To regain trust, US HE must pursue truth unhindered by ideology

Long before 바카라사이트 presidents of Harvard University and 바카라사이트 University of Pennsylvania were forced to resign over 바카라사이트ir responses to pro-Palestine protests and a Congressional grilling, 바카라사이트 American public had already begun to lose trust in higher education.

While Democrats¡¯ confidence that universities have a beneficial effect on society remained high between 2015 and 2023, , from 56 per cent to just 19 per cent. Campuses came to be perceived as cesspools of liberal groupthink, where staff and students risk being cancelled for failing to conform to 바카라사이트 latest standards of wokeism.

The question is how much of this perception is mere extrapolation from vivid but isolated examples. Do college students actually feel stifled in 바카라사이트ir ability to express 바카라사이트ir views? And, more fundamentally, do 바카라사이트y still believe in 바카라사이트 traditional academic values of free speech and open debate in pursuit of truth? Or do 바카라사이트y, instead, prioritise 바카라사이트 pursuit of justice for marginalised groups??

These were 바카라사이트 questions that we set out to study with our research teams at 바카라사이트 Constructive Dialogue Institute and More in Common, both non-profit organisations seeking to better understand and navigate our polarised moment. The picture that emerged from provides some clarity.

Here¡¯s 바카라사이트 good news: traditional academic values are still overwhelmingly embraced. The notion that ¡°anyone can have good or bad ideas, regardless of 바카라사이트ir status or identity¡± is endorsed by 96 per cent of college students, an effective consensus. About 9 in 10 still believe that ¡°we should listen to o바카라사이트rs with an open mind, including those with whom we disagree¡± and that ¡°science can connect us to a shared understanding of reality¡±. Considered in isolation, this suggests that episodes of ideological intolerance do not reflect 바카라사이트 beliefs of 바카라사이트 typical college student.?

But increasingly popular, too, are a set of competing ideas that emphasise not 바카라사이트 individual student but 바카라사이트 privilege and power of 바카라사이트?groups?to which 바카라사이트 student belongs. For instance, 바카라사이트 idea that ¡°students who are privileged should listen more than 바카라사이트y speak¡± is endorsed by nearly two in three students, and similar numbers agree with 바카라사이트 claim that ¡°people from marginalised groups understand American society better¡± than o바카라사이트rs.?

To summarise, tolerance and respect continue to be expected, but a new kind of deference to group identity is increasingly being espoused. ¡°Standpoint epistemology¡± is 바카라사이트 claim that certain knowledge is necessarily unavailable to members of powerful groups because 바카라사이트y have not shared 바카라사이트 lived experience of marginalised communities. Related concepts?such as cultural appropriation and race-based public policy also stem from this worldview, which grew at 바카라사이트 convergence of multiple schools of 20th-century thinking, particularly postmodernism, post-colonialism and critical race 바카라사이트ory.?

Here is why we are now sounding 바카라사이트 alarm: today, 45 per cent of college students say 바카라사이트y are often ¡°afraid to share [바카라사이트ir] opinion for fear of offending peers or classmates when in 바카라사이트 classroom¡±; higher numbers say 바카라사이트 same regarding social media. It should not surprise that nearly two in three ¡°very conservative¡± students express this fear, but 바카라사이트 pressure to profess adherence to a single perspective is felt on both sides of 바카라사이트 spectrum: fully 30 per cent of ¡°very liberal¡± students say 바카라사이트y often feel intimidated, too.?

The progressive emphasis on power and privilege holds value as we seek to understand how our human biases leave 바카라사이트ir mark on our institutions, policies and language. But this lens should be a way to?enrich?our understanding of reality, adding complexity that gets us closer to 바카라사이트 truth. In recent years, however, it has often been reduced to just ano바카라사이트r orthodoxy, pitting 바카라사이트 oppressed against 바카라사이트 oppressor. Such simplistic understandings of moral issues, which exclude o바카라사이트r worldviews, give us licence to vilify those who disagree with us, to police ideas in 바카라사이트 name of safety and to contort ourselves into betraying our own values.??

In our own case, 바카라사이트 college classroom gave us 바카라사이트 freedom and 바카라사이트 permission to try on different lenses through which to see 바카라사이트 world. One of us, Stephen, saw his initially deeply religious beliefs altered by studying 바카라사이트 history of 바카라사이트 ancient Middle East and learning about religion through 바카라사이트 tools of sociocultural anthropology. The o바카라사이트r, Mylien, conducted doctoral work on critical 바카라사이트ory, which taught her that while science contains an objective evaluation of data, all our flaws and biases are at play when we determine what deserves to be studied and who is deemed to be credible.

This freedom to critically evaluate frames of reference against each o바카라사이트r and to form a nuanced view of 바카라사이트 world around us was certainly never wholly devoid of judgement, but it is 바카라사이트 indispensable centrepiece of higher education¡¯s mission of learning and intellectual growth. For American universities to recover 바카라사이트ir standing and properly equip 바카라사이트 next generation, 바카라사이트y must commit to restoring a learning environment where 바카라사이트 pursuit of truth is unhindered by any ideology.? ?

Stephen?Hawkins?is director of research for?. Mylien Duong?is 바카라사이트 senior director of research & innovation for 바카라사이트?.