THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN EDUCATED AND INDOCRINATED
In the early years of America, colleges and universities were established to train young men in theology and raise ministers to be the future leaders of the churches in their communities. Aside from theology, many prominent families sent their sons mostly because it was prestigious and looked good when they pursued future endeavors. In the late 1800's, college enrollment was opened up to a wider pool of young men, and later women who were drawn to institutions who could provide a place to be exposed to different cultures and ideas. It was a place to hear different perspectives, contemplate and discuss difficult issues and to learn about the world as a whole. Students would attend institutions who were hungry for intellectual diversity. They would engage in debate with peers and were able to listen to viewpoints that were radically different from their own. Argument and respectful dialogue was healthy and helped student to create their own viewpoints. The main purpose of these colleges were to discuss IDEAS. Debate, discussion and contemplation were the most important element of colleges, helping to mold minds of students as they moved on to become productive members of society.
Over time though, many colleges became the hotbed for dominant one-sided ideas, leaving no room to question or debate other perspectives. Students are now experiencing college from the predominantly leftist faculty that most institutions employ. For instance, more than three quarters of Harvard’s faculty of arts and science now characterize their political leanings as liberal or very liberal, while less than 3% identify as conservative or very conservative, according to a Harvard Crimson survey. Many of these professors are notorious for expecting students to agree with them. David Wippman, president of Hamilton College states, "I have had three children graduate from UNC Chapel Hill, and I have mentored several UNC Chapel Hill undergraduates. All of them have reported intimidation and pressure from professors, ranging from threats to grades for taking a conservative posture in a political-science paper to being awarded bonus marks for advocating progressive viewpoints, such as gender fluidity when critiquing Shakespeare’s “Twelfth Night.” This is manipulation and intimidation. Students should be able to believe what they believe and have the liberty to express and debate those beliefs without the fear of retaliation, but instead they are forced to adopt the worldview of professors.
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On top of that, students and faculty alike have been successful in their attempts to disinvite or cancel speakers on campuses and shut down any opposing voices according to a database maintained by the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression. A majority of the speakers canceled have been conservative. Candace Owens, Ben Shapiro, Charlie Kirk and Michael Knowles have all been scheduled to speak at large universities, and student protestors put pressure on leaders of the institutions to ban them from coming. Why?? What are they afraid of? |
Conservative speakers who are not canceled are heckled, harassed and even threatened. Riley Gaines, the NCAA swimmer was giving a speech at San Francisco State University and encountered trans activists who threw things, attacked her with the intent to harm her. Things got so bad that Riley had to hide in a back room of the venue until campus police could get her out. Did students bring this anger and close-mindedness with them from home, or was it encouraged by professors? Today, 46% of college students agree that “it is sometimes appropriate to shout down or disrupt a speaker on my campus,” according to a 2023 Buckley Institute survey. Instead of helping them to appreciate diversity of opposing ideas and debating, now one-party faculty and adult leaders are graduating an entire generation of young Americans indoctrinated with their ideas and refusal to hear from others.
Gerard Baker, in his Wall Street Journal article states, "Our universities are run by leaders who are models of the left-wing ideology that dominates so much of our politics and culture. It deems the rights of certain people less worthy of protection than others; it divides the world into oppressor and oppressed. You can call for the murder of all Jews, but say sex is biological and you will be punished." I agree with Mr. Baker. This seems like a double standard to me. |
The current conflict in the Middle East has made it abundantly clear that not all viewpoints or groups are worthy of respect or protection. Protests have erupted over the "occupation" of Palestine, but not for the atrocities that happened to Jewish citizens in Israel. Campuses across the country have seen large scale protests against Israel's invasion of the Gaza Strip after Hamas soldiers killed more than 1200 Israelis in October. Students were chanting "From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free". This display of anger over Israel's presence in Palestinian made it very evident to Jewish students on these campuses that they too were the targets of the protests, and administrations did nothing to protect them.
Presidents from the University of Pennsylvania and Harvard, two campuses that are continually accused of suppressing freedom of speech, were called upon by Congress to answer for why they were not doing anything to discipline students who violated their school's codes of conduct by harassing and calling for violence against Israel. Their testimonies revealed to the nation that college administrators, much like the professors they employed, were not going to back down from their one-sided ideas about the conflict or condemn their student's behavior.
The response from major donors, Jewish leaders and alumni was a swift one. Calls for the presidents to be fired, donors pulled their donations from the school and alumni voiced their frustrations with the way students on campus were allowed to act and not held accountable.
Bill Ackman, a billionaire hedge fund mogul, wrote a letter to the board of Harvard to express his thoughts about the situation and about Harvard's obsession with Equity and Diversity policies:
Presidents from the University of Pennsylvania and Harvard, two campuses that are continually accused of suppressing freedom of speech, were called upon by Congress to answer for why they were not doing anything to discipline students who violated their school's codes of conduct by harassing and calling for violence against Israel. Their testimonies revealed to the nation that college administrators, much like the professors they employed, were not going to back down from their one-sided ideas about the conflict or condemn their student's behavior.
The response from major donors, Jewish leaders and alumni was a swift one. Calls for the presidents to be fired, donors pulled their donations from the school and alumni voiced their frustrations with the way students on campus were allowed to act and not held accountable.
Bill Ackman, a billionaire hedge fund mogul, wrote a letter to the board of Harvard to express his thoughts about the situation and about Harvard's obsession with Equity and Diversity policies:
"President Gay’s failures have led to billions of dollars of cancelled, paused, and withdrawn donations to the university. I am personally aware of more than a billion dollars of terminated donations from a small group of Harvard’s most generous Jewish and non-Jewish alumni. I have been copied and blind copied on numerous letters and emails to the University from alums who have written scathing letters to Gay and/or the Board withdrawing donations. In recent weeks, I have learned a lot about DEI practices at Harvard and have come to the conclusion that the Office of Equity, Diversity, Inclusion and Belonging, which was formed in 2019 under Dean Gay’s oversight and vision the year after she became Dean of FAS, is none of those things. In fact, the actions of the OEDIB have led to preferences and favoritism for certain racial, gender, and LGBTQ+ groups at the expense of other groups, and made some members of the Harvard community feel included at the expense of others that are excluded. When I mentioned in my December 3rd letter to President Gay that among others, Jewish, Asian, Indian and straight white male students were excluded from the benefits of the ODEIB office, her solution to this problem, which she outlined in an email to the Harvard community, was to propose that the OEDIB include Jewish students in some manner. This is not right answer. The OEDIB is a major contributing source of discriminatory practices on campus and highly damaging to the culture and sense of community at Harvard. It is beyond repair and should be shut down. Also, I have been asked by a number of CEOs if Harvard would release a list of the members of each of the organizations that have issued the letter assigning sole responsibility for Hamas’ heinous acts to Israel, so as to insure that none of us inadvertently hire any of their members."
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The pressure was too much for the President of U Penn, who resigned from her office (and yet is still on the payroll and will retain her job in the law school). However, Claudine Gay of Harvard will most likely not be removed. It will take a lot more than one university president losing her job and a few donors withholding contributions to fix the systemic problems at these institutions. But when things are this bad, you have to start somewhere. I applaud these donors from withholding their contributions. The old cliché "put your money where your mouth is" really does make a difference.
What should parents keep in mind when helping their juniors and seniors in the search for a good college? Research. Find out about the colleges that your student is considering. There are plenty of websites out there that discuss the political leanings of the faculty, reviews from current students and the different organizations on campus. Visiting the campus, if you are able, is an important part of the process. This will give your student a feel for campus life, and the opportunity to ask questions.
Questions to ask before looking
Finding the right college for your student
Colleges that are welcoming to conservative students
Most liberal colleges
Ultimately, we can't pretend that these issues are not a factor in deciding where your student should go, but it should give us pause. College is a place for students to find themselves, but it's important that their final landing spot is open to different viewpoints, accepting of different cultures, upholds the morals of your family and champions truth.
What should parents keep in mind when helping their juniors and seniors in the search for a good college? Research. Find out about the colleges that your student is considering. There are plenty of websites out there that discuss the political leanings of the faculty, reviews from current students and the different organizations on campus. Visiting the campus, if you are able, is an important part of the process. This will give your student a feel for campus life, and the opportunity to ask questions.
Questions to ask before looking
Finding the right college for your student
Colleges that are welcoming to conservative students
Most liberal colleges
Ultimately, we can't pretend that these issues are not a factor in deciding where your student should go, but it should give us pause. College is a place for students to find themselves, but it's important that their final landing spot is open to different viewpoints, accepting of different cultures, upholds the morals of your family and champions truth.
Getting involved locally:
There are many different ways that citizens can get involved in the educational process. Schools are asking for participation in many different ways. The schools along the corridor have made school board meetings readily available for the public to watch and participate in. Together, we can contribute time and attention to our young people. Below is a list of opportunities:
-Attend a board meeting (virtual): Bennett, Strasburg, Byers, Deer Trail
-Run for school board positions
-Write your local superintendent
-Attend a board meeting (virtual): Bennett, Strasburg, Byers, Deer Trail
-Run for school board positions
-Write your local superintendent
- Bennett * Mrs. Robin Purdy
- Strasburg * Mr. Dan Hoff
- Byers * Mr. Tom Turrell
- Deer Trail * Mr. BJ Buchmann