There's a storm brewing in California. In just three days, Berkeley will be visited by Ben Shapiro. Shapiro's speaking engagement has already cause the head of the university to issue a warning to students who might be "triggered" by what Shapiro could say. After all, Shapiro is a conservative, so many of the innocent student might hear something that they don't like (or at least which the university says they shouldn't like.)
It's hard to imagine a university warning its students that they might hear ideas with which they don't agree. After all, hearing new things or new views on old things is at the very core of a university education. We really cannot have educational institutions which limit information to just one narrative. I'm not talking now about the First Amendment and its guarantee of the right to free speech. Rather, I am addressing the need to teach students to think for themselves, to recognize ideas that are valid (or invalid) and to function as adults in the real world.
The idiocy of the university is rather clear. One does have to wonder how it can continue to operate in this fashion, but then it is California.
I assume that by Thursday, we will see some sort of group attempting to storm Shapiro's speech in order to prevent him from speaking -- most likely in the name of "free speech". Hopefully, the local police will prevent that from happening this time.
It's hard to imagine a university warning its students that they might hear ideas with which they don't agree. After all, hearing new things or new views on old things is at the very core of a university education. We really cannot have educational institutions which limit information to just one narrative. I'm not talking now about the First Amendment and its guarantee of the right to free speech. Rather, I am addressing the need to teach students to think for themselves, to recognize ideas that are valid (or invalid) and to function as adults in the real world.
The idiocy of the university is rather clear. One does have to wonder how it can continue to operate in this fashion, but then it is California.
I assume that by Thursday, we will see some sort of group attempting to storm Shapiro's speech in order to prevent him from speaking -- most likely in the name of "free speech". Hopefully, the local police will prevent that from happening this time.
No comments:
Post a Comment