I was once a bright-eyed and bushy-tailed freshman, thrilled to be coming to Stanford.

And why not? Back then, Stanford meant opportunity, a fresh start, a cohort of 1,800 fellow students just waiting to become my future best friends. Fountain hopping, the Tree, the Band —  Stanford literally appeared to be sunshine and rainbows.

But, as it does, the sheen wore off and ‘real life’ set in (or, at least, as real as college gets). Over time, I became busier with classes; friendships came and went; the food settled into a monotonous routine of different combinations of salmon, kale and pasta. Whenever I visited home, my answers of “Stanford is great” became less and less enthusiastic.

I didn’t seem to be alone. In fact, I could tell that there was a lot of unhappiness at Stanford, and it was growing. However, this unhappiness seemed to be funneled into vitriolic anger, as evidenced by a litany of articles in student publications, op-eds and Facebook posts.

Well, get ready to hear more complaining — this time, about complaining. (Sorry.)

I am sick and tired of the level of discourse on campus; or rather, the lack thereof. A recent Stanford Review article discussed the notion of your friends being similar to you. This might be because people voluntarily gravitate towards those who agree with them, but I have noticed that people here actively prune dissenting friends. Self-segregation is very real on this campus.

Shouldn’t college be a place to discuss different ideas, to learn about other perspectives, to expand your horizons?

Instead, I walk on eggshells. Here, the “safe spaces” allow you to express the viewpoint of feeling oppressed, of going against The System. While not a bad thing, this is already the predominant, very vocal opinion of the student body — if it’s a vocal minority, it’s an overwhelmingly vocal minority that is very supportive … to those who agree. Meanwhile, speaking out in favor of The System (in however small a way) often has dangerous social consequences. In fact, the Stanford Review has complained of being subject to a witch hunt — and I can’t blame them. They are being targeted in ways that can only be described as hateful, ranging from comments on their articles to public Facebook posts to other Daily op-eds. But I also can’t say that the Review has been entirely innocent. Their Western Civilization petition and recent April Fool’s “joke” have only fanned the flames of discord and led to a stronger “us vs. them” mentality. Pettiness should not be rewarded, even if you agree with the point being made. The ends do not justify the means.

On paper, I should fit in well with activists at Stanford. I do not deny my privilege, but I am a minority, a woman, a first-generation U.S. citizen. My parents are not wealthy. The country we came from has been subject to colonization, from the Spanish to the Americans to the Japanese. I, too, found the Review’s claim that Western civilizations have “unshackled” the poor indigenous people from oppression ludicrous. I consider myself to be sex-positive and strive to be respectful towards others’ identities. (Side note: It’s absurd that my identity matters so much when discussing these issues. Who I am should be irrelevant to my opinion.)

And yet I feel alienated from what should be “my” communities because of uncompromising positions and echo-chamber atmospheres. Opinions are starting to be labeled as “wrong” or dismissed because of the mouth they’re coming from. The current campus climate demands that race and gender be brought to the forefront, that we first consider the person’s identity before the person’s opinions. People are only willing to have “discussions” with those who largely agree with their own ideas, as level-headed dialogue between two opposing viewpoints has become virtually impossible on this campus. Stanford can and should do better than this.

So, I’m glad I’m graduating because I am glad that I came here. I have received a stellar education at Stanford and have met friends with whom I’m sure I will stay in touch for life. But I’m also glad that I’m leaving because this so-called undergraduate “tolerance” has become intolerable.

– Samantha Zarate

 

Contact Samantha Zarate at [email protected].