Students discuss political censorship on Western Kentucky University's campus

In the 21st century, college campuses are a mirror into American society and the political issues that inhabit it. Considered one of the most politically polarizing times in American history, college campuses have seen tense racial relations, government hyperpluralism and social media political censorship arise within the United States.

Western Kentucky University freshman Kyleigh Boucher, 19, said she’s “never felt confident” expressing her political beliefs. Boucher said that she is conservative but discovering she is not entirely right-leaning on various political issues. One of the reasons she does not disclose her political beliefs is that being a conservative is unpopular.

“Political affiliation alone does not determine if someone is good or bad, and each side of our political spectrum contains both good and bad people,” Boucher said. “Though I am conservative, I am not racist, sexist, or homophobic as some may assume. I may disagree with others regarding specific political issues; however, I don’t lose respect for those I disagree with.”

At Western Kentucky University in Bowling Green, Kentucky, the topic of abortion is seen as divisive and invokes intense responses from both sides of the political spectrum. The pro-life viewpoint that abortion is murder is most popular amongst conservatives.

Senior Emily Cox, 22, is the president of the WKU chapter of the Students for Life organization, and said the organization faced censorship and discrimination in the two years she’s been involved. The issue of other students attempting to censor the organization presents itself whenever they attempt to spread the pro-life message by writing with chalk on campus.

“People have written messages over ours that read ‘your opinion’ with an arrow to the trash can,” Cox said. “Someone chalked back, ‘Why spread hate when you can shut the fuck up?’”

Cox said in one instance Students for Life held an event where they asked WKU students to write empowering messages to women on a chalk mural. Cox said that while she had a productive conversation with a woman who wrote “my body, my choice” in support of the pro-choice stance, the woman’s friend was not as receptive and said the organization had no right to be on campus.

“She went to Pod Market and bought a lot of water bottles and came up and started washing out the chalk mural,” Cox said. “I asked her to stop, and she yelled at me and told me we were manipulative and that we had no right being there.”

Cox said after the woman explained to her friend that Students for Life had not written the chalk messages she apologized profusely, shook Cox’s hand and had a civil conversation with her before writing, “Ask before you assume.”

Cox said she believes everyone is entitled to his or her opinion and wishes that those who disagree and are pro-choice would have a conversation with her and their fellow peers in the Students for Life organization rather than mark their chalk out.

“We have every right to chalk our beliefs like those who disagree with us on this issue because we respect the opinions and rights of those who disagree,” Cox said. “We would like that same courtesy extended to us, rather than people writing us hateful messages, telling us that we would have bullied them in high school, and that we are bad people because we disagree.”

Cox said that she believes the Student for Life organization is censored because people don’t want to have productive conversations, and that political censorship is a result of the media showcasing the “extreme” perspectives of issues such as abortion.

“We are trained by the media on both ‘sides,’ that the other ‘side’ is an enemy, ignorant people who are not worth respecting. This is not true,” Cox said. “Those who disagree with us think that we are hateful, cruel people who do not want to encounter a person but force our beliefs and values on them. In reality, we want to have conversations, encounter people face to face and heart to heart, to talk to them and really understand their beliefs.”

Freshman Nia Davis is heavily involved with the Black Student Alliance and the Intercultural Student Engagement Center; she described her political beliefs as “progressive” and said that she has not faced political censorship or discrimination on campus. However, Davis said censoring political ideas strips students of their first amendment rights.

“Especially as college students, we have waited our entire lives to be 18 and finally participate in politics,” Davis said. “If you censor us, you are furthering us from the goal of being active American students.”

Cox, the president of WKU Students for Life, said the effect of political censorship on campus and within American society is “polarization, hate and destruction.”

Cox said she believes progress will not be made until people with opposing viewpoints are able to listen to each other, find common ground and respect one another regardless of their beliefs, background or lifestyle.

“I think the political censorship makes people afraid to speak up for the truth,” Cox said. “It is a tragedy that so many people, especially men, when concerning the abortion issue, think they are not allowed to have an opinion, but even more, they are not allowed to have an anti-abortion opinion because it is ‘hateful.’”

Boucher, the conservative freshman student, said she believes political censorship occurs “quite often,” especially within the media, and that both American political parties deserve equal opportunities within media coverage.

“Failure to acknowledge commentary, media and statistics presented by each party can easily result in uneducated voters,” Boucher said. “All voters, especially young voters, should consider all perspectives regarding various political issues before making judgements and drawing conclusions.”