Blinded by a sea of studio lights, I squinted awaiting the 3-2-1 go-ahead. At any moment I would join the livings rooms, breakfast nooks and bedrooms of over a million―in Technicolor. Tense, I found little comfort in a last glance at the flimsy, manila page of talking points. A thump in my chest drowned out the camera’s prosaic hum.
***
As a journalist I am familiar with tough questions. I once challenged a sitting Prime Minister over his crackdown on press freedoms. I made the face of a future governor red with a question on leadership elections. By a chance encounter, I even held a closed door, off-the-record session with a senator concerning a colleague’s health. Yet, nothing has left its mark like my first time on the other side of the …show more content…
After helping unanimously pass two initiatives to better welcome LGBTQ+ students to Indiana University we moved to a starkly different conversation. Saving nuance, the head of residential facilities briefed our group on the renovation plans for a campus dining hall. He followed with a question: whether to renew the facility’s existing contract with the chicken sandwich joint, Chick-fil-a.
Concerned by the views of the company's late president on traditional marriage, the administrator was well-intentioned. Nonetheless, the subject is among the many third rails of campus culture. Any decision concerning Chick-fil-a—especially when marriage equality stood at the forefront of national discourse—took the form of damned if you do, damned if you don’t. Ours would be no exception.
That particular evening, I found myself in a unique position: uncomfortable to say my piece. A vocal libertarian, I rarely fear voicing my opinion. I value greatly the marketplace of ideas and making my own contribution to it. But there I …show more content…
We never learn unless we are challenged. Although the interview is now a distant memory, the lessons have remained close and relevant to my life. I was challenged to think critically, calibrate my moral compass and articulate a difficult position. I accomplished the dual goals of raising awareness and sparking a broader debate. When you put your neck out—especially in defense of an unpopular idea—there will always be pushback. As I see it, I am all the better for it. Through this I have acquired a greater sense of self awareness and internalized the drive for self-improvement. I have gained an appreciation for the complexities and the subtleties of interpretation. I understand the importance of having both a sound foundation and a dedication to constant study. I understand that to possess a passion and to act with conviction, to think for myself, is just as
***
As a journalist I am familiar with tough questions. I once challenged a sitting Prime Minister over his crackdown on press freedoms. I made the face of a future governor red with a question on leadership elections. By a chance encounter, I even held a closed door, off-the-record session with a senator concerning a colleague’s health. Yet, nothing has left its mark like my first time on the other side of the …show more content…
After helping unanimously pass two initiatives to better welcome LGBTQ+ students to Indiana University we moved to a starkly different conversation. Saving nuance, the head of residential facilities briefed our group on the renovation plans for a campus dining hall. He followed with a question: whether to renew the facility’s existing contract with the chicken sandwich joint, Chick-fil-a.
Concerned by the views of the company's late president on traditional marriage, the administrator was well-intentioned. Nonetheless, the subject is among the many third rails of campus culture. Any decision concerning Chick-fil-a—especially when marriage equality stood at the forefront of national discourse—took the form of damned if you do, damned if you don’t. Ours would be no exception.
That particular evening, I found myself in a unique position: uncomfortable to say my piece. A vocal libertarian, I rarely fear voicing my opinion. I value greatly the marketplace of ideas and making my own contribution to it. But there I …show more content…
We never learn unless we are challenged. Although the interview is now a distant memory, the lessons have remained close and relevant to my life. I was challenged to think critically, calibrate my moral compass and articulate a difficult position. I accomplished the dual goals of raising awareness and sparking a broader debate. When you put your neck out—especially in defense of an unpopular idea—there will always be pushback. As I see it, I am all the better for it. Through this I have acquired a greater sense of self awareness and internalized the drive for self-improvement. I have gained an appreciation for the complexities and the subtleties of interpretation. I understand the importance of having both a sound foundation and a dedication to constant study. I understand that to possess a passion and to act with conviction, to think for myself, is just as