As the founder of two new clubs on campus that are conservative in nature, my fellow officers and I were prepared for pushback in a school that leans heavily toward the left. 

That was the reason why we chose to memorialize the victims of the terrorist attacks on 9/11 as our first school event.

While it gave me great happiness to see volunteers come before school to set up a flag memorial for the victims, and see the community show up for a guest speaker, I was deeply troubled by some of the things I heard that day, most of them regarding the political orientation of our clubs. 

At times, it seemed that people were trying to politicize a day in which the loss we shared and continue to share as Americans crossed all party lines. 

Sept. 11 should always be a day when Americans from the left and right come together together to mourn the victims of the attacks and show our enemies that despite our differences, we all believe in those fundamental qualities that make this particular country so exceptional. 

What I hope that we as a school can do is understand that there’s a time for us to let go of our political leanings and just embrace the fact that we are all Americans, united under one flag. And as for the times that we wish to discuss our different ideas, let’s respect freedom of speech and actually have meaningful debates on difficult topics, rather than having one group shoot down the other with insults and labels solely due to differences in beliefs. 

We were targeted that day 16 years ago because we as Americans who enjoy unfettered rights in a way that no other citizens in the world do. 

All I ask is that we respect those rights in a way that allows for true intellectual diversity and discourse on campus. Despite our different opinions, at the end of the day we all want one thing – to ensure that our country is the best it can be.