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How Liberal Professors Are Ruining College (2016)

11 points by danielam 9y ago

wcummings 9y ago
I live in New England and this doesn't ring true for me. I think New England is very tolerant (even in the rural bits, which there are plenty of), and has a long history of tolerance, but I wouldn't confuse that with "liberalism". There's a ton of die-hard Democrat Catholics in New England, for example. I grew up Catholic, and I hardly associate it with liberalism, but I don't think I've ever met a Republican Catholic Charlie Baker is exceptionally popular, fiscal conservatism is clearly not frowned upon. Reading the WSJ does not make you a pariah, but even the Republicans here don't like the national Republicans.
corpMaverick 9y ago
> Conservative professors weren’t always so heavily outnumbered here. May be the republican party just moved on and it became hard for critical thinkers to follow up. Speaking for my self, after 8 year of obstructionism and 50+ attempts to repeal the ACA, and it turns out the republicans don't even have a plan. It is not merely and ideological divide about economic or social policy any more. Made up facts are now the rule.
haburka 9y ago
I feel like the main issue is that the Republican party has stood as against LGBT rights, women's rights and against global warming. If a professor is Republican, they have to find some way to reconcile the attack on science that so many right leaning politicians support. Also, science as a field has issues with gender disparity so to not be pro women's rights would also make them look like part of the problem. Additionally, a lot of the platform consists of biblical thought which is very unscientific.
- danielam 9y ago
  If anything, I think you corroborate the article. The crude, unsophisticated caricature of conservatism you've presented is precisely the kind of caricature you are likely to come across at universities. It appears you assume there can be no sophisticated conservative position on the issues you've mentioned and that's precisely the problem. It isn't even a question of whether a student agrees with these other views. It's that students are never exposed to them in the first place. You might find this article illuminating: http://edwardfeser.blogspot.com/2009/03/how-some-of-your-professors-see-you.html http://edwardfeser.blogspot.com/2009/03/how-some-of-your-pro...

11 points by danielam 9y ago

I live in New England and this doesn't ring true for me. I think New England is very tolerant (even in the rural bits, which there are plenty of), and has a long history of tolerance, but I wouldn't confuse that with "liberalism". There's a ton of die-hard Democrat Catholics in New England, for example. I grew up Catholic, and I hardly associate it with liberalism, but I don't think I've ever met a Republican Catholic Charlie Baker is exceptionally popular, fiscal conservatism is clearly not frowned upon. Reading the WSJ does not make you a pariah, but even the Republicans here don't like the national Republicans.

corpMaverick 9y ago

> Conservative professors weren’t always so heavily outnumbered here. May be the republican party just moved on and it became hard for critical thinkers to follow up. Speaking for my self, after 8 year of obstructionism and 50+ attempts to repeal the ACA, and it turns out the republicans don't even have a plan. It is not merely and ideological divide about economic or social policy any more. Made up facts are now the rule.

haburka 9y ago

I feel like the main issue is that the Republican party has stood as against LGBT rights, women's rights and against global warming. If a professor is Republican, they have to find some way to reconcile the attack on science that so many right leaning politicians support. Also, science as a field has issues with gender disparity so to not be pro women's rights would also make them look like part of the problem. Additionally, a lot of the platform consists of biblical thought which is very unscientific.

danielam 9y ago
If anything, I think you corroborate the article. The crude, unsophisticated caricature of conservatism you've presented is precisely the kind of caricature you are likely to come across at universities. It appears you assume there can be no sophisticated conservative position on the issues you've mentioned and that's precisely the problem. It isn't even a question of whether a student agrees with these other views. It's that students are never exposed to them in the first place. You might find this article illuminating: http://edwardfeser.blogspot.com/2009/03/how-some-of-your-professors-see-you.html http://edwardfeser.blogspot.com/2009/03/how-some-of-your-pro...