Socialism has been gaining in popularity over the last several years with young people – especially in the aftermath of Sen. Bernie Sanders’s (I-VT) surprisingly popular presidential run in 2016 and freshman Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’s (D-NY-14) media-driven meteoric rise to fame.

In addition to that, college liberals and socialists alike have increased their attempts at suppressing the voices of free thinking conservative students whose views differ from them on issues like illegal immigration, healthcare, and socialism.

Unfortunately, some school administrators have even gone along with them – or have implemented strict rules themselves over what can and can’t be said on campus.

In response to all of that, Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) has a message for today’s young socialists:

Stop trying to stifle the debate. Be open-minded instead of demanding your political opposition be silenced over differing views. Be willing to listen and respectfully engage.

Campus Reform‘s editor-in-chief Lawrence Jones recently interviewed Cruz on a number of hot topics, including free speech issues on campus. The Senator also talked about how liberal campaigns to shut down discussions merely because of disagreement were the antithesis of what the First Amendment was all about:

“Unfortunately, students…they’re not being taught to think,” Cruz said. “What’s defined as hate speech, by the way, is anything the Left disagrees with. The First Amendment wasn’t designed for popular speech. You actually don’t need the First Amendment if what you’re saying is popular. The First Amendment was designed to protect unpopular speech, to protect minority views, to protect views that are not in common agreement. And particularly the whole point about a college experience is learning to confront views you’ve never seen before.”

Watch the full interview below:

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—Based in North Carolina, Sister Toldjah is a former liberal and a 15+ year veteran of blogging with an emphasis on media bias, social issues, and the culture wars. Read her Red State archives here. Connect with her on Twitter.–