One day, when my wife and I were visiting him on campus, we walked past a tent on a street corner with an "Occupy Dartmouth" sign. (It looked much like the picture above. I know it's not the best, but it's all I could find on Google Images.) I was actually encouraged by the sight -- college kids today are politically active? Who knew? But my son, who played a varsity sport, was a member of a fraternity, and dated a girl from Connecticut whose father was a big shot on Wall Street, i. e., a typical Dartmouth student, was dismissive. "That's just a couple of fanatics," he sniffed. Talk about a role-reversal!
But I've often wondered, is all this talk nowadays about colleges and universities being "politically correct" with "trigger warnings," "safe spaces," and fear of "microaggressions" more hype than reality? I mean, really, have you ever heard anyone in real life mention any of that? Like, "Boy, when I was in college just a few years ago, I couldn't believe all the time we spent talking about 'trigger warnings,' 'safe spaces,' etc." I haven't. (Is it just me?) Or is all this a figment of the fevered imaginations of the talking heads on Fox News? After all, "Occupy Dartmouth" was only about a dozen or so students out of a student body of over 6,000. (In other words, a fraction of one percent.) And I wonder, is all this current chatter about "politically correct" colleges and universities just made up of a handful of kids at a handful of schools?
P. S. From Paul Krugman's column this morning:
...according to Pew, 58 percent of Republicans now say that colleges and universities have a negative effect on the country, versus only 36 percent who see a positive effect.
Gee, where do you suppose that came from? Could it be the constant bashing from right-wing outlets like Fox about "political correctness," etc. on campus?
My daughter goes to Vanderbilt U - and I have heard that there are certain isolated situations where speakers introduce themselves with their preferred pronouns - like this document https://www.ccsu.edu/lgbt/files/PreferredGenderPronounsForFaculty.pdf - Also - I have heard reports that this is standard practice most/all of the time at uber-liberal Oberlin College. In talking to parents and students that I know - From Datmouth, Duke, Vanderbilt, multiple Big 10, regional midwest schools and College of DuPage - In general the students I have been in contact with are concerned mainly with their future careers, the classes that will get them to those careers, parties & alcohol - sometimes in that order, other times in reverse order. The students are often times more liberal than their parents ( because unlike their parents, they understand racism is wrong ) - but I know of 2 white male students whose parents are center-left and the boys are solidly on the Trump train - reading Ayn Rand, etc. ( I think it would happen less with girls? )
ReplyDeleteSo what the Fox News folks are upset about is 1) Campuses treating minorities ( both POC and LGBT ) with respect instead of disdain. 2) Campuses treating problems ( Global Warming, rising Fascism ) as real problems instead of fake news. 3) Campuses treating hate groups ( Nazi, KKK/Confederate, anti-lgbt ) with disdain instead of respect.
my 2¢