I, like many Regis students and people across the country feel that I can never share my political views in class because of judgment from classmates.

A lot of major events have happened in this country and they have polarized us even locally. We never all agree on one thing, which causes a lot of conflict and separation. Joe Biden has set a goal to unite, but he can’t do it on his own. Just by having in class discussions will help unite our country one step at a time. It will make everyone feel more safe no matter what gender, race, or belief they have.

All schools need to create a safe and healthy environment in classrooms to allow for political discussions where students feel safe to share what they truly believe. To unite our country, it all starts with schools and how they can handle class discussions. We are the future economists, politicians, medical experts, and Presidents. If we have controversial conversations in class, we will have a stronger community and people that can have a good discussion through their lives. As students we can learn from each other in order to make our future better.

We contribute to polarization when we assume things about others, because we are not talking. Not talking about these issues cause more stereotyping rather than allowing us to see each other as nuanced people. We stereotype people based on what they drive and where they live. Instead of hearing their side we put them into groups just because of what they drive and where they live. To get rid of stereotypes talking about politics in class will help with putting people into groups based on their beliefs.

Some say we never should talk about each other’s sides because it just gets too uncomfortable and the other person always believes that they are always right, but evidence shows that if we discuss our differences then we make better decisions as a whole and we feel safer. I feel like especially at Regis many students feel scared to talk about politics because they are scared of saying the wrong thing or they are too scared of judgement. It really comes down to the lack of education. We don’t say let’s not learn Algebra or Spanish because they don’t know it yet. We teach it.