Welcome to the first segment of “C-Pan and Jocelyn Drink Tea.”

C-Pan and Jocelyn are sitting side by side one chilly Sunday afternoon sipping tea, when they happen to come upon a particularly controversial topic.

C-Pan: Dang, did I tell you what happened to me yesterday?

Jocelyn: No, what?

C-Pan: So I was in a class discussion about To Kill a Mockingbird, and when I tried to put down Mr. Ewell for trespassing and hunting, the entire class came down on me because Mr. Ewell was doing so to help feed his family.

Jocelyn: Wow, that’s pretty harsh.

C-Pan: Yeah I know, right? And after class they mocked and laughed at me about it. It felt pretty bad.

Jocelyn: That’s something that’s always been rough at NA. We’re all smart kids with rock-solid sets of beliefs and values, and so it’s difficult to say something you strongly believe in without fear of butting heads with other kids.

C-Pan: Yeah maybe. But sometimes, I think there should be a line that shouldn’t be crossed when it comes to free speech, a line to divide what can be said from what is personally harmful to others.

Jocelyn: It’s so difficult to find that line, though. I’m always so scared of committing a microaggression because I don’t want to hurt anyone, but sometimes I feel stifled. Don’t you?

C-Pan: Yeah, I can see what you mean. At times I feel like I’m just responding to someone else’s opinion but I can tell by their face that they were offended personally. Other times I feel that way too, when someone responds to my opinion.

Jocelyn: I just wish we could all understand that debates aren’t personal; they’re supposed to be an intellectual exercise and not a space to fight.

C-Pan: Yeah, I also think that this brings up another issue of “just exclusion” in general; once, I felt as though my friends didn’t want to be around me after I said in English that I support Donald Trump for President. I think opinions about politics and other sticky topics should stay out of friendships and personal lives.

Jocelyn: It’s just so difficult sometimes, to be able to separate a person from their beliefs.

C-Pan: That’s true. But sometimes, even when I’m writing articles, I feel that I have to curb my writing so that it hides my true personal feelings about a subject because I’m afraid of losing someone’s respect — or even friendship. I think I should be able to write without having to put a filter on it.

Jocelyn: But that’s kind of the point of having a newspaper, isn’t it? So that everyone can voice their opinion and generate friendly discussion?

C-Pan: Yeah, but often I feel pressured into revising my article to make it seem more “respectable” to the Newark Academy community.

Jocelyn: What do you mean by “respectable?” The community has so many different opinions on practically every issue; no matter what you say it’s controversial. Why not just say it?

C-Pan: Well, for example, if I wrote an article describing how Donald Trump is the best candidate of 2016, I feel like I would get a lot of backlash from the school community as a whole, unless I wrote it in a way that is much more subtle than my actual opinion.

Jocelyn: Well, that’s the deal with almost any form of news these days; people have to be able to write their own opinions without it being too offensive or overtly aggressive to others.

C-Pan: That’s true, but again, I feel like people have to realize that I’m just trying to express my opinion and I’m not trying to personally attack others’ opinions. People should be able to accept each other’s ideas open-mindedly and contribute their ideas as well. If we didn’t discuss controversial issues, how would we generate these kinds of discussions?

Jocelyn: I see what you mean. But really, don’t worry about it — all writers struggle with the same problem. You’re not the only one.

C-Pan: I guess it’s just really difficult to be completely honest about what you believe nowadays.

Jocelyn: Nothing we can do about it; we just have to try find that line between friendly debate and actually hurting someone, I guess.
Not only does this article not reflect the opinions of The Minuteman, but it also does not reflect the opinions of the writers! This piece is meant to inspire debate, and the dialogue, anecdotes, and beliefs represented above were fictionalized.