While the purpose of any system of education is to produce young adults with marketable skills, at the college level, one of those skills must be the ability to deal with opinions one may not agree with, and to do so civilly and in good humor. Learned discourse is a valuable skill, after all, and not just in the workplace.
Of course, our institutions of higher education haven’t operated on that principle for some time now. Instead of teaching young skulls full of mush how to think, the primary purpose of many educators seems to be to teach them what to think, and if they disagree, well, they’d better keep it to themselves.
Now, a new survey from the Foundation of Individual Rights and Expression, or FIRE, finds that in the wake of Charlie Kirk’s assassination, students are even less comfortable with “controversial” topics and speakers.
Following the assassination of Charlie Kirk, half of the nation’s college students report feeling less comfortable attending controversial public events on campus and nearly half are less comfortable voicing opinions on controversial subjects in class.
Chief Research Advisor Dr. Sean Stevens at the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression told The Center Square that Charlie Kirk’s September assassination at Utah Valley University “has had a chilling effect — not just at UVU, but across the country.”
The Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression (FIRE) surveyed 2,028 undergraduates nationwide – including an “oversample” of 204 students from Utah Valley University – in order to “understand how the assassination is shaping student attitudes and behavior.”
Stevens told The Center Square that “some of the data from Utah Valley University students are encouraging – revealing signs of increased tolerance, and even relative trust in administrative protections for free speech.”
Given the modern state of higher education, we can presume that “controversial public events” means “conservative public events.” And, by “controversial subjects,” we can also likely presume they mean “conservative subjects.”
Read More: New Poll on Charlie Kirk’s Alleged Assassin Confirms You Don’t Despise the Media Enough
Here, though, is the really troublesome aspect:
However, Stevens also said that the assassination of Kirk “appears to have deepened existing ideological fractures between liberals and conservatives on campus.”
A press release on the survey showed that following the assassination, “moderate and conservative students across the country became significantly less likely to say that shouting down a speaker, blocking entry to an event, or using violence to stop a campus speech are acceptable actions.”
“In contrast, liberal students’ support for these tactics held steady, or even increased slightly,” the release said.
In other words, and as we’ve been observing for some time now, leftists are more willing to engage in disruption or force to shut up their opposition. Isn’t it a shibboleth of the left that violence breeds violence? If we are to accept that as an operating assumption, then the left had better be careful what they wish for.
Here’s how the nation’s colleges and universities can deal with this: Any student who resorts to any disruptive tactics to interfere with any speaker or event should be immediately expelled. Permanently. Not a suspension. An expulsion. Any faculty member or administrator who does this will be fired. Not a leave of absence, not a leave with pay. Terminated. Gone. Done. With a big black mark on their record to ensure that their next employment will entail learning to smile while saying “Welcome to Starbucks.” If any member of either group engages in physical harm or harm to property, they are not only dismissed but prosecuted. Not an “investigation” by campus security: Pressing criminal charges.
If someone disagrees with a speaker, let them ask him or her questions. Engage with them. Debate with them. Free speech is for everyone. It does not, however, guarantee one an audience or allow them to use a heckler’s veto to interfere with someone else’s right to speak.
Talk to people. Ask them questions. Engage with them. Compare ideas, openly, peacefully, civilly. That’s what Charlie Kirk did – right up to the moment some leftist nutcase shot him.
Editor’s Note: President Trump is fighting to dismantle the Department of Education and ensure America’s kids get the education they deserve.
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