[Phatom]

Colleges in America are becoming a place of intolerance. As academia becomes more engrossed in the politically correct culture. Suddenly there’s a demarcation and control over the discourse. You can’t criticize: feminism, black movements, LGBT movements unless you want to be the enemy. I would even go as far as to say that college has become a failed communist state. Where the campus police and over paid administration monitors all your actions and are ready to apprehend you if you cross their line.

The management of this culture is inflexible and authoritarian. I get scared when certain loaded terms are thrown around like, “Hate Speech,” “Non-PC, “Bigot.” What qualifies as hate speech? Certainly that is very subjective, one person can randomly decide to feel offended and get others in trouble. There’s no agreed definition. This way of collectivist thinking leads to authoritarianism. The downfall of overpriced academic institutions will come from their attempts at social engineering and the restriction of the freedoms the community has.

Why is college as an institution in crisis? Because of the rampant nepotism and excessive politics that are involved. What I mean by nepotism is that certain students get privileges not because of their academic ability but rather for their obedience to authority. Therefore, it becomes more about being pleasing to the authority than actually having intellectual talent. The excessive politics come into play because every academic discipline has been filtered under the politically correct discourse. Every topic from medieval poetry to German history has to be studied under the lenses of social inequality. This is unnecessary as some if not most subjects should be studied in the context that they were created in and not under the lenses of our age.

I predict that the current educational system will not be able to sustain itself. Because of the rising tuitions, students will be looking for better alternatives than colleges. These alternatives will allow them to be better prepared for a job, a more open mind and critical thinking skills. Sooner or later a new interactive platform for learning will rise. Platforms where students will be free from left wing political influences. A education that emphasizes individualized and interactive learning.

[steezyy]

I go to a well-known public university and it's one of the most 'liberal' areas in the state.

The incidents shown on college campuses recently are not a good representation of what really goes on in colleges. In reality, only a small percentage of the students partake in PC/SJW culture. Many of the liberal students oppose the actions of SJWs. However, there's a lot of opposition to conservatives and republicans, as well as Donald Trump. Students love to post feminist/left-wing articles on Facebook, but rarely stoop down to the level of what you see in the Yale & Mizzou videos.

With that being said, most 'smart' kids (engineering, business, medicine) don't engage in politics at all. Even if they tend to be liberal, they do not make their views public. I rarely see successful students (that I know personally) post something relating to politics. So there is no need to worry about academics going downhill. The smart ones are getting it. The dumb ones are highlighted by the media.

I felt the need to address this because a lot of people were talking about how 'college' isn't really worth it because of this safe space. It's similar to people having fears of flying on planes even though they're more likely to die in a car accident due to the media narrative. What you're seeing is literally the bottom of the barrel college students. College is still very good for a lot of people.

[cascadecombo]

It's not so much the students themselves engaging in the politics of the the far left, but more so the amount those on the far left are trying to engage the other students on campus.

I graduated more than a few years ago, but recently I came across a paper I had typed up for a mandatory class. I was a bit curious about what I may have wrote and after opening up the file and reading what the paper was about, I was rather surprised at what I had been made to write about. The topic itself being how the penis is looked upon in a more positive social light than the vagina.

As far as your opinion on college, it's possible it's more attributed towards confirmation bias since you are currently a student and spending money for a degree. Unless you are completing a STEM degree, there are probably much better options for people to invest their money in. With the level of coddling in college, I'd wager for the average student it's not worth it.

[brob]

I agree that when you look at just the student population of a typical college, the activist SJW crowd is probably only 20% of the total student population. Most kids are just there because it's one of life's hoops to jump through and they want to have fun along the way. My college days were 2009-2013. Although, to be fair I went to southern school in a more conservative town so I'm sure others are more politically militant than mine.

The PC culture came mostly from the liberal arts department as one would expect. The other departments like business, science, math, engineering, etc. were fine.

[xpatplayer]

Its the silent majority issue. Most students virulently disagree with Far-Left politics. They don't say anything because they're too busy studying, drinking, and screwing. But if you bring up politics, they walk away.

Its the far-left that's active on campuses, because they are unwelcome almost everywhere else. When you look at who's agitating, you see Communications and English majors. Both majors were co-opted by the far-left in the '60s and '70s, and most of the students in these majors become radicalized.

I'm not too worried, because the essence of Far-Left politics is being loud. When it gets too loud and disruptive, those on the right stand up against it. Think about the Conservatism of the 1950s, which was a rational reaction to the increasing outspokenness of Communists following World War 2. Or the conservatism of the 1980s, a result of the outspokenness of the sexual revolutionaries of the 1960s.

With Bernie taking the stage and with all of this far-left anti-authority agitation, along with incidents like Mizzou and the Planned Parenthood videos, I can see conservatism making a comeback. I can almost promise you that the 2020s will be a decade of American conservatism. Almost everyone is sick of the far-left becoming more outspoken, and even Liberals are turning towards the Right.