Discussion. It's what we, as human beings, participate in on a daily basis.

It's what can get the blood boiling when you absolutely, positively don't agree with a stance; or it can spark accordance between two parties that hail from opposite ends of the spectrum.

The possibilities are endless, really.

In our daily lives as students, we discuss an ever-expanding realm of topics, from the fallacies of the Bush administration or the apparent laundry list of shortcomings that the Democratic presidential hopefuls have, to whether 'Melo is better than LeBron or the tangible need for stronger diversity standards on this campus.

Formal, informal -- it's all about getting your ideas out into the world.

Here at Penn State, we are encouraged by administrators, professors and our peers to bandy about ideas, to impart our thoughts on others. In turn, we are asked to give equal listening time to contradictory ideas that are conveyed to us. Sounds simple when it's broken down, doesn't it?

Unfortunately, this matter can't be solved that easily.

Oftentimes, shouting, ignoring or flat out insulting the other opinion occurs. We're all familiar with it: "No, that's wrong and you're a (expletive deleted)!" "Liberals are tree huggers!" "Conservatives are all war mongers!"

It's happened within the confines of your dorm room, on the Loop and in the sanctity of the classroom.

But where is the healthy discussion? Where is the debate that is civil, yet still has an edge to it?

Many people on campus and off look toward the Collegian's opinion page for just such a forum, where conversation and ideas are floated around at a constant rate.

Yet, at certain points over the last few semesters here, the opinion page has many a time found it shouting, too.

Columnists inflame various groups, letters to the editor attack people almost at will. It all is entirely the opposite of what is supposed to be "civil."

The problem, as I see it, is that people frequently look at things in stark shades of black and white, whether it's politics, race or other hot topics. However, in this world, things can no longer simply be boiled down into matters of "black" and "white."

Too often on the opinion page, groups of people are jammed tightly into a pegboard, on which they have no way of wiggling out.

If you're a conservative, you have outrageous, radical ideas that no one but your fellow ideal followers can even remotely identify with. Aren't all conservatives gruff and have a hankering for guns?

Meanwhile, if you're a liberal, you're entirely too forgiving of past presidential indiscretions that occurred underneath the White House desk. You're soft, liberal. Soft.

The thing is, these cookie-cutter images rarely, in these days, represent the overall ideals of a large margin of America, especially in the college-age adult sector.

Not everyone in this world is strictly conservative or utterly liberal -- an idea that is often shot down by members from either side of the fence or has just been forgotten entirely.

Heaven forbid that somewhere in the middle -- or the taboo "gray" area -- may your convictions or personal politics fall.

It's about time the pegboard got dumped on its side and all of the pegs fall out, looking for a rearrangement -- a new balance.

It is my sincere intention this semester to bring to the opinion page that balance across the board it truly needs. There will be conservative voices that don't come off as loutish clowns banging their clubs against the GOP podium. There will be liberal voices that do not blindly follow the Democratic leadership simply because it opposes a major Bush administration move.

There will be middle ground, where conservatives, liberals and those who don't fall completely into one category or the either get equal time.

There will be voices who can, I hope, identify with the growing diverse student population.

The presentation will be different, too. Readers can look for more humor to appear within the column space on the page, where wit and sarcasm can be used as tremendous tools to create an effective opinion piece.

I hope that gone are the days of stolid, wooden columns that have all the flair of Ben Stein -- before he found a personality -- and induced more tears of boredom than actual response or discussion.

Bueller? Bueller?

In addition, there will be new features introduced within the next few weeks that will attempt to get the Collegian's readership to become more involved in creating the voice of this newspaper. Because when it comes down to it all, the readers are what make the Collegian what it is.

Stay tuned.

The opinion page is there for you, the readers, to fully utilize.

Don't like our coverage of a certain matter? Write in and tell us what we're missing or what we're doing wrong in your opinion.

Or better yet, apply to be a columnist. What better way to get your ideas out there than to have a weekly spot where readers can look for you on specific days.

The challenge has been set down and the message is clear, readers: At the Collegian, it is "your opinion."