Smart Alec: The conservative freshman making a Dent in your views

Before he even got to UNC, freshman Alec Dent stirred up the Carolina community when he wrote an editorial claiming freshman orientation was encouraging conformity and portraying white, middle-class men as “the villains”. His writing quickly made its way across campus.

A few months later, he made waves once again with his critique of the Literature of 9/11 freshman seminar at UNC. This time, his opinions were recognized nationally.

Alec has only been on campus a little over a month, but he’s already made a name for himself. The Tab sat down with the famed freshman to talk about his foray into journalism and the feedback he’s received from the student body.

How would you summarize your issue with the orientation skit in few words?

My problem wasn’t really with the skits themselves but with the question session which took place afterwards. It was made clear that conservative ideology wasn’t exactly welcome.

Would you consider yourself conservative?

Yes. So I thought the premise of the skits was a good idea. I think we should be careful how we speak to others. It’s important that we are polite. But at the same time, they were focusing less on that and impressing ideas on us instead.

Do you think other students say you’re misogynistic for pointing out a skit which supposedly targets white males?

I wouldn’t say that. I would argue I’m not misogynistic.

Do you think white males are oppressed at UNC?

I think in some instances it can be more difficult to be a white male, but at the same time, I realize historically it’s been a lot easier for white males.

Could you give me some examples where it could be harder to be a white male?

Well, like in the skits, the villain in each skit was almost always portrayed as a white male – a white straight male. So, as a white straight male, a lot of times people automatically assume you fit that stereotype, you are misogynistic, you’re homophobic, you’re sexist. And so, when people are immediately working under these assumptions, they can be prejudiced against you.

What was the response you received from students about your article from orientation?

For the most part it was pretty positive. I had a lot of people reach out to me, saying they agreed with what I had to say. But, I did have some negative comments from students. It was kind of liberal in that it had a sort of liberal bent to it. Like people were arguing that I was misogynistic, homophobic, etc.

Moving on to your next article on the 9/11 course, what is your relationship to 9/11? Where were you on 9/11 in 2001?

On 9/11 I was four years old at the time. But I didn’t really understand what was happening because I was so young, so I don’t really have a personal tie to it.

How did you find out about the Literature of 9/11 course?

I started writing for a website called The College Fix and the editor saw something about the course – she didn’t really know that much about it so she told me to look into it and see if there was something there.

Why do you have an issue with the class if you’re not currently enrolled in it?

My issue with the class is that it seems to be one-sided in how it’s presenting 9/11. My article was about how the readings are fairly one-sided in their presentation of America and terrorism.

And actually the John William Pope Center just did a piece where they systematically broke down everything in the class – all of the assignments and the classwork that they did, the various smaller reading that they did – and they found that it was incredibly one-sided.

There were two pieces in there that could be considered pro-American. Nineteen of the other ones were explicitly anti-American. So my problem with the course isn’t the material that’s being offered, just that it’s not balanced. And I would take issue with any course that’s not balanced in how they present something.

Have you spoken to the professor directly?

Before I wrote the article, I reached out to him several times so I could try to interview him because I thought it was important to get his view. But he never returned my emails. So I have not talked to him.

Did you read his response piece?

Yes, I thought it was interesting. But I, again, with most of the critiques of my article or the argument, people haven’t really actually disproven what I’ve had to say. The biggest argument against it is, “Oh, he never took the class.” But at the same time, if you look at these readings its pretty clear what they’re about, and people haven’t really addressed that issue.

Do you think there should be action taken against the professor or the course?

I don’t think any action should be taken against the professor. I don’t think the course should be canceled. I would just want to see the curriculum balanced out.

Were you just attempting to spark conversation or trying to bring this topic to light?

I think that if we don’t get every side of an issue we are not really learning the subject well, because different sides have different things they can offer and it sparks debate. It sparks conversation, and that’s important.

Since you did not take the course, how do you feel entitled to write an article criticizing it?

I did extensive research into the course. I looked at all of the readings, the class assignments, I read the syllabus, read comments by former students and the books themselves are very open with their message. So it’s pretty clear what they are trying to get across. If you look at one of the “Poems from Guantánamo” – if you look at that it’s pretty clear – I mean they are poems written by prisoners from Guantánamo. Suspected and known terrorists. So it’s pretty clear what their idea would be.

Do you regret writing your piece at all?

No, I think it’s important to spark conversation like that. And not just in that classroom but all courses. We should examine and make sure that they are balanced and make sure that they are not just teaching one ideology.

Are you working on anything currently?

Well, currently I’m working for the Carolina Review – which is the conservative publication on campus – and I’ve written something for them. I think the first issue is coming out this week or last week, so I’ll have something there. And recently I wrote a piece on the portrayal of Christianity in television for a website called Acculturated.