Senior year of high school is a stressful time. The combination of difficult classes, applying for colleges, deciding if you want to continue dating a significant other, maybe working a job and a variety of other factors can make that year particularly stressful and confusing for many high school students. If, for example, you are someone who is not quite sure what college you prefer, even the process of deciding which colleges to apply to can be positively daunting.
This was the case for me. I had no idea which college I wanted to attend and had a list of prospective colleges longer than I could wrap my head around. What were the differences between these universities (besides the price)? I had no idea.
Worse than that, when I finally decided to come to Chapel Hill, I heard less than stellar things from many of the adults whom I looked up to.
“It is really liberal,” many of them told me. “There aren’t very many other Christians there.”
This is to say that, in many more traditional families and circles around the state, UNC has a less than stellar reputation about our cultural climate. For this, UNC is often attacked and accused of being a hostile climate for those of a Christian, conservative bent.
It is most certainly true: I believe UNC is often somewhat hostile to or at least uncomfortable for people with more traditional outlooks on life. This fact should be celebrated. Universities are supposed to be places of growth, where those making the transition into adulthood come to be challenged and to grow. The pushback which these individuals face as a result of their beliefs being outside the status quo will inevitable strengthen them. Christians should exit college more secure in their faith and more capable of defending it as a result of challenges which they might find. Conservatives should gain a greater capacity for debate and discussion.
In short, the challenges which right-wing students face are not destructive, but constructive. Life is difficult and full of adversity. If students are unable to face such adversity in university, how should parents expect them to face adversity outside of the institution?
If conservative students wish to avoid confrontation and pushback from peers and authorities, they ought to live in their parents’ house and collect unemployment benefits. Otherwise, stop complaining about the ideological tendencies of UNC culture.
