Most U.S. College Students Afraid to Disagree with Professors

Wall Street Journal ^ | October 26, 2018 | James Freeman

[billorites]

Many U.S. college professors now regularly share their own social and political beliefs in class, and their students feel increasingly afraid to disagree. That’s according to a new national survey of undergraduates due out next week.

When students were asked if they’ve had “any professors or course instructors that have used class time to express their own social or political beliefs that are completely unrelated to the subject of the course,” 52% of respondents said that this occurs “often,” while 47% responded, “not often.”

A majority—53%—also reported that they often “felt intimidated” in sharing their ideas, opinions or beliefs in class because they were different from those of the professors. A slightly larger majority feared expressing themselves because of differences with classmates. On this question 54% said they often felt intimidated in expressing themselves when their views conflicted with those of their peers, compared to 44% who said they didn’t often feel this way.

The national online survey of 800 full-time undergraduates was conducted from October 8th to 18th and includes students at both public and private four-year universities in the U.S. Polling was done by McLaughlin & Associates on behalf of Yale’s William F. Buckley, Jr. Program, which counts your humble correspondent among its directors.

American academicians unfortunately appear to be just as political and overbearing as one would expect. This column isn’t old enough to remember when university faculty were thought to be conscientious adults in loco parentis. But perhaps the actual parents who write checks can someday find some way to encourage more responsible behavior.

As for the students, there’s at least a mixed message in the latest survey results. On the downside, the fact that so many students are afraid of disagreeing with their peers does not suggest a healthy intellectual atmosphere even outside the classroom.

[yldstrk]

They should be. Those professors will ruin them.

[ResistorSister]

Seems as if academia has created an intimidating, hostile, and abusive learning environment. There should be a law against it, along the same line as ‘sexual harassment’ in the workplace.

[Snickering Hound]

Just about all universities have students fill out evaluations at the end of the semester.

Pop them then.

[hal ogen]

Many, if not most, professors are LIB tyrants who entertain no disagreement with their LIB spew. They will harass the students who speak up about anything by lowering their grades or giving bad references. They should be fired.

[rey]

Yep. Academic suicide not to spit back their rhetoric.

Students should never be able to tell what a professors political position is.

[freedumb2003]

>>They should be. Those professors will ruin them.<<

Every conservative speaker says the same thing:

Just go along with it. Nothing you say or do can help and you will hurt yourself for no good reason. A classroom is a dictatorship and one you accept when you sign up.

Outside the classroom is where it gets dicey.

[GnuThere]

Yes, a lot of them are nasty bullies, emboldened by working in an echo chamber.

[wardaddy]

I was a libertarian hedonist idealist lefty in college from 76-80

I majored in political science and business with Spanish minor

90 percent of my professors were conservative and in those studies you got to know one another and exchange ideas

I still remember my govt studies professor ...a 500 course..at the long table telling me I should go find where Abbie Hoffman was hiding...lol

I had same issues in Prep School too

Arguing with social righties over civil rights ....hard to believe now

Yes kids being anti civil rights legislation was once social conservatism...which is why Helms, Buckley, Magnus the first and Goldwater opposed it

My college course did have one pony tailed libertarian lawyer teacher Toby Wallace..a very nice guy who taught us about bilderbegers and trilateral commission etc ..in 1976

I was grateful but he got fired

Dr Brooks from Kansas also taught me...her been a freedom rider and stayed in Mississippi at Ole Miss

Those are two non conservatives I recall

But no conservative professor or asst professor ever not once punished me for arguing but I had to know the material

Man I loved those years

School

Fun

Coeds....Lordy

Actually my live in girlfriend had already graduated so she’d technically not be a coed

I think my dad paid her to make sure I graduated ...and she def did the reward punishment thingie well

“I want to see you’ve done your work and I’m going to ask questions”

Taskmaster but so lovely

A peach of a 70s southern girl...RIP...GOD LOVE HER

[frank ballenger]

bad professors should be fired...

---

So you’re saying evacuation the colleges and universities? I worked for two universities and know they would empty out with a loud echo if you shouted “Hello. Anybody here?” once the leftists were gone. Happy thought.

Hillsdale in MI is a really rare exception.

[Old Yeller]

Seems as if academia has created an intimidating, hostile, and abusive learning environment. There should be a law against it, along the same line as ‘sexual harassment’ in the workplace.

Outstanding idea, throw it back into their faces.

[ConservativeMind]

Because the vast majority of graded items are capable of being subjectively graded.

[cymbeline]

A student should be arguing with his professor about the subject being taught. Time in a class should not be wasted to discuss the latest political hot buttons. Such off-topic discussions are primarily the fault of the professors because their job is to teach their subjects.

Now, in a course such as “The History of Inclusion”, Katie bar the door.

[fella]

And after a semester or two Stockholm syndrome sets in on the students. Juat as planned.

[rey]

I’m afraid to disagree with people here.

[frank ballenger]

At the local big university as reported in a feature article an example was a student who stood up for President G.W.Bush on an issue during a big class session (100 students there).
The prof. smirked and put him down. Then he said “Well, we have such a fat advocate for Bush today. Maybe we should hear him out. How much do you weigh?”
He was embarrassed for being overweight and started blushing and then teared up from the derisive laughter and then jeering from 99.9% of the class students. What a cruel s.o.b. Supposedly it was 100% liberal there after that day.
Kids cannot stand up to being uninvited to parties, shunned by the opposite sex, smirked at in hallways, and put down as a jerk for being conservative. They are too vulnerable.

The 2 universities I worked for were really liberal. One had no student Republican group on campus! It had a political rally for Obama with Bruce Springsteen in person and the woman Univ.president gushingly cheered and advocated for Obama at the podium. One measly letter in the student newspaper said this was bias by a taxpayer paid state university but that was it.

[yldstrk]

I never opened my mouth in college. Just fed back to them whatever they said. Made all As. Went to law school. Never said anything. Graduated. Now I say what I want.

[DeFault User]

While teaching in college, I enjoyed opening students’ minds to new ideas and concepts many had never considered. But I didn’t consider it my mission to indoctrinate them. Getting them to think for themselves using a Socratic approach not only gave me pleasure but also the students whose eyes could light up when they made an intellectual breakthrough.

[ConservaTeen]

DeplorableAmerican (my dad) said he fail one class in college. That was poliSci when the professor asked the class why Carter will be better than Ford. He asked if he could do why Ford would be better than Carter, but the professor said ‘No.’. He decided to write it as anti Carter, so he Flunked.

[ReaganGeneration2]

Why?