A chilling study shows how hostile college students are toward free speech

[Rion]

http://archive.is/3knue

Pretty decent until the end, at which point the author started eating paste or something.

*edit* And once again WaPo proves that it's just a shell of itself. Poll itself is questionable.

 

[MoonlessNight]

Pretty decent until the end, at which point the author started eating paste or something.

You know how it is. Denunciations against the right groups are mandatory in a piece like this, lest the author be called a member of those groups.

Of course most of the time it doesn't work and the author is condemned anyway, but it's worth a shot.

 

[Hidden In Him]

That is bothersome. If that's how our best and brightest are answering, imagine how less educated segments of our society would answer in a full demographics study.

 

[PeachyKeane]

That is bothersome. If that's how our best and brightest are answering, imagine how less educated segments of our society would answer in a full demographics study.

What makes you think these are the "best and brightest"? It's worth pointing out that these are people who have not yet graduated college.

 

[Winken]

I vote we send them to trade school. There they have to learn in order to pay life's bills.

 

[Hidden In Him]

What makes you think these are the "best and brightest"? It's worth pointing out that these are people who have not yet graduated college.

I suppose you're probably right. That's an expression commonly used for college students, but when you stop to think about it I'm not sure it applies all that well anymore.

 

[iluvatar5150]

I'd be interested to see a similar poll of football fans and their opinions on protests against police violence.

 

[ThatRobGuy]

The preference for free speech vs. censorship has always been a little one-sided for many... IE: "I should be able to say what I want against those I don't like, but people shouldn't be allowed to say that other thing that offends me"


...however, with that being said, I'll openly acknowledge that over the last 5 years, college kids have seemed to adopt a special elevated level of sensitivity compared to generations past.

The issue is that the people who are their opposition in this free speech debate lost a certain measure of credibility due to their own incessant whining over various things that hurt their feelings over the past 8 years.

For example, "I should be able to say whatever I want no matter how offensive you find it, you need to grow a thicker skin" is a sentiment I agree with...but it doesn't sound very convincing coming from people who just got done crying about coffee cups saying "happy holidays", and complaining about how every little thing the government doesn't give them their own way on, is somehow a "war on <insert ideology>".

 

[PeachyKeane]

I suppose you're probably right. That's an expression commonly used for college students, but when you stop to think about it I'm not sure it applies all that well anymore.

Well, 'college' refers to more than just university nowadays. It refers to state colleges, community colleges, trade schools, and 'independently-accredited' schools.

 

[Hidden In Him]

Well, 'college' refers to more than just university nowadays. It refers to state colleges, community colleges, trade schools, and 'independently-accredited' schools.

Yeah. The study was done of 1,500 students from four-year schools across the country, but without trying to sound snooty, some of the optional course work (and even some of the majors) they offer now seem to beg the question, Is "scholarship" really the right word? LoL.

The 15 Most Ridiculous College Courses You Won't Believe Are Being Taught | SoCawlege

 

[PeachyKeane]

For example, "I should be able to say whatever I want no matter how offensive you find it, you need to grow a thicker skin" is a sentiment I agree with...but it doesn't sound very convincing coming from people who just got done crying about coffee cups saying "happy holidays", and complaining about how little thing the government doesn't give them their own way on is somehow a "war on <insert ideology>".

Don't forget those offensive red cups that said nothing at all.

 

[PeachyKeane]

Yeah. The study was done of 1,500 students from four-year schools across the country, but without trying to sound snooty, some of the optional course work (and even some of the majors) they offer now seem to beg the question, Is "scholarship" really the right word? LoL.

The 15 Most Ridiculous College Courses You Won't Believe Are Being Taught | SoCawlege

Still better than no education at all.

 

[rambot]

I was kinda surprised to see how little difference there was between democrats and republicans on this matter. I would have expected a different response from Repubs. I wonder if this is a generational change.

Yeah. The study was done of 1,500 students from four-year schools across the country, but without trying to sound snooty, some of the optional course work (and even some of the majors) they offer now seem to beg the question, Is "scholarship" really the right word? LoL.

The 15 Most Ridiculous College Courses You Won't Believe Are Being Taught | SoCawlege

meh of the HUNDREDS of thousands of college courses, 15 ridiculous ones is not a real surprise. Besides though, when I look at courses suggested, they don't seem all THAT insane. It depends on the program of study they are a part of (pattern making for dog garments, on the surface sounds "ridiculous", but given the number of people who dress their dogs [and it's a "fashion institute], it makes a LOT of sense). As I look at most of those classes, I don't think they actually ARE that crazy. I mean, I wouldn't be interested in some of them (though I think the "Joy of Garbage" would actually be intriguing) but I just wouldn't study them.
I DO think the social sciences (specifically sociology) are going quite a bit off the rails in terms of information verses to "broad stroke treatment of others".

 

[Vylo]

I vote we send them to trade school. There they have to learn in order to pay life's bills.

Yeah, because no one in college has to learn. These computers we type on programmed themselves.

 

[super animator]

The issue is that the people who are their opposition in this free speech debate lost a certain measure of credibility due to their own incessant whining over various things that hurt their feelings over the past 8 years.

Blame social media such as tumblr for creating such an echo chamber.

 

[iluvatar5150]

Yeah. The study was done of 1,500 students from four-year schools across the country, but without trying to sound snooty, some of the optional course work (and even some of the majors) they offer now seem to beg the question, Is "scholarship" really the right word? LoL.

The 15 Most Ridiculous College Courses You Won't Believe Are Being Taught | SoCawlege

#15 is about how to learn and focus in the face of distractions:
Course Receives National Attention for Lessons in Embracing Distractions

#14 was a 1-credit course at Tuft's Experimental College, which offers supplemental classes often taught by non-academics, featuring a lot of collaboration between teachers and students.
Making Ideas Happen | excollege.tufts.edu

#13 is a popular media writing course.

#12 is about how to interpret written history.

#11 is part of a dance/choreography program.

#10 is from a fashion school.

#9 - Waste handling is a huge issue in civil management. Why is this a silly topic of study?

etc... Most of the rest look pretty reasonable, too. Any time I see a list like this and look into it a little deeper, it inevitably winds up making the complainant look foolish.

 

[ThatRobGuy]

Blame social media such as tumblr for creating such an echo chamber.

That's a valid point...social media has created numerous echo chambers on both sides of the political fence...where as in the past, certain ideas would just sort of lose steam and fizzle out, with social media, they can spread like wildfire in a matter of hours.

...before all of the details of a story are even released by any credible outlets, the Cafe/MotherJones/Salon version has spread throughout the liberal community, and the Fox/Breitbart/PragerU version has spread throughout the conservative community.

 

[ThatRobGuy]

Still better than no education at all.

That would technically depend on what kind of trade-off a person is willing to make.

I have two cousins (sisters) that both took on massive debts in order to get Masters degrees in non-viable fields of study...non-viable in terms of actually landing a job in that field.

One got a masters in fashion merchandising, the other a masters in southwestern studies...keeping in mind...both live in northeast Ohio where I live. Not exactly the mecca of the fashion scene or museums that have a focus on southwestern studies.

...both are on the hook for something to the tune of $70k. Both spend a fair amount of time blaming "the system" for why they're in so much student loan debt, and both blame the GOP for why they can't get jobs in their field "if the GOP didn't cut funding for the arts... if the GOP got behind free education... yada yada yada"

Given that both of them are currently employed in jobs that could've been attained without the degree, I would say they'd be better off without that particular education.


Don't get me wrong, I'm in favor of allocating public funding with the goal of making college available for free for anyone who wants to go...but I'm also in favor of putting reasonable limitations on what fields of studies can be pursued with said funding.

For example, if you want to use that funding in order to get a teaching degree, STEM, something in the medical field, finance, etc... great, we'll hook you up. However, if you want to get a Master's in Ceramics, Gender Studies, Philosophy...sorry, you'll need to wait until you have a real job, and and pay for that one out of pocket if you want to learn about that.

 

[Rion]

The issue is that the people who are their opposition in this free speech debate lost a certain measure of credibility due to their own incessant whining over various things that hurt their feelings over the past 8 years.

Not really. I know plenty of people who self-identify as liberals or left-leaning who oppose it. However, I'd say over the past five years there's been something of a paradigm shift where free speech and the right to express your opinion is becoming a 'right-wing' thing, sadly.

 

[ThatRobGuy]

Not really. I know plenty of people who self-identify as liberals or left-leaning who oppose it. However, I'd say over the past five years there's been something of a paradigm shift where free speech and the right to express your opinion is becoming a 'right-wing' thing, sadly.

Obviously you can find folks in both camps that oppose the extreme-PC culture they've created on campuses...

However, if far-left collegiate kids are encroaching on free speech, it's normal to expect conservative voices to be the ones to come forward and say "hang on there kid, put the breaks on...you can't dictate what other people can and can't say based on your own personal preferences"

The issue is, the conservative voices that are saying that to them, are the same conservative voices that just got done crying about how a happy holidays sign is a "war on Christmas"...and the same ones that gleefully dragged the previous president through the mud with all kinds of nasty comments because "it's my right to free speech to criticize the president", but then complain incessantly about people poking fun at Trump and say "you know, even though your side lost, you need to support our president"