Campus Free Speech and Sophistry

By M. A. Melby Listen to this article As an educator, it is my duty to give all students an opportunity to learn and to succeed. In service to this duty, Universities are legally required to maintain a non-hostile environment. I am also devoted to imparting information that may be incongruous with my students strongly held beliefs. With the goal of meaningful instruction and students’ personal growth in mind, I may encourage frank discussions on topics that some students would rather avoid. This is the nature of education. How faculty and institutions can best navigate their responsibilities as educators is a real and vital conversation that has, unfortunately, been hijacked by media clowns and pseudo-intellectual propagandists. The “anti-political correct” movement may wave the banner of “Free Speech” but ultimately undermines academic autonomy and balance of power within the marketplace of ideas. For example, self-professed “small government” Republicans had no problem

The Source Summary reproduces the first 150 words of the source article unless a Collective editor has explicitly locked a replacement.