Stocker: How students can curtail political polarization

Few would argue with the notion that political polarization has grown over the past few decades in the United States. The Brookings Institution, one of America’s oldest and most reputable think tanks, labels political polarization “damaging to the political process,” and warns America’s growing ideological gulf is now embedded in our society. When discussing political polarization, most analysts and commentators use terms like “gridlock,” “filibusters” or the omnipresent fear of another “government shutdown.” Political polarization is not the product of Sen. Ted Cruz’s marathon filibuster against the Affordable Care Act...