Since coming onboard as opinion editor of The Saint last spring, I’ve watched the number of letters to the editor increase nearly exponentially.

Some — many in fact — are critical of the positions that I, and the rest of the editorial board, have decided to print.

It is my philosophy as an aspiring journalist that there is no better indication of a newspaper’s success than letters of this kind. A newspaper that does not draw feedback — even criticism, I daresay — isn’t worth printing. If an opinion does not draw approval, or, conversely, if it does not draw disapproval, it is surely not so much an opinion as it is either fact or nothing.

Aquinas is a Catholic institution, and as such should — and does — incorporate the values of the Church’s teachings into its operations. Yet in our mission as a religious college, we must never lose sight of the promise Aquinas offers to every incoming freshman — we are “an inclusive educational community.”

All are welcome here, and all, equally, should be allowed their opinions.

This College has a proud history of innovation in Catholic, liberal arts education and, particularly, has made great strides in promoting diversity within its community. The Emeritus program is chaired by a Jewish rabbi.

The newly appointed visiting assistant professor of theatre is openly gay. The Women’s Studies Center is a prominent force on campus, sponsoring such events as this week’s presentation by radio activist Roxanne Walker.

In our cultivation of diversity on campus, we must seek more than mere tolerance; we must seek acceptance for all beliefs and opinions. Tolerance implies silence; the pursuit of acceptance requires dialogue.

In the last year, it has saddened me that I have to actively seek out writers for opinion pieces. On such an intellectually diverse campus, the student newspaper should serve as a central outlet for student discourse, a role fundamentally entwined with the ideal of the liberal arts education.

Thomas Jefferson once famously said that, “Were it left to me to decide whether we should have a government without newspapers, or newspapers without a government, I should not hesitate a moment to prefer the latter.”

Let us not for a moment forget the importance of free expression on this and any other campus.