Don’t be fooled, my UA student body president does not represent me. Her words of faith to represent the university community apply to only the voices in power, already unrepresentative. And yet, under her nose, thousands of conservative students have been waiting for action — waiting for a political viewpoint to finally be just that. Not an identity of villainy or apathy.

President Trump’s administration sent out a university compact seeking to freeze tuition for five years; eliminate race, sex and gender, among others, in the hiring and admissions process and punish rhetoric or activities that belittle or spark violence against conservative ideas. This is not a ploy to socialize America into a dictatorship that bends at his knee; this is a long-awaited initiative — that universities and professors have not taken action against — to finally respect, bolster and represent conservative students as they do our liberal counterparts. It is fairness with incentive.

I write this article in appreciation of the humility and kindness that a diverse student body brings to all life and experiences. I hope if anything that my words don’t come across as against the remarkable experiences and struggles of my peers. Instead, I hope to bring to light the unjustified cost of these initiatives against other students. Action should not be taken against conservatives, who have worked just as hard to feel heard and achieve rewarding education, but should have been taken long ago. My identity, opinions and sense of belonging are not the scapegoats for our country’s underfunded and corrupt youth public school systems.

I’ve written previously on the omnipresent judgment in identifying as a conservative in a university. And just as the student body president is scared and uncertain, so are we. Conservatives have sat silently, scared and uncertain about when an opinion will mean judgment, disgrace or ostracization from peers and future careers, despite my founded and contemplated morals. We have kept our opinions modest out of fear of losing the same degree we value just as much. And yet, I would argue, the right to freedom of expression is more important than the right to preferential treatment. The loss of the conservative voice is a bigger tragedy.

The compact does not disgrace nor offend; the American Association of Colleges and University sees the initiative as control and an overreach of federal oversight, as colleges reserve the right to decide whom they admit. While this is a significant worry, when every college is participating in these admissions processes, further pigeon-holing my access to a satisfying education, shouldn’t somebody finally step in? If universities deserve the freedom of admissions, then I deserve a freedom of respectful dialogue in classrooms. 

Eliminating preferential treatment does not destroy the educational equity you deserve. Eliminating identity-based rewards does not address the issues of competence. Educational equity can exist separate from identity and a destruction of conservative ideas.

A perceived field of fairness can ease in- and out-group tension. When two peers receive a similar reward but one based on the basis of their skin, we further polarize groups towards hostility when we morally oppose them with rewards founded simply off of association. We fuel students defined more by identity than individuality, where my culture, skin color and private sexual preferences are more interesting than my words. 

My culture — as proud as I am of it — is not the marker of my identity, experiences or my intelligence. In Islam, women cover their body and hair to hide the superficial markers of judgement and instead allow people to judge by their character and words. It would be silly to generalize character to all people of the same culture.

University is not the place for identity-based equity. This is far too late. 

When we raise children in wildly different arenas, some paying full tuition in private schools and others in low-funded public schools, we inherently destroy the fairness of a meritocracy beyond valid repair. In fact, according to a report by the Economic Policy Institute, “students who start behind, stay behind. They are rarely able to make up the lost ground.”

The root of equity is not mixing every person of a single race together as needing more help — in fact, this seems discriminatory and racially patronizing. Instead, fix the root of America’s education problem: our early education is grossly unfair and corrupted to favor the higher income class. Let’s fix this first and leave identity out of it.

Still, this is only part of the compact. Where is the dialogue around protecting conservative voices? Where are the students and leaders speaking up about protecting dialogue? The university must remain a place where I can share my opinions and arguments without fear of judgment. Too many times I’ve kept to myself because of a traditionally conservative opinion. Do not forget about this important piece of the compact.

The White House is demanding a response by Oct. 20. We are finally opening up dialogue. Let’s keep it that way.

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Zaina Jasser is a senior studying physiology and philosophy with a minor in music at the University of Arizona. She enjoys conversations about ethics, trying new cheeses, medicine and metal rock.