Imagine sitting in the RSC — enjoying lunch or just kicking back with friends. You’re not focused on the silent, subtitle-covered television above, but it’s impossible to ignore new headlines as they appear.

From the border wall funding fight to yet another indictment in the Mueller probe, the overwhelming amount of information is being broadcast from the commentary-heavy 24 hour news stations of CNN and FOX News. With only the most extreme content being aired, it’s worth asking why we don’t have a more unbiased station, or at least a larger variety available?

With the American political dynamic at its most polarized in our lifetime, bipartisan media consumption is becoming an increasingly important life skill. Not only does it actively challenge the mind to determine fact from bias, but it also allows for more in-depth discussion and understanding of the people and world around us. When places as frequently visited as the RSC show only one or two particularly biased news programs at a time, it does nothing to aid media comprehension.

Scientifically speaking, the reliability of America’s most popular news stations vary greatly — ranging from extreme to almost non-existent bias. The Pew Research Center’s annual State of the News Media report in 2013 found MSNBC to be the most opinionated broadcast news sources, relying heavily on expert commentating and debate rather than factual reporting. FOX News and CNN follow suit, finding stark increases in both interviews and cometating. However, Pew also found the most trusted broadcast media source in the United States to be topped by CNN. Whatever the trustworthiness of the source, one truth is clear — the sources we rely on the most are biased in their reporting.

To combat this, there needs to be a clear shift in perspective. By exposing ourselves to other, statistically less biased sources, such as ABC, NBC, or BBC, we become more aware of the differentiating takes on facts that other sources report, and in turn, the more factual sources become the most trusted.

Nevertheless, this cannot occur without the exposure of said reliable sources, and the RSC is a prime location to do so. With hundreds of impressionable students walking in and out of the building daily, the potential exposure time to multiple sources is amazing. Whether they report the same story or not, simply the subjection to a source not typically viewed is a step in the right direction.

Watching and absorbing unbiased media is vital in the creation of an open, educated mind. The “fake news” narrative, though not outside of the realm of impossible, is driven by those unwilling to accept varying views and interpretations of fact. Lacking the capability to openly view, understand, and discuss opposing viewpoints leaves the door open for ignorance — even in the most educated people.