Correction: A previous version of this article misstated the event that Alex Stein attended. He was on campus for Transgender Day of Visibility. 

We don’t talk anymore, and it’s damaging our campus. The moment you walk onto campus, exit your dorm, or join one of UT Dallas’ many online communities, you walk the tightrope of political correctness and cancel culture in which every decision, action and opinion is judged. College used to be a place for disagreement and debate, a place where students engaged in thought-provoking dialogue to learn from – and about – each other. Instead, the modern college experience is one where students are quick to cancel, condemn and stereotype each other rather than actually talking. 

According to a report conducted by CollegePulse, RealClearEducation and the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression (FIRE), more than 80% of students self-censor at least once during their time at college. This number is dangerously high and reflects a major problem currently facing colleges across the United States; students are afraid to speak openly and honestly. Cancel culture did not begin as the monster it has turned into, but as a tool, a way to call out wrongdoing within the community. Today, cancel culture has morphed into a roadblock for progress and understanding. Students don’t just worry about having an unpopular thought; they worry that a single imperfect sentence will get them torn apart. So students stop speaking, stop asking questions and stop learning. 

The shift away from open dialogue was both gradual and jarring. I have heard stories of when liberal and conservative students clashed on campus, only to get a drink together afterward – a fantasy that has become difficult to imagine during my time on campus. Students used to argue and debate about everything from foreign policy to philosophy. Disagreements were loud and often dramatic, but at the end of the day you were still friends. College used to be a place where you were made to confront different, often uncomfortable, ideas, learning from real people and not just lectures. Now, one poorly worded sentence could cost you your entire social circle. Students are picking friends based on political identity before even knowing their name.

The pattern isn’t partisan. It’s pervasive. When the conservative speaker Derrick Morgan came to campus, students immediately reacted as if the sky was falling. The post which promoted the event was taken down following a flood of angry comments and the RSVP limit being reached. Before the event had even happened, students tried to shut it down. On the day of the event, a protest erupted outside the event space and anyone who attended, even out of curiosity, was labeled as an extremist. According to a poll conducted by the Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research, “Republicans see a clear double standard on college campuses. Just 9% said conservatives can speak their minds, while 58% said liberals have that freedom…”  

Additionally, members of the LGBTQ+ community are increasingly faced with discrimination. The moment a conversation covers gender identity or sexual orientation, some students turn off their brains. The conversation shifts into mockery, misgendering and harassment. In March, conservative protesters, including activist Alex Stein, interrupted a Transgender Day of Visibility event held at T.I. Plaza, in which LGBTQ+ students were called various slurs. In conversations about LGBTQ+ topics, some students immediately assume propaganda before peoplehood. While the two issues and groups are different, both groups share a destructive flaw: They instantly dehumanize the other, refuse to talk and believe that the other side should not be heard at all.

During my time at UT Dallas, I have watched events get shut down because Charlie Kirk’s name was mentioned. I have watched students be dragged through the mud for being anti-abortion. I have talked to both liberal and conservative students who refuse to consider that anything outside their worldview could be correct, and it’s sickening. 

UT Dallas is full of brilliant students and future leaders, yet we’ve let ourselves retreat into narrow social and cultural circles. One disagreement is enough to end a friendship, one label is enough to shut down an entire conversation and one stereotype becomes an excuse not to listen. That isolation is not accidental, but the cost of avoiding hard, challenging conversations. Every time I sit down with someone who ideologically I am supposed to “oppose,” the tension evaporates in minutes. This doesn’t happen because we agree, but because talking forces us to see each other as people again. Dialogue doesn’t guarantee consensus, but it guarantees dignity. 

UT Dallas does not need a new policy or another protest. We need courage, the strength to talk with those who disagree with you. We need to normalize points of view that make you uncomfortable. We need more cross-community spaces. We need students to be curious again. The solution isn’t complicated. We just need to talk more.