In the age of social media, everyone has an opinion — and can freely share it. We each have a digital soapbox. Instagram stories and angry tweets flood our feeds, oversaturating the social media sphere of college students and blurring the lines between performative virality and genuine belief.
If everyone already has a platform, does a newspaper’s Opinions section still matter?
We believe it does — and not just because it’s our job to say so. A college newspaper’s Opinions section offers something social media can’t: a unique platform for community members to share their beliefs, engage with dissent and think critically together.
At The Daily, the Opinions section is meant to provoke thoughtful, well-researched and sourced debate on pressing issues. We seek pieces that move readers so much that they can’t help but respond. Unlike petty attacks that are common in a social media comments section, our replies are thoughtful and aim to add to the conversation.
When professor Elliot White Jr. wrote a piece about the importance of diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) on campus, readers responded with an influx of comments and responses — from professor Jonathan Berk’s rebuttal to professor Hakeem Jefferson’s historical analysis of Black representation in higher education to student Jaylon Jones ’26’s article on how we speak about DEI. This exchange was more than news; it was open dialogue and a representative depiction of differing beliefs that our campus rarely sees in today’s political climate.
Our modern concept of debate has shifted from intellectual discourse to sneaky “gotcha” moments and personal digs that entrench political division and ill will. The “prove me wrong” model values snappy one-liners and rhetorical bravado over well-reasoned arguments. Take political commentators like Joe Rogan and media companies like Jubilee, who have built their brands on hostile exchange and extremism rebranded as entertainment. Most of us have probably watched some iteration of “1 Progressive vs. 20 Far-Right Conservatives,” but we believe that the conversation should not be centered around conflict or right versus wrong. Rather, it should be with the goal of mutual understanding — prioritizing understanding over domination.
Whether it’s in the classroom, politics or personal relationships, people seem increasingly unwilling to be wrong. They dodge legitimate criticisms with technicalities or snide remarks, committed to winning whatever it is they are fighting. We at The Daily aim to challenge these norms. You cannot “beat” an opinion; you can only join the dialogue.
So join us. Talk to your friends about what you read. Engage in conversation that goes beyond the headline.
If you feel that your opinion on a current political, social or local issue has not been voiced, please reach out to us. If you disagree with a piece we have published, send us a response in the form of a “From the Community” article. And if you want to contribute more regularly, consider becoming a columnist and adding your voice to the ongoing conversation.
Our call is simple: to replace “gotcha” moments with genuine exchange. The Stanford community deserves more than one-liners; it deserves dialogue. That dialogue starts with you.
Jennifer Levine ’28
Zach Gottlieb ’28
Opinions Managing Editors, Volume 268
Contact us at [email protected]