The demonization of right-wing political viewpoints created Donald Trump, Brexit and the global populist movement. The world has told conservatives, unequivocally, that their political views are repulsive — that they are of a moral standard simply not acceptable in society. In marginalizing such a large portion of the population, liberals have cut themselves off from normal political discourse. Liberals have left their relationship with conservatives to fester — failing to understand the fears, ideals and gripes that the everyday Trump voter represents.

Academics have described this as the Shy Tory Effect: a political phenomenon that arises when voters are afraid of indicating their right-wing leanings to pollsters. This results in an overwhelming discrepancy between pre-election polls and the final result. This was seen in the United Kingdom’s 2015 general election, when polls predicted that David Cameron would lose the election to the insurgent Ed Miliband. In reality, Cameron increased his majority, and the Conservatives took power with ease.

Some political commentators predicted that the same outcome would come to pass with Trump. What now needs to be considered is how this came to pass. By demonizing voters who lean toward anti-abortion policies, or believe that high levels of immigration are diluting the United States’ traditional values, Democrats and independents have created two separate political echo chambers where interaction and public discourse between both sides of the political spectrum is completely non-existent. Liberals describe Trump voters as deplorables — a term employed by Hillary Clinton and widely used by centrist voters. This pedestal-like approach to political values is fundamentally at odds with healthy, bipartisan politics.

One such event immediately springs to mind when discussing this issue of political expression. Recently, University of California, Berkeley students protested right-wing news website Breitbart’s Editor Milo Yiannopoulos’ scheduled appearance for College Republicans — the event was eventually cancelled. It is true that Yiannopoulos espouses extreme, far-right ideas — this much is clear for the average voter. However, who holds the power to decide what forms of political expression are moral or just? In preventing someone such as Milo — as he is more popularly known — from simply being able to speak, we are further telling College Republicans, and conservatives in general, that their views or opinions are at odds with the values of some of the world’s most prominent institutions.

The Milo effect has reached NYU Abu Dhabi in recent times, with debate flowing on whether or not Trump supporters are welcome on our campus as students. Such ideas are ridiculous assertions and are fundamentally antithetical to the values which our university stands for so staunchly. NYUAD was founded on the basis of openness and diversity — this includes viewpoints that part of the student body might disagree with.

This blatant disregard for the freedom of political expression that each student takes for granted upon entering NYUAD is indicative of the wider demonization of right-wing voters. At first, NYUAD might seem like a bubble of liberalism and left-wing ideologies, but our campus is, in fact, home to a plethora of different political ideals and leanings. NYUAD should be a safe space for all to comfortably express their viewpoints, regardless of the level of moral superiority that modern liberals seem to place upon their own views.

The most curious aspect of this aggression toward Trump supporters at NYUAD is that some of it is expressed anonymously, through informal online platforms such as NYUAD Confessions. Anti-Trump students are surely aware of the support their viewpoints are likely to receive — even so, instead of engaging in constructive political discourse, these individuals spout hateful statements peppered with curse words. In so actively condemning the beliefs of our fellow students, the NYUAD student body is continuing the marginalization of conservatives.

The fundamental characteristic of some of the world’s freedoms — of speech or political expression — is that it must apply as a blanket rule to all, regardless of their values. NYUAD students need to recognize that there are individuals that do not share mainstream liberal views, and that in order to consider ourselves a safe, open and diverse student body, we must allow all students to express themselves, Trump supporter or not. The day we realize that we must listen to those who do not agree with us, when we begin to reach across the aisle with an extended hand, is the day we become a more constructive, inclusive and progressive society. NYUAD is a wonderful example of progressive forward thinking, but our student body still has some growing up to do.