“It is always easier to fight for one’s principles than to live up to them.” — Alfred Adler 

Following the 2024 election, the “blame game” has begun on many college campuses nationwide, honing in on those responsible for Donald Trump’s win. It is commonplace to hear Trump voters labeled as “stupid” and “uneducated,” or hear assertions that they live in a completely different world from us. While I oppose the President-elect’s divisive ideology, this sentiment toward voters is alarming. 

Reducing individuals with such labels implies they are somehow irredeemable. Right-wing bigotry must be condemned, but is the appropriate reaction to fire back with dehumanization? Writing off an individual — or worse, an entire group — based on the belief that “they” are irrevocably different from “us” is not only misguided, but deeply harmful. Isn’t that, after all, the very foundation of bigotry? When we blame the “uneducated” for a Trump victory, we perpetuate the same exclusionary mindset we claim to oppose: the idea that certain groups are so fundamentally different from us that they are to blame for the problems we see. If one of higher education’s goals is to elevate us to a higher societal position, shouldn’t we seek to educate others rather than degrade them? 

Many students view education as essential for personal growth, but we must be cautious about equating it with an individual’s inherent worth. Instead, we should use education to foster our understanding of those whose perspectives we deem inconceivable. Ostracism, in any form, has failed to provide a viable solution to the complex challenges we collectively face as a nation. How, then, can this practice be justified or deemed constructive within the context of higher education institutions, such as our own? Do we value claims of righteousness over solutions? 

Data from the Pew Research Center has shown party lines are diverging on the axis of higher education, with four-year bachelor’s degree holders leaning Democratic and those without trending Republican. With a college degree becoming an ever-increasing indicator of economic standing and social mobility, it is incumbent upon all of us to stop this cycle of reciprocal demonization and work to create a world where there is no division along the lines of educational attainment.