A SAD STATE OF AFFAIRS – AT 1:36 P.M. ET:  We return to Middlebury College, which had one of the worst outbreaks of left-wing violence last year.  It's still in a sad state.  Middlebury used to be known for its foreign-language programs.  Now it's known for the intolerance of some of its students.  From College Fix:

It will be some time before Middlebury College stops being associated with violent left-wing intolerance – even among its own students.

A writing and linguistics professor is conducting an ongoing survey of students at the Vermont liberal arts school where American Enterprise Institute scholar Charles Murray and his faculty interviewer were physically attacked, sending the latter to the hospital.

Early results suggest that true ideological diversity is being inhibited because students are afraid of being seen as insufficiently woke.

Writing & Rhetoric Program Director Shawna Shapiro writes about student attitudes for Inside Higher Ed, saying they had “complex reactions that didn’t fit the simplistic ‘free speech vs. inclusion/diversity’ dichotomy” that typically prevails.

Seven in 10 students in the sample identify as “left-leaning,” yet even these students say by a 4-1 margin that it’s “very important” or “important” to talk about controversial issues with people whose viewpoints are different than theirs.

Most of the entire sample are already having such conversations, more so over meals or in residence halls than in class or public lectures.

COMMENT:  Read the whole piece.  It's very well done.  It also provides room for hope.  There are both students and faculty members who understand the problem of ideological rigidity – and threat – and are trying to do something about it.

June 22, 2018