I consider myself someone who abides by the adage that a person who agrees with me 80 percent of the time is my friend, not my enemy.

That probably explains why over the years I drifted away from being an ideologue.

During my time at St. Edward’s University, from 2005 to 2009, I penned over a dozen columns for Hilltop Views. Some were basic political commentary, most argued a conservative point of view. My first column ran January 23, 2006, where I voiced support for Samuel Alito’s Supreme Court nomination. I went on to defend John Bolton’s tenure as ambassador to the United Nations and compared Al Gore’s Nobel Peace Prize nomination to a hammer injuring a “cute, cuddly, orphaned puppy.”

I gained some notoriety on campus for writing in April 2008, that Sen. John McCain should pick a little-known governor from Alaska named Sarah Palin as his running mate. Five months later that happened. Looking back, if I could retract anything, I would like to say that the puppy comment was a little harsh.

The Feb. 22 Hilltop Views editorial stated that the paper strived for diversity of opinion and that they had been criticized in the past for lacking a “conservative voice.” The editorial took a stand against liberal voices dominating campus debates in both the classroom and on the newspaper pages. Such a one-sided perspective robbed everyone at St. Edward’s of “the opportunity to learn and grow.”

Couldn’t agree more. As a native of Austin, I’m proud my city is home to traditional Democrats, Greens and even people too far left for either of those parties. At the same time we’re the capital of a Republican-leaning state and are home to plenty of GOP aides and conservative think-tanks. You name it, we got it.

What followed, however, irked me a bit, but for reasons you wouldn’t expect. “In the past, the few conservative students who have dared to write for the paper have been met with attacks not of their beliefs but of their character as well — discouraging others from contributing.”

I certainly hope that’s not the case. Granted, I haven’t been around for a while but my writing never created a backlash and was generally welcomed by my peers and, ever so quietly, by a few professors.

So altogether I agree with well over 80 percent of the editorial but this is one occasion where I’d like to call attention to the remainder that I disagree with. To use some straight talk, the problem with getting conservative voices heard at Hilltop Views has always been with conservative students, and not with the paper.

Now, there are the two fundamental reasons why I say that.

First, for four years, as a student and as an editor, I would ask conservatives to chip in and submit a column and only one person ever did. One. Either due to a lack of effort or distrust of the paper people would not stand up to be counted. So to those conservatives who wish to see more like-minded opinions expressed at Hilltop Views: do something about it. The paper does not write itself.

Second, not once was a column of mine withheld due to some ideological litmus test or edited in a way to warp my words. Despite whatever disagreements I had with anybody on staff we started and ended the day as friends. I eventually became a Viewpoints editor in the fall of 2007 and, much to my surprise, co-editor-in-chief in the summer of 2008.

Trust me when I say that the need for stories is everyone’s only concern there.

At a time when people left and right boast of unfriending and disassociating from peers for political disagreements, unapologetically embracing what amounts to political social-segregation, we need to hear out opposing views.

Try speaking out. You’ll like it and you’ll be doing all of us a favor.