Milton’s “Cancel Culture”

By KAROL QUERIDO ‘22

Milton Academy prides itself, perhaps rightfully so, on its diversity and inclusivity. However, if we look past the different races, genders, or ethnicities of people here on campus, we realize that Milton’s environment does not always allow for a disparity in opinions. Milton harbors a student body that represents 29 different states and 29 countries, but many people treat these numbers as simple statistics from their website. Our school is responsible for bringing together people who live very separate lives outside of the campus borders, but many of our students fail to acknowledge the actual significance of this responsibility.  

Milton is home to the most progressive thinking people I know. Coming from a place where not many people were concerned with being politically correct, I was greeted with a very new environment at Milton. I felt like I needed to be trained to go to a school like this because I had spent so much of my life living in a box. I was greeted with an unprecedented amount of sensitivity to almost all social issues. That being said, I think the political correctness can be overbearing at times. I am in no way advocating for a lack of delicacy in the difficult conversations we need to have, but instead, I am suggesting that we foster a space for students to ease into a community like ours. The nature of our views can sometimes be intimidating to students who are not used to such openness. This reality goes both ways. If you were raised in a school or community like Milton’s, chances are that you were exposed to more liberal ideas, and it can be frustrating to hear opposing views. However, we need to be especially conscious of how we as a community respond to controversy. I’ve witnessed what I have come to know as “Milton’s cancel culture”, affect many well-meaning students. 

Milton students provide many outlets for important conversations to happen through culture clubs and affinity groups. But we can’t put the responsibility of social justice on these groups or the leaders of these groups. No one, or two, or even three people should be the voice for an entire community of people. I have found that, especially when big events happen on campus (such as the Black History Month Assembly), people are quick to look for tension and unrest. As a community of diverse, individual personalities, it is up to us students to encourage differences of perspectives, but it is hard to do so if we are constantly looking for the next idea to attack. I believe that students on this campus have good intentions. But why is it that whenever someone writes an article, or voices an unpopular opinion, we attack them (I myself am guilty of this type of response)? This preeminent fear of villinization prevents some of the most productive discussions. A friend of mine who was thinking of applying to Milton decided to do some research on the school, when she came across a Niche review from an acclaimed former student. The review stated that our environment can be hostile at times, specifically mentioning the antagonism of conservative students at Milton. After reading this review, despite not really being liberal, my friend contemplated her decision to apply. The image she gained of Milton was not as positive as I know it could have been, and unfortunately it seems that Milton has a reputation of being pretty stubborn in its ideas of “right vs. wrong.” All of this opinion regarding our school atmosphere is not to say that we should be accepting of explicitly offensive or immoral comments made by our student body, but rather that we should be more open to what things fall under those categories. People will not feel comfortable voicing their sentiment if they know people will not just disagree with it, but also antagonize them, labeling their opinion as “offensive.” We have to become aware of the inherent contradictions in thought at Milton and learn to accept and appreciate these differences in opinion. Only then can we engage in effective dialogue.