Lately it is tough to attend a Pomona class without talking about your feelings.

"What do you think about the text?" a teacher might ask.

"I feel like the author ignored the agency of non-establishment actors," a student might answer.

But why?

Must we preface our statements with "I feel" or "I think" or "It seems like"? Sometimes these constructions are valid. It is okay to express views that we aren’t sure about. But it "seems like" we aren’t sure about anything anymore.

Gone are the days of heated debate in upper division seminars, with students advancing countering claims about the right way to think about things. Nowadays students are afraid to state anything as an opinion that they hold dear.

Is it because we want to seem humble, and stating something as a truth makes us seem pompous? Is it because we want to seem open minded, and stating an opinion forcefully makes us seem close-minded?

In reality it is participation in forceful debates that marks an open-minded community. If truth is what we seek, the fastest path is stating one’s well informed opinion as convincingly as one knows how, and listening to and evaluating all responses. If our public debate is timid, if it is restrained by individuals who color the expression of their views so that they will appear to be good liberals, the ostensible end of our debate is undercut.

When one advances an opinion, that they "think it" or "feel it is right" is implied. That we should be convinced by their opinion is what is up in the air. If our goal as an academic community is to take small steps toward truth through reasoned and informed debate… I feel like it is our responsibility to do what seems right and take responsibility for our views, stating them so that it seems like we mean them. Or, in other words, stop this nonsense and say what you think.