Hello, my name is Erik Jonasson II. I am a sophomore majoring in mechanical engineering and am the Opinion Editor for The Spectrum.

I have plenty of opinions. I am opinionated about racial tension in this country. I am opinionated about how science gets thrown around as a personal opinion rather than solid fact. And, of course, I am opinionated about equal rights for women and men.

Though my job entitles me to be opinionated, which I personally enjoy, it also requires me to hear out the opinions of my peers. Believe me, this can be difficult to read something that I might not personally believe in. It is hard to read counterargument after counterargument.

To read something that contradicts my opinion, though, is part of my job.

Though it might be difficult to read something I oppose to my core, it pales in comparison to how difficult it would be to ignore, censor or omit someone else’s opinion simply because I don’t like it.

This is a beautiful country. This is also the time of our lives where we are being exposed to a plethora of different opinions, ideas and beliefs. For us to ignore or try and shelter ourselves from the opinions we disagree with does nothing for our betterment.

Take those beliefs that differ from yours and challenge them. Gather your friends, pick up a newspaper, load up an article and debate.

A comment on Facebook just won’t cut it. Be open-minded and confident enough in your own friendships, and in your own opinion, to debate it out. Your real friends will sense passion. They will sense pride, and you should respect their thoughts and beliefs, as they should respect yours.

To educate ourselves, we need to challenge ourselves. This is my personal belief, and this is how I view other people’s opinions.

I simply respect them.

You don’t have to agree with them. You don’t have to like them. You can despise them all you want. There is something that you can do, though, that is more constructive.

The Spectrum is your forum. You might be the audience, but students are also the composers of this newspaper. We encourage, and enjoy, hearing your voice. Keep writing Letters to the Editor. Or better yet, students: write articles and get paid to voice your opinion.

Instead of letting your frustration go to waste, challenge opinions on the same playing field. Challenge so the other person can see another angle, so you can better your beliefs and maybe find new beliefs.

I understand where frustration comes from in regard to opposing opinions. If my job were to publish only opinions that I agree with, the section would be rather boring and not serve its purpose. A purpose I believe to be an open forum, where opinions can be heard and challenged.

So please, challenge yourself, challenge our current writers and possibly become a writer yourself.

This is your paper, and you should treat it as such.