Raleigh, NC—The James G. Martin Center for Academic Renewal has published a new paper by Dr. George R. La Noue, “Political Reality on North Carolina Campuses: Examining Policy Debates and Forums with Diverse Viewpoints.” The paper provides an overview of political and intellectual diversity on college campuses, student perceptions of campus free speech, as well as a specific breakdown of North Carolina campus debates and forums.
“La Noue’s report reveals what’s really going on at college campuses. The results are disappointing; there are major gaps in the kind of dialogue that students are exposed to as part of their education. Fortunately, La Noue also gives us a promising roadmap for improvement,” said Jenna Robinson, president of the Martin Center.
The report finds that there are few policy debates and forums on campuses that actually offer differing viewpoints. This is a direct result of campus dynamics and there will need to be outside influence in order to correct the issue. La Noue suggests that governing boards can influence campuses to encourage and support diverse policy debates and forums.
La Noue, professor of Public Policy and Political Science at the University of Maryland concludes, “In short, the lack of public policy debates or forums is the inadvertent result of many existing campus dynamics and the situation is not likely to change without some outside intervention.”
Read the full report here.