Over the last few decades, American politics have become less of a marketplace of ideas and more of a battlefield. Compromise is minimal, news is questionable and ideas on “the other side” are viewed as threats.

This polarization has trickled down into businesses, institutions and schools – including NC. Students throughout our school feel ostracized and uncomfortable expressing their political beliefs and values.

In classes like English, history and government, students are encouraged to debate issues regarding ethics, rights, policy and modern day conflicts. However, students don’t always feel comfortable doing so.

“When political conversations come up in school it makes me anxious and frustrated,” an NCHS Live staff member said. “I am very opinionated about things but I feel that the amount of hatred that would be pushed at me forces me to keep quiet.”

Access to widespread social media plays a significant role in shaping students’ political views and in intensifying division.

“I constantly see things being posted that could be meaningful to some people where other people spread hatred through comments,” NCHS Live staff member said. “Social media has become a big way of spreading misinformation and hatred towards each other.”

Teachers at NC acknowledge the challenge of having productive discussions on controversial topics that might spark this hatred. Social studies department chair, Christopher Vermilion, described  his approach.

“What I really try to impress upon students,” Vermilion said. “Is that my job is to present information to them for them to decide how they feel about it. My job is not to help guide students to one concept or another but to give them the facts and let them decide what they think.”

While teachers try to remain unbiased, sensitive subjects often occur in politics and trickle their way into the education system. AP Government teacher, Andrew Wiggins, described a discussion in his classroom following the recent assassination of political activist Charlie Kirk that went off track.

“I feel like I’m pretty adept at keeping classroom conversations unemotional,” Wiggins said. “During this discussion that was not happening. We were getting off track with a student and it got into personal attacks against Kirk as an individual as opposed to talking about the content of the course. The conversation wasn’t achieving the objective educationally that needed to happen.”

Teachers also experience instances of attempted censorship on issues. Wiggins described an attempt by a former principal to do so.

“I am not going to use the person’s name,” Wiggins said. “But the recent predecessor to Mr. Rent as the principal, attempted to mandate that we not talk about the happenings in Gaza.”

Wiggins didn’t agree with this.

“To try and censor a topic because you think there might be negative feedback is considered malpractice as an educator,” Wiggins said. “I ignored him as did most others and he was let go soon after, for that and other reasons.”

The effects of polarization extend beyond staff experiences and influence how students connect with one another, socially and politically.

“I have experienced a change in the way people treat me,” NCHS Live staff member said. “My beliefs have caused a loss of friends. I have reposted things on my social media and watched as I have lost 20 or more followers because they don’t like what I have to say. I have also faced arguments and back handed comments from people around me causing me to just keep to myself.”

2023 NC alum, Mary Edwards shared her experiences while she was a student. After attending a pro-life event in Indianapolis with her father, Edwards experienced personal attacks.

“I posted about my experience on Snapchat and Instagram,”  Edwards said. “I got hate comments, hate DMs and even posts directed at me.”

The backlash and hatred wasn’t solely online. The criticism she received continued when she returned to school.

“The first week back was the worst,” Edwards said. “Every time I walked in the halls between classes I heard people whispering and talking about me. The few friends that I had left told me that I was brought up in every single class.”

Edwards experienced continued backlash for her views during the rest of her time in school.

“The rest of my time at NC completely changed after this,” Edwards said. “I lost several of my close friends because they didn’t want to be associated with me and were scared to continue being seen as my friend. Because I had different beliefs I was isolated and left out. I felt so alone and uncomfortable every time I entered the school.”

Some students who agreed with Edwards’ views were also hesitant about expressing agreement or support publicly.

“There were a couple of students who privately messaged me that they were not in agreement with what the majority of students were saying about me,” Edwards said. “However, at the end of their message they asked me to keep it between us and asked me not to tell anyone. This is an example of how students felt that they couldn’t express their different opinions at NC without being hated on. NC is only a safe place for liberal students.”

NC wasn’t always this way. Wiggins, who has taught at NC for 38 years, explained the shift in social politics that he’s seen.

“We can look back to some past times and see a more collaborative, communicative sort of environment than we have now,” Wiggins said. “During my time here politics have shifted almost 180 degrees, where I would say the vast majority of students now present themselves as much more liberal or progressive. It is not completely separate from what we’ve seen in society at large.”

He noted that peer pressure may influence students and how they speak up in class.

“I would imagine peer pressure is a big factor,” Wiggins said. “When NC was more conservative and you were a liberal student you didn’t really engage vocally. I think the same thing is true now, the opposite though. If you’re a conservative student, you might every once and a while make a comment that shows you’re not a part of the majority but you just kind of sit back and let the majority mindset dominate the classroom discussion.”

The broader polarization begins at the national level. People identify with parties rather than ideas.

“It’s concerning to me that people are considering more party allegiance than they are the quality of the ideas,” Vermilion said. “At the end of the day, it should be about what’s best for you and me and for the people of the United States.”

However, Vermilion suggests that Americans might not be as divided as it appears.

“If we looked at a timeline of the hundred most important topics to Americans, Democrats and Republicans would probably agree on seventy or eighty of them,” Vermilion said. “We just don’t talk about those things. I think that they actually have a lot more in common than we give them credit for and if we could somehow build on those ideas, then we would make advancements.”

Despite the way politics polarizes us through news, media outlets and social pressures, there is hope for change.

“It’s bigger than NC, bigger than any school,” Wiggins said. “I think it’s an issue that can be addressed and a healthier environment can be created for students.”