By JACKSON BONNAR— jtbonnar@ucdavis.edu
At UC Davis, I’ve learned to scan a classroom before I speak. It’s not paranoia, it’s self-preservation. When you’re a conservative on a campus where the prevailing narrative leans left, every comment feels like it carries extra weight. You’re not just speaking for yourself, you’re defending your entire worldview.
I didn’t come to college expecting everyone to agree with me. I welcome disagreement. Debate sharpens ideas as iron sharpens iron. But what I didn’t expect was the silence. Not only from myself, but from others. I recall wearing a Make America Great Again (MAGA) hat for a day before the last election; not to provoke, but to offer a visible counterbalance to the many Democratic campaign shirts, hats and stickers being worn by fellow classmates.
To my surprise, students pulled me aside after class or even mid-bike ride, saying, “Nice hat” or “Hey, good for you, I wish I had that courage.” A few even told me days later it gave them the confidence to be more open about their own views or religious beliefs.
They’re out there. We’re out there. But being a conservative in the classroom often means feeling like you’re the only one.
It’s not that professors or students are overtly hostile. Some are, most aren’t. It’s more subtle than that. It’s the jokes about Fox News that draw automatic laughs. It’s the eye rolls when personal responsibility is brought up. It’s the assumption that “we all know” who the villains are in every policy debate.
There’s probably an opinion in this very paper dismissing conservatism or the current administration. That’s their right, and I support their right to publish it. But it highlights the deeper issue: Ideological conformity has become so normalized that dissent feels taboo.
And so, we learn to speak carefully. We soften our language, preface opinions with qualifiers or, simply and much more easily, we stay quiet. That’s not intellectual freedom, that’s self-censorship.
The irony is that universities like UC Davis pride themselves on diversity. But diversity can’t stop at skin color or gender. It has to include ideas. If campuses are going to be true marketplaces of ideas, then every viewpoint, left, right and everything in between, should be tested, challenged and heard. Not just tolerated, but taken seriously.
I don’t want special treatment. I just want the freedom to think, speak and engage without being branded as dangerous or backward. I believe in limited government, strong national defense and economic freedom. Those convictions don’t make me extreme, they make me part of a long-standing American tradition.
So here I am. Still raising my hand. Still voicing the unpopular opinion. Still walking into rooms where I might be the sole individual who sees the world a little differently. And that’s okay. Because university should be a place where uncomfortable conversations happen, not a place where one side dominates the narrative.
To students who disagree with me: I want to hear from you. To students who feel like they’re alone in what they believe: You’re not. Speak up, have honest debates and ask hard questions. Because if we want to be a campus that truly values free thought, then it should welcome all of us, even when we are the only ones in the room.
Written by: Jackson Bonnar— jtbonnar@ucdavis.edu
Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed by guest columnists belong to the guest columnists alone and do not necessarily indicate the views and opinions held by The California Aggie.
