CAMPUS LIFE
Universities decaying
thanks to the PC elite
From the Far Lane
Emmett Macfarlane
Editor-in-Chief
When The Gazette decided to take
a look at political correctness, we knew it was a significant
issue in the academic world (not to mention Western's social
atmosphere and some of the scary tenets of the Residence Life
Management Team, but that's another feature on it's own).
But just how prevalent PCness is as a problem
in university classrooms quickly became apparent as we spoke
to various professors. Or at least tried to speak with
them.
Even with the security of tenure, most of
the professors we asked declined to go on the record with us,
not because they didn't have anything to say, but because they
didn't feel they could say it. We can only guess as to their
possible fears - which might include alienation from their peers
or some veiled form of punishment from administration such as
being denied a department chair position - but suffice to say
some professors were worried about coming off as politically
incorrect in a story about political correctness.
We found a lot of genuine academic debate
is stifled out of fear and it's a problem that seems to be getting
worse.
Does political correctness stem from an increasingly
wimpy society, where too many individuals worry about hurting
people's feelings? Or is it a problem caused by extreme left-leaning
folk, whose dogmatic fight for "equality" has resulted in a
perception that simple, honest opinion in the form of words
is akin to physical assault. The answer is probably a blend.
Sensitive types would argue political correctness
is important and professors should be restrained from making
certain arguments because students have the right to not be
offended.
Retards.
There's a huge difference between making an
intelligent argument that some people would disagree with and
harassing those same people. That line has been blurred by closed-minded
elitists who become so angered and repulsed by anything they
disagree with that they want to literally forbid the speech.
Because those elitists are clustered at places
like universities, the university itself has become a hotbed
of censorship and hurt feelings. And the PC pendulum is still
swinging in an unfavourable direction. Professors have the greatest
job security in the world, but the pendulum is so strong and
the PC atmosphere so dense that their security supplants the
best part of their job and the best reason for students to go
to university: to be able to truly examine and discuss what's
important.
