My friend and colleague James Allsup wrote last week of how students both at WSU and across the nation have responded to recent political controversy by flocking to support Trump and other alt-right ideas.

I could not disagree more.

Young people across the country have trudged through the Great Recession, seen endless war in the Middle East, and have inherited a nation coping with a history of discrimination that affects us to this day.

We cannot blame stagnate jobs on trade, we cannot blame crime on racial minorities, and we cannot blame sexism on woman’s choices.

These are not solutions to the challenges we face – they are excuses.

The phenomena of Donald Trump has not only been denounced by those on the left: Prominent Republicans from John McCain to Paul Ryan have also criticized his conduct and statements.

Trump chooses insults over discussion, catch phrases over policy plans and prefers to call himself a victim rather than taking responsibility for his actions.

Trump does not meet the standard we hold ourselves to as Americans.

It is our duty to have patience and listen to people with whom we disagree.

We must never forget that compromise is the bedrock of our democracy and our first loyalty is to our fellow citizens, not to our ideology.

In the words of Edward R. Murrow, “We can deny our heritage and our history, but we cannot escape responsibility for the result.”

It is in that American spirit that I call upon any individual who opposes Trump to not give into apathy, but to take action by voting.

We should make our voices heard in every voting booth and ballot box across the country.

If the College Republican’s proposed plan to build a wall on Holland-Terrell Mall next month is approved, as part of their freedom to speak, I will also exercise my own right to voice my respectful disagreement – to protest the untruthful and slanderous branding of Latinos as a threat to our country and to show that such a toxic element of our politics is not supported by students at WSU.