Come Out --- You Might Be Suprised!

I went home for Rosh Hashanah services this year, and a few changes greeted me. Our new head rabbi, a woman, launched into a sermon on how we as Jewish voters should support the pro-choice candidate (hmm... I wonder who that could be). Our new associate rabbi, an openly gay man who wore a gold band on his all-important fourth finger, began his sermon by belting out the opening lines of Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat. Changes were abound, and I wasn’t sure what to make of them.

I’m still thinking about my Rosh Hashanah experience, but one thing I realized is that since I frequently criticize Columbia students for not being open-minded enough, it was time for me to take my own advice, get out of my comfort zone, and check out some events I might have ignored in the past. The perfect opportunity arose this past Sunday when I texted a friend of mine, asking him to dinner, and got the reply, “Gayava event you should come.” I knew that Gayava was the Jewish gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender group on campus, but not much else. I looked up the event on Facebook. The description read: “Come enjoy hot apple cider, delicious Magnolia cupcakes, hookah, and a discussion about Queer-ing up religious traditions! We’ll also have some supplies to make your own queer mezuzah!”

Queering up religious traditions? My own queer mezuzah? What does that even mean? I started making some excuses in my head about why I shouldn’t go—I have a midterm tomorrow, it’s cold outside, and I sort of have an oncoming headache. What if I’m the only straight person there? Will somebody out me as a Republican? I acknowledged that I just felt nervous, so I decided to go, but keep a low profile.

I took my red polka-dotted headband off and threw it on the bed, and headed out to Hillel, which I have entered probably less than 10 times since I’ve been a student here. I slowly approached the sukkah on the third floor terrace, hoping no one would notice as I entered. No such luck. Upon my entrance, the president of Gayava turned around and said audibly, “Lauren. Republicans, right? I saw you at some ROTC thing.” Busted. I looked across the table and recognized a student from the College Democrats I debated last Wednesday on queer issues, where I defended Senator John McCain’s positions. Uh oh. I glanced around the table and saw numerous people I had interacted with in my capacity of College Republicans executive director. So much for keeping a low profile.

Despite my initial discomfort, the event turned out to be fun, and by the end, I felt comfortable enough to plug an upcoming College Republicans event with an openly gay New York State Senate candidate. Unfortunately, I didn’t get a chance to make a queer mezuzah, but I walked away holding a Hebrew “coming out” prayer in my hand and more knowledge in my head. Maybe I’ll go to another Gayava event in the future, and keep my red polka-dotted headband on.

My Gayava experience taught me that I should more often seek out places where I might find people different than me. But it made me wonder­—do my liberal classmates have the same opportunity?

In a political science discussion section last semester, my teaching assistant asked if anyone was a Republican. Three students raised their hands (this surprised me). The TA laughed. “Really? I’m surprised. There’s not a single Republican professor in the political science department.” That didn’t surprise me as much, but I was disappointed to have my suspicions confirmed.

I often regret that Columbia does not have more conservative professors, or more conservative books assigned on course syllabi. College should be a time for us to examine and re-examine our assumptions, and create new ideas and beliefs. How are we supposed to do this if most of our professors are sitting on the same side of the fence? Within a liberal framework, it might seem that our professors have radically different views from each other, but when compared to the national political landscape, most of them are very closely aligned, and quite left of center at that.

By the nature of my political beliefs, I am constantly challenged at Columbia, even if I don’t seek these challenges out. All I have to do is show up for my scheduled classes and I can pretty much bet on someone criticizing my opinions (or sometimes me personally).

Despite some difficult moments I’ve had on this campus, I try my best to embrace the liberal atmosphere. There is a substantial educational benefit in being constantly challenged. What I worry about is that the vast majority of Columbia students’ beliefs aren’t challenged on a regular basis. The overwhelmingly liberal faculty doesn’t hurt me as much as it hurts students whose beliefs align with them. Who is there to do the challenging?

My liberal friends, challenge yourselves. Read some Milton Friedman, pick up a copy of the National Review, watch some Youtube videos of Ronald Reagan, maybe even come to a College Republicans event. Don’t do it for me, do it for you. You might be surprised.

Lauren Salz is a Barnard College sophomore. She is the executive director of the College Republicans and the communications coordinator of the Columbia Political Union. Check Your Premises runs alternate Wednesdays. Opinion@columbiaspectator.com">Opinion@columbiaspectator.com