I was puzzled yesterday at the HUB lawn display of blue and red flags representing the political affiliations of the teaching staff here at Penn State. I understand that what the creators of the display were showing was the clear lopsided ratio of liberal over conservative teachers, but what exactly was the point?

It's not really a secret that Penn State is a liberal university, so what will creating a "liberal awareness" among the students achieve. It was later explained to me by a member of Young Americans for Freedom that conservative students tend to feel like some liberal teachers disregard their conservative ideas and statements during class.

But can't this go both ways? Isn't it possible for a conservative teacher to create this feeling among his/her liberal students? Even though there are more liberal teachers it doesn't mean that they all push their ideologies in class. It has actually been my experience that my teachers have gone out of their way to hide their affiliations. It's unfortunate that some students have felt oppressed due to the viewpoints and if this is the case then the issue should be discussed with the individual teacher. However, creating a display such as this one will do nothing but further fuel animosity between Democrats and Republicans on campus.