A surprisingly respectful discussion on a polarizing issue…

…abortion, that is. My college newspaper colleague Steve Barnett, now a law student in Oregon, describes his Con Law session on abortion law:

We went silent because we knew blood was going to be shed. We knew after that day some of us would no longer would be friends. We knew passions would boil high, and our voices would be the piercing whistles telling others that we had reached the boiling point.

But to his surprise, the discussion stayed civil, the professor kept him on his toes when he had to argue, and he heard new perspectives that, if ultimately unconvincing, gave him more to think about. This is what college should be, and too often isn’t regardless of the political correctness of the students and teachers: intellectually stimulating, not timidly agreeable (more common at my school); respectful, not screeching. They are compatible.