During my freshman year orientation the deans and staff made a big deal about the notion of a "comfort zone" and how we should take the next four years as an opportunity to expand our personal comfort zone. Such exalted broadenings were supposed to take place in all aspects of our young lives-by meeting new people, taking different types of classes and, most importantly, by listening to other people's points of view. So basically they were telling us, their captive audience, to be open-minded socially, politically and in every other way possible.

Now don't get me wrong, although I'm representing these ideas somewhat offhandedly, I do agree with their underlying principles. However, I'm somewhat disappointed to report that, in my experience, the sage advice handed down during August of 1999 (and most likely every orientation before and since) has been underwhelmingly incorporated into life here.

Fundamental to expanding one's comfort zone is the willingness to listen. But when I left here last May I was thoroughly fed up with the lack of genuine aural skills around our campus. Jumping to conclusions seems to be the sport of choice for many Amherst students. For example, the minute someone on this campus expressed a somewhat conservative view about things ranging from welfare to abortion, they were branded "Republican"-thus becoming a pariah at Amherst-even before they could finish their statement. This belittlement happens over and over, in class, over meals in Valentine, even at student government meetings. There are students who feel uncomfortable speaking on certain subjects in class for fear of such branding.

Last spring I stumbled in on a group of six students discussing affirmative action over a meal. Four were in "heated agreement" going on and on-all pro-affirmative action, mind you-dominating the conversation, while two other students said very little and looked somewhat uncomfortable.

After the group finished eating, I walked with one of the two quiet people and asked why he didn't speak up, considering he's usually spearheading such conversations. His response: "It was a defensive tactic." With those people it was "safer" for him to sit quietly than say what amounts to blasphemy, which was pretty much anything they didn't agree with entirely. But here's the kicker: he didn't really disagree with the others' opinions. His feelings on the importance and absolute perfection of the affirmative action system in the U.S. were just not as strong as theirs. If he had played devil's advocate, they would have immediately taken it as a personal attack and blasted him for being-gasp-conservative.

Yes, this is only one specific incident, but I feel it's a fairly typical one here at Amherst. On the surface, Amherst is wildly liberal compared to the rest of the world. During last year's presidential election there was hardly a peep about conservative issues. In fact, the thought that George W. Bush would be elected seemed foreign to most students here.

Here at Amherst, we like to say that we're expanding our comfort zones on all fronts, when on many political and social fronts we're doing quite the opposite. The campus dialogue isn't much of a dialogue at all, but rather a repetitious cycle of narrow-minded monologues. The reason people thought it would be impossible for "Dubya" to succeed Bill Clinton as Leader of the Free World was because no one wanted to hear it and therefore nothing was said.

However, the situation is not beyond hope. There have been plenty of attempts to bring all sides of different issues to light through forums including faculty/student panels. And I can only hope that continues. It would also be nice to have more of a responsible conservative voice on campus. Hearing well structured positions from those other than our liberal majority might serve to broaden our horizons as well as the aforementioned comfort zones. Having a true dialogue on campus would also be a refreshing change to the one-sided discussion that has dominated my previous two years here at Amherst.

In the few days I've been back on campus, setting up my room and doing everything in my power to avoid Valentine food, there has been an air of openness around campus that I haven't experienced since those idealistic days of orientation. Maybe it was the hippie festival on the town common last weekend, or just that people have come back more apathetic than is normal and don't care what anyone thinks or says, but scarily enough people have actually sat back and listened to what others have had to say.

I even sat next to someone who was critiquing affirmative action, and everyone at the table listened-and then flamed him. I guess that's progress. Let's just see if this sliver of progress survives the first week of classes.