Ismael Farooqui

Today, fear is the No. 1 asset of the current administration. You might say the business-minded Donald Trump has monopolized fear. Slowly, he injects it into the market, directing it towards one group or another.

The very soul of UC Berkeley — the humanities — is more and more caught in a crisis of identity.

The value of diversity on our campus can be described as a civil state of conflict among different groups of people. If we don’t recognize this delicate balance holding our campus up, we may allow the collapse of the very diversity we cherish.

“Could you ever be friends with a Trump supporter?” I ask.

While UC Berkeley has faced criticism over the past few years for a pattern of mishandling sexual violence cases, recent coverage of Harvey Weinstein’s misdeeds has thrown a very relevant campus issue back in the spotlight.

In today’s political climate, in which vitriolic jokesters pose as serious political thinkers, Milo Yiannopoulos being a fine example, a new kind of comedy is needed in response.

As much as their arguments may continue to have relevance for a society rankled by issues of race, the very fact that men such as Baldwin and Buckley could debate is valuable in our own time.