College should be the time in a young person's life when a person discovers themself and begins to figure out what their beliefs are. It's the first time most young adults are not living at home, surrounded by a predetermined political agenda, according to their family. Yes, you have every right to disagree with your parents, but in most cases, kids usually grow up believing what their parents believe, simply because that is all they've ever known.

But in 2017, there seems to be a strong movement brought on by professors that seeks to brainwash students into believing what they believe in. Shouldn't college be the time when your personal beliefs flourish and evolve? The answer to that question is yes.

The tricky part about discovering your own beliefs in college is that professors make it extremely difficult to disagree with them. They are the ones who slap a grade on your transcript. They are the ones who you are going to ask to write your recommendation letters in the future. So really, students cannot afford to disagree with them.

It seems today that most of the professors in American universities are composing their syllabi based on their personal political and societal agendas. Students are rarely encouraged, and frankly discouraged, to formulate their own beliefs and opinions anymore.

Professors are becoming less like teachers, and more like preachers.

In one of my journalism classes, which is centered around current cross-cultural situations, my professor made us all agree on the first day of class that every single person in the lecture hall is racist. Yes, you read that correctly. Why would any person in her position encourage a mindset like that and begin the semester that way? She preaches everyday about endless societal issues that are going on in 2017 with little to no regard of how others view these issues. She tests us on the material and grades us based on how accurately we can spit back exactly what she said in lecture.

Personally, I do not agree with many of the things she preaches about, so it is hard for me to write essays and complete projects when I have to defend things I don’t believe are true or even moral.

It saddens me to see the way not only this particular professor but so many other professors in universities put down their students’ opinions and beliefs without giving them a chance to explore them first. This is the way professors have power over young people. They are becoming increasingly better at churning out millions of students across the U.S. every year that will likely carry out the professors’ agendas once they graduate, simply because that is what they had been taught again and again during their time in college.

I encourage you to stay strong to your beliefs and do not let professors sway your opinion. If you agree with them, then great. If not, keep your head down, do the work, get the grade and move on.