Opinion on Opinion

At four in the afternoon, I suddenly realized in fear that I had an opinion piece for the Mercersburg News due the next night. With no topic in mind, what was I supposed to write about? 

An opinion article about opinion articles, of course.

Of all the pages in the newspaper, the category that interested me the most is the Opinion page. Traditional journalism emphasizes neutrality, suspending judgment, and a version of the truth as objective as possible, but not necessarily the Opinion section. Opinions are everywhere. We read them in newspapers, hear them in classrooms, and scroll through them online. Often, they provoke a brief reaction: agreement, disagreement, maybe even rage or frustration—before we move on. In a community like ours, however, opinion writing should serve a greater purpose. These pieces matter not because they divide us, but because they have the power to spark conversations that actually lead somewhere.

Too often, readers decide whether they agree or disagree with an opinion and stop there. This approach renders opinion writing a static position rather than a dynamic exchange, since disagreement alone does not promote understanding, and stances without reflection rarely lead to growth. It is true that in conversations, such as the example of civil discourse presented by the Civics Student Advisory Board during the school meeting, meaningful conclusions can be drawn from a multiplicity of opinions; an opinion page seldom achieves that effect, since the reader is always on the receiving end.

Meaningful opinion writing should invite readers to think more deeply, not just about issues at hand, but about their own assumptions. It should encourage dialogue, whether that be conversations among students, discussions in classrooms, or reconsideration of one's own long-held beliefs. Of course, not every opinion can or should inspire immediate action, but every opinion should leave its audience with something they can think about and work with, a different understanding, a new angle. 

The responsibility does not rest solely with the writer either. Readers, too, must be willing to engage with opinions thoughtfully rather than consuming them passively. While opinion writing does not offer a solution or an outline for change, it should prompt the readers to pause and question. After all, even small shifts in perspective can lead to meaningful change in a school community. 

I did not always believe in the power of opinion writing: when I wrote my first opinion on the school’s Global Programs and how a greater portion of the student body should be made eligible. I had a follow-up with Ms. Parsons, where I learned about the complexities behind the difficulty of expansions. I thought that was the end of the story, until two months later, in a conversation, Ms. Parsons told me that there is a possibility to extend the travel opportunities to sophomores, and she is working toward it. While no immediate policy change has yet occurred, the opinion opened a dialogue, one that continued beyond the page and into real consideration.

If we treat opinion writing as a starting point rather than a conclusion, it can become one of the most powerful changemaking tools in our community. Opinions should not simply fill space on a page; they should challenge us to listen, reflect, and move forward, together.