Hello again, world! I have officially come out from behind the curtain, and am now the former opinions editor wizard of The Daily Illini Oz (please excuse my cheesy cinematic reference). For the past year, I have been knee-deep in everything University-related, and let me tell you, I’ve come out the other side having learned a thing or two.

With everything from the Steven Salaita debacle that consumed first semester to on-going discussions about race and gender on campus, there is a lot that goes on here in our little middle-of-nowhere, corn-filled, flat-land paradise.

Through daily opinions columns, editorials, guest columns, letters to the editor and reader feedback, our campus’ voices have been, and continue to be, heard (some more loudly than others) on a variety of these issues. This past year, I read and listened and contributed to a multitude of campus conversations ranging from various feminist issues to ineffective University programs to the continual controversy concerning Chief Illiniwek, and everything in between.

What I realized from all of this is the importance of starting conversations on campus — and by conversations, I mean, yes, conversations. I don’t mean spiteful, vindictive words in the face of opposing viewpoints, as we all too commonly see on social media forums. No, I mean actual dialogues with substance and support that portray different sides of an issue.

We’re a population of over 40,000 students, and while we sport the same shade of obnoxious orange and, presumably, root for the same college teams (I-L-L…), we sure don’t agree about everything. And that’s OK as long as we are willing to maturely and rationally talk about our differing perspectives.

Some people seem quick to turn to malicious, biting words and tunnel-vision attitudes in an effort to defeat an opposing outlook, when what needs to happen is intelligent, thought-provoking dialogue. Disagreement shouldn’t become blatant condemnation. When it does turn into condemnation, it can inhibit our ability to appropriately address the issue at hand and, instead, can turn us off from needed discussion.

To gather some better insight on the role conversation plays in the face of conflict, I reached out to Erin Wehrman, a University Ph.D. student, as well as a teaching and research assistant in the department of Communication. Wehrman commented, “Civil discourse is very important; we should be using the tools that we have (like social media) to help make changes in the world, but we must always be aware of our actions and aim to be civil in our discourse since effective communication cannot exist without it. This means giving others the room to speak and voice their opinions, too.”

Wehrman continued by emphasizing that destructive communication tactics, such as name-calling, stonewalling and criticism, “can prevent effective communication on controversial topics, which can inhibit our ability to move forward.”

As previously noted, there’s a difference between criticism and disagreement, and there’s a definite difference in our reception when one is used instead of the other: Disagree with my viewpoint? Great. Let’s talk about it and see what we can learn from each other. Criticize and degrade my opinions? Hi, meet sassy, defensive Nicki, and let’s accomplish nothing.

The only way we can improve what we all have opinions on is if we get other people talking about it. It’s one thing, for example, to have an opinion that Chief Illiniwek is an offensive figure, and it’s another to talk about the history of Chief Illiniwek and what apparent pride or degradation the former mascot brought to the University. It’s one thing to say that Steven Salaita’s rescinded job offer at the University was wrong, and it’s another to begin talking about the importance of First Amendment rights and academic freedom.

The point is: Yes! Believe it or not, people will never completely agree about anything! Huzzah! Mind-blowing! But that only means there is necessary room to talk about these issues in our seemingly small-but-actually-huge-and-influential community.

If we can’t open up and share our multitude of varying opinions for fear of criticism and closed-mindedness, then we’re ultimately failing as a learning institution.

Last time I checked, an opinion is called an opinion because that’s exactly what it is — an opinion. It’s a subjective viewpoint shaped by differing life experiences — viewpoints that we should be open to hearing. If you want to spew hate via online commentary, that’s fine — nobody will stop you. But when we can turn disagreement and passion into discussion, debate and conversation about a real life issue, then we’ve started something worthwhile.

Nicki is a senior in Media.

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