This week, a Tulane pro-life organization set up a table on a main street on campus. The group members brought with them posters and flyers detailing information about Planned Parenthood and their views on the organization. The posters and flyers mimicked the advertising techniques that Planned Parenthood uses so that the group could draw students who ordinarily wouldn’t come and read their information.

In response, social media blew up. Yik Yak was full of people telling students to detour around the spot where the organization was set up so as to avoid their “lies.” The group was accused of being anti-women and just a group of religious fanatics trying to impose their beliefs on others, when in reality every fact on their flyers had come directly from Planned Parenthood’s own annual report. (Note: the purpose of this article is not to take a stance on Planned Parenthood or any of its services.)

This is just one of many instances that could be used to illustrate my point: thought is, in many ways, no longer truly free. In today’s culture, believing that Planned Parenthood should not receive federal funding means that you do not support women’s right to healthcare. Believing that the government should be cautious about which immigrants and refugees we let into the United States means that you are heartless. Not supporting gay marriage means that you hate gay people. Believing that the rich should not be taxed inordinately more than the poor means that you hate poor people. Not wanting universal health care means that you don’t care about those less fortunate than yourself.

The list goes on and on. Bring out your facts, bring out your statistics, bring out your reasons. None of them matter in the face of the politically correct and hypersensitive society that exists today. Unfortunately, this truth is particularly rife in the very place where it should be the most obsolete: university campuses. Universities should be a hub of information and independent thought. Ideas that challenge you should be debated and respected, rather than shot down and labelled as ignorant. The beauty of universities should lie in the mixture of beliefs that stimulate a student’s growth, rather than in its being a homogenous blend of the ideas that society currently deems “correct.”

Too often in today’s world, political discussions turn personal rather than factual. Instead of debating, we resort to name-calling. This treatment is not specific to one side of the political spectrum. We label arguments as “ridiculous,” “selfish,” or “offensive” before hearing them out. We condemn thoughts that don’t fit into our perfect little ideas of the world.

Before jumping down someone’s throat the next time they don’t agree with something you say, sit down and have a conversation with them about it. Don’t expect to change their mind because you probably won’t, but go into it with an open mind. Chances are, you’ll learn something you didn’t know before and you’ll teach them something new too.