Christine wrote about this yesterday, but the administrators at the University of Chicago are my new heroes. They straight up told the class of 2020 that there will be no safe spaces, no trigger warnings, no uninviting of speakers because some people are averse to diverse opinions. It’s a refreshing sign to see this higher education institution disembowel the political correctness culture in their sphere, though it has infested our college campuses. Well, to no one’s surprise, the social justice warriors’ blood pressure went through the roof when the news broke. Emily Zanotti of Heat Street had more on these precious liberals losing their hair over UC declaring that they’re for academic freedom. What horrible people, right?
One student told DNA Info that the administration was asking students to “check their compassion and their experiences at the door.” Another, the head of the campus sexual assault survivors network, said that this was simply the latest failure by the college to cater to interest groups.“The administration has a huge problem with transparency, and they have been slow to address issues related to sexual violence, disability injustice, police discrimination and many more,” she said.
Vox posted an op-ed accusing the college of “exercising power” over its students, calling trigger warnings “pedagogical imperatives.” The piece also defended students who shouted down or ousted controversial speakers from other campuses, saying that they “challenge” academic professors and “hold us accountable” for their institutional biases.
The New Republic whined that the University of Chicago was “attacking academic freedom” by telling students to think more critically about shutting down speakers and shutting off conversation.
Zanotti also found some tremendous tweets from this meltdown:
UofC isn't so much challenging students to think critically about sensitive topics as it is telling them they have a right to be offensive
— Mikki Kendall (@Karnythia) August 25, 2016
Of course, I never had occasion to take any courses with profs in the Milton Friedman Institute for Screwing the Third World or whatever
— derek davison (@dwdavison9318) August 26, 2016
The conservatives gloating about @uchicago's "No Safe Spaces" policy don't appear to think it will apply to them, too, the dear wee lads.
— John Scalzi (@scalzi) August 25, 2016
Well, a) yes, you have the right to be offensive; b) It’s not the Milton Friedman Institute For Screwing The Third World; it’s the Hugo Chavez Institute—and they’ve thoroughly and brutally screwed over Venezuela; c) it’s conservatives that have been the victims of your precious political correctness agenda, so dear wee lads—they're going to be able to express themselves without having the fear of torches and pitchforks showing up outside their dormitory.
I hope the university of Chicago stands their ground. I hope they don’t cave, and I hope other liberal institutions smash this incorrigible anti-American (and anti-intellectual), progressive agenda to dust. Liberals and conservatives can express themselves without fear of harassment. That’s not controversial. The whole world thinks your safe space nonsense is a joke. Moreover, the fact that you feel like a no safe space policy is going to create a scene akin to the atomic bombing of Hiroshima is also utterly laughable.
Yes, liberals will remain the dominant force on campus, or at least until the alumni start paying taxes and get jobs, but conservative at UC can feel somewhat better I guess that an administration won’t be kowtowing to a rather vicious anti-free speech agenda.
I wish you well in your studies, freshman.