Free speech is under attack in the United States today. Even Big Tech is censoring content: sites like Twitter and Facebook censor speech that is deemed anti-diversity, anti-racist, or even simply against the current political climate. Despite claiming to be places for free and open discussion, these companies often shut down or ban conversations while … Continue reading “How Open Are North Carolina Schools to Free Speech?”
I am so grateful for and blessed by my time at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. However, I am keen to the reality that my political foundations differ from the vast majority of my Tar Heel peers. It is alienating to be a conservative in Chapel Hill. In many of my classes, … Continue reading “A Conservative Student’s Experience at UNC-Chapel Hill”
Back in the 15th, 16th, and 17th centuries, church officials felt it necessary to scrutinize every book or pamphlet for the slightest hint of heresy. If the work deviated from doctrine, it would be banned, burned, and the author could be punished. The Enlightenment brought a change in attitude toward freedom of speech. In Britain, … Continue reading “The Campaign to Stamp Out Academic Heresy”
Dr. Donald Downs, Alexander Meiklejohn Professor of Political Science Emeritus and affiliate professor of law and journalism emeritus at the University of Wisconsin‐Madison, will discuss his latest book, Free Speech and Liberal Education: A Plea for Intellectual Diversity and Tolerance, on January 14 from 12PM – 1:30PM. Register for the Zoom webinar here: https://zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_C2LCdHJeTSKoqsPpL6zpIA Dr. … Continue reading “Free Speech and Liberal Education: A Plea for Intellectual Diversity and Tolerance”
Editor’s note: This is the first of a two-part series. In May of 2020, my wife and I took our retirement after more than 30 years of teaching college, the last 20 years of which we spent at what I will call Upstate Consolation University, a mid-tier state college somewhere in the Northeast. My wife … Continue reading “Leaving the Blight of Higher Education: Part I–Farewell, Students”
The Foundation for Individual Rights in Education (FIRE) came out with the largest survey of students and campus life, showing the predictable divisions along class, political beliefs, and gender. However, overall, it painted a scenario that is mostly positive, and policy reforms can fix the drawbacks. FIRE surveyed 20,000 students across 55 institutions. Female students … Continue reading “Did You Know? Survey Finds Trouble in Campus Support for Free Speech”
It has been a very strange year. Three weeks ago I opened my email to find an unsolicited email from a lawyer, asking if I needed help. Odd, I thought, since I couldn’t remember getting any traffic citations recently. When I opened it, I discovered it was from lawyers at the Foundation for Individual Rights … Continue reading “Of Academic Freedom and False Alarms”
Homeschooling works. The roughly 2 million children who currently learn at home join a millennia-old practice supported by many government officials, scholars, college officials, and employers. While mainstream America has embraced homeschooling as a viable and positive educational option—and as 55 million K-12 students and their parents have been thrust into “crisis-teaching at home”—the angst … Continue reading “The Academic and Social Benefits of Homeschooling”
The post-millennials have arrived. As the oldest millennials turn 37, demographers have designated a new generation for those born after 1996, Generation Z. The oldest members of this cohort just graduated from college and had their first (legal) alcoholic beverages. As they wind their way through college, post-millennials will change higher education, just as previous … Continue reading “Generation Z: The Intolerant Ones”
But a new book argues that it should have more bias to overcome society’s “conservative” indoctrination.