OPINION: I'm a conservative student, and I won't tolerate this anymore

My interest in politics and journalism began in 2016 when President Donald Trump stunned the world by defeating his Democratic opponent Hillary Clinton.  

Instead of running to social media to sound off on the surprising upset, I hit the books and conducted research instead. As a result, I learned a few things. I realized how closely my views aligned with Trump’s, but most importantly, I became aware of the difficult journey I was about to embark upon.

Though I started writing about politics in high school, I experienced little adversity or backlash. I wish I could say the same about college.

I currently attend Point Park University in Pittsburgh. It’s a campus dedicated to “fostering a community of mutual respect and diversity,” according to the school’s values. 

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But does the university truly uphold this value? From what I have seen, not at all. 

I want to make one thing clear. I am not in any way attempting to generalize the entire Point Park community. However, there are clear examples I have experienced that contradict the school’s vision of the student body.

Last year, a student took her frustrations about me to Twitter, tweeting: “my roommate and I are getting ready to drag his a**.”

With a screenshot of the tweet ready in hand, I attended a scheduled meeting with Point Park University’s Dean of Students, Keith Paylo, to raise my concerns, including threatening messages. 

This specific incident was in response to an op-ed I wrote for my school’s newspaper, The Globe. The piece, titled “Conservative student speaks against vulgar comments,” covered the negative - and in most cases inappropriate - reactions I received from students with differing opinions at Point Park University. Most notable was the array of comments written on my dorm door, including “f**k you you little racist piece of s**t” and “white privilege.”

By the end of my meeting with the dean, nothing nothing had been accomplished. 

To this day, I have not heard back from any university official regarding my experiences.

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Meanwhile, conservative students, including myself, are fearful to speak their minds on campus, and I don’t blame them one bit.

Just recently, on Nov. 4, two students tweeted their support of leaking my address.

The initial tweet was posted,  and later deleted, but I captured a screenshot before it was removed from the platform. “Lmaoooo I wanna drop his apt number so bad ):” the first tweet reads, posted by a user with the name “defund the police.”

Another student, under the name Royalty Ry, commented, “of course the white boy wants to make this seem like he’s being threatened or in danger. It’s just sad that we have people like you that go to our school who follow behind this f**kin idiot of a president. It (my address) would be useful to have for public use, for non PPU students.” 

This student was quick to block me afterward. 

i have never met either of these two students before, and it concerns me how either of them might have access to my information, such as my address. 

Conservative students should be able to express their beliefs on this campus without the risk of getting doxed. What I have experienced is a violation o my constitutional rights and  I won’t tolerate it anymore. 

I would never wish this on another student, regardless of their viewpoints. 

I am calling on my school and others to make a change. It is officially time to make this an accepting campus for everyone.

Follow the author of this article on Twitter: @logandubil