Warren Wilson Is Not an Echo Chamber – It Is a Refuge
Will Womack | September 30, 2025
Recently, I was featured in the article “Echochamber of Politics On Our Campus” by Echo writer Solie Lawson. I am grateful to Solie for allowing me to share my perspective, and I enjoyed our conversation. I also think the article raises an important question about political culture on campus. Are we an echo chamber? Do we exclude conservative voices to the detriment of our mission as a liberal arts college?
I do not believe a lack of conservative perspectives at Warren Wilson College (WWC) constitutes an “echo chamber.” Underlying this accusation is the faulty assumption that a right/left political dichotomy entitles conservatives to half of every conversation.
WWC isn’t just any college – in 2023, we were named the top LGBTQ+ college in the country. Queer people in this country are not given the option to opt out of hearing the “conservative” perspective on their identities. In the last two weeks, trans people were blamed for the assassination of Charlie Kirk, threatened with a blanket designation of “mental illness” by the federal government and dragged into a narrative surrounding gun violence that paints them as inherently violent. If you want to know how conservatives feel about queer people, listen to the president of the U.S. and his media proxies on any given day.
Queer high school graduates do not seek out a campus like WWC to have their identities interrogated by conservative “devil’s advocate” debate tactics. They had enough of that in high school. Queer students find refuge here. WWC is a place where they will not be misgendered, deadnamed, policed for using the bathroom, subjected to slurs, or treated as dangerous criminals. Beyond the boundaries of this campus lies a world hostile to their very existence. For four short years at this small college, queer students can, perhaps for the first time in their lives, feel safe and free to express their authentic identities.
A multiplicity of political opinions exists beyond the right/left dichotomy. At WWC, we have anarchists, Marxists, Democrats and democratic socialists. Some advocate for electoral politics; some reject it. Some support gun ownership for marginalized groups; others believe in traditional gun control measures. Some of us believe capitalism can be reformed, and others believe it must be abolished.
Are any of these perspectives “conservative?” No. That doesn’t mean our campus is an “echo chamber.” It means we prioritize the perspectives and experiences of the vulnerable over the insistence by conservatives that they are entitled to at least half the space wherever they go.
Campuses like Liberty University, Hillsdale College and Brigham Young University are unapologetically conservative. Nobody anywhere expects them to respect divergent views. Some of these colleges outright expel students for failing to live up to their conservative values. WWC has no such formal expectations. Yes, conservative voices are probably shouted down here. If you are conservative and this has been your experience, I ask you to consider the socially enforced silence many of our students faced before they came here and will face again once they leave.
WWC does not attract conservative students. If it did, students who come here to feel safe as they enter adulthood would instead feel threatened. We are not an “echo chamber” for preserving the queer and peacefully radical character of our campus.
Conservatives, please understand that diverse perspectives are welcome here, including yours. But we will not silence ourselves to amplify you. You will have to settle for the small consolation of being represented by the world's biggest podcast, its largest news media conglomerate, both houses of Congress, the Supreme Court and the president of the U.S. I’m sure you’ll get over it.
Will Womack is a senior, a public humanities major, 35 years old and bald.