politics

“I don’t want to be political,” my students will say, “what if the wrong person reads my application and suddenly hates my guts?” I understand where my students are coming from. It can be scary to advertise one’s political views amid such contentious and polarized times, especially on the competitive chopping block of medical school admissions. So, what’s the answer? Is it ever okay to be political during the application process?

Following the 2016 election, our country has reached unprecedented levels of political polarization. Even the most moderate seem to be caught up in the us-versus-them mentality. People have written each other out of their lives entirely, all in the name of ideology.