God knows I’m as annoyed as anybody about barking moonbats on university campuses. And He also knows I’m even more annoyed that the moonbattiest of the wackjobs run the administrations, set up the so-called “speech codes” and “student rights documents” and “free speech zones” and “diversity policies.” I’m excusing none of these.
With all the exposure university nutcases get, and however obnoxious (and unconstitutional) all these idiotic left-wing policies are, the problem university wackos pose is overblown. Before you get your panties in a wad, let me explain.
First, far-left wackjobs may dominate the administration, but they do not dominate the university–and there is a difference. Postmodernist nutcases predominate in the humanities, ed schools, and to a lesser extent, the social sciences. They are common everywhere on campus, but the physical sciences, math, engineering, business and ag departments do not teach courses that lend themselves to what I call LFSAS (Leftist Faculty Student Abuse Syndrome), courses where the topic is either designed to cover nothing but neo-Marxist ranting or the content is so thin that there’s plenty of room to insert neo-Marxist ranting. Certainly, a math professor can cleverly insert little political statements into problems, but sheesh, grow a thicker skin if that bothers you. But while the English department could easily offer a class called, “The Literature of Evil Thrusting White Male Oppression,” it would be difficult for the physics department to do the same.
My point is that university students have the luxury of choice. The class schedule is like a big menu, and students choose what courses to take. If you don’t want to be deafened by the barking of moonbats, don’t become an English major–unless you have pretty thick skin and are willing to hold your own against hostile peers and faculty.
It’s no secret at the university which departments, courses, and faculty to avoid, especially in our current online age. If you heard Professor Juanita Golden-Moonbeam is a nutjob, then take History 201 from another professor. Any “X Studies” course is going to be full of drooling moonbats–in fact, course titles are an excellent way for students to avoid the more insane elements on campus.
It’s unlikely a student can complete a bachelor’s degree without hearing “Bush is Hitler” at least a couple of times in a classroom, but it’s quite easy for undergrads to minimize their exposure to the logically-challenged faculty and classes. As for putting up with leftist nonsense in the form of posters, campus newspaper editorials, and administrative policies, well, welcome to the real world.
And I’m not unsympathetic, not at all. I’ve had many ex-students come to my office to unload about nutty moonbats. What I am saying is that it could be far, far worse.
Let me explain. Go read this, then come back. Yes, I’ll wait.
This sort of moonbatty nonsense is, I maintain, far worse, and far more destructive than all of the university moonbattiness combined, because these students are a captive audience. They lack the luxury of choice university students enjoy. It’s even worse when elementary kids are exposed to nonsensical neo-Stalinist propaganda, whether “green” idiocy about global warming or sex ed, because not only are they a captive audience, they’re little kids, ferchrissakes. They lack the knowledge to evaluate critically what they’re being told. And it’s worst of all when ed schools and state licensing boards adopt overt policies that they will only certify teachers who toe the “Government is God” party line.
The bad thing is that this phenomenon does not get the press university moonbats do. The good thing is that, provided constituents raise enough hell with the right people, moonbattiness in the public schools is far easier to correct than it would be at the universities.
Universities have always been full of nutjobs–it’s part of the academy. The public schools have not. So yes, support FIRE, raise hell with your legislature when your state university passes more idiotic left-wing policies, but pay closer attention to what’s going on at your public school.
And now, we’re off to celebrate Memorial Day in Boalsburg.
Robert says:
This makes a good argument for school choice on the K-12 level. We have almost unlimited choice at the extreme ends of the educational system — at the daycare/preschool level and in higher ed — but almost none in between, except in a few parts of the country. It would be nice to allow parents to simply move their kids to another school without having to move their residence if their public schools should go off the deep end.
But of course school choice is opposed by the liberals, some of whom are the most vocal advocates of everybody’s “right to choose” when it comes to things like abortion.
May 28, 2007, 12:00 pmGet Your Salts says:
[…] As I said before, university students have the luxury of choice that secondary students do not. Students have a wealth of departments, majors, programs, and courses from which they can build a degree. These days, we have ratemyprofessors.com, on top of the more traditional word of mouth communication, so students can inform themselves of which professors are good, which are not so good, which are downright godawful, and which are blathering moonbats. And university faculty tend not to view student whining with much sympathy. We’ve heard it all before. And we’re just not impressed. […]
October 9, 2007, 4:58 pm