By FRANCES TILNEY BURKE, Excepts from The Weekly Standard
When I arrived at school on Wednesday morning after the big Clinton crash, it was like I was entering a funeral home. People were huddled in groups, whispering, comforting each other, crying. (There was even a cuddly dog to pat.) Others were angrily plotting revenge: How do we start community organizing so that Trump racism, Trump sexism, and overall Trump badness does not permeate our rosy lives? Quick! Attach a safety pin to your shirt; this will signal your righteousness. If you wear a safety pin, you, personally, are a “safe space.” Or you believe in safe spaces. Or you will harbor other people in your safe space.
What I would like to know, is where is my safe space?
…
It raises my hackles that I am actually nervous to voice my conservative views. Though Trump was not my first choice for a Republican nominee, I am tired of shocking people by saying that I did not vote for Hillary. I am tired of staying silent while my classmates moan or rave about the future under “Hitler.” The problem is, in my free, open, and liberal academic environment, I am afraid to voice my views. I am afraid of people labeling me racist, sexist, anti-gay, anti-transgender, or anti-immigrant just because I am a Republican. It is an exhausting prospect to even think about beating back the tide of my classmates’ emotional response to this election, which is exactly why I share my views with a tiny, select group of friends who whisper in the corner about how the Trump presidency might not be so bad. At least the Court will be safe for a few more years.
But take a step back and think: Is this the future of the American educational experience?
