile arena over which political side is best is not helpful. Universities should be places where ideas are discussed and opposing ideas respected, not where views are shoved or silenced by a select few.