Since the Nov. 8 election results were finalized, there have been reports of harassment and discrimination of marginalized people all across the country, including on this campus. The biggest lesson we learned during this election is that silence is dangerous. Speaking up may be frightening, and you may not get the desired response. But what it does is it creates discussion. It shows us how to love one another; how to understand each other; how to live with another person who does not share the exact ideologies as yourself.

Entering a discussion should not be for the sake of winning. It should be for the sake of understanding and being understood. We should all know how to disagree with respect. Hate gets you nowhere; hate entraps you in a mire of bigotry and closed-mindedness and blinds you. It prevents you from understanding and from being understood.

It doesn’t matter if you’re conservative, liberal, third party or you just don’t care. No matter what political way you lean, discrimination and harassment is not OK. These are not political issues. It is a human issue. This is how we become a responsible member of a civil society— not by hate or closed-mindedness but by listening and engaging.

I hope the results of the election encourages us all to speak up. Don’t stay silent. When you see someone harassed because of the color of their skin; the person they love, or their gender,I charge you with this simple task: Speak up.