People love to criticize the American college system, and I
don’t want to miss out on the fun. Here are two things that I find colleges are
doing wrong.
First, most if not all universities place a disproportionate
emphasis on leadership qualities during the application process. Colleges are
thinking either of two things here: every person has the capability and desire
to be a ‘leader’ in society or only people who possess leadership qualities
should go to college. I assume it’s not the latter, but unfortunately, many
colleges believe in the former point that everyone can and wants to be a leader
of some sort. Leadership is a vital quality in a successful society or nation,
but it is not all encompassing. Without followers, leaders are powerless.
Followers are needed for specialization in certain skills, for advice, for
execution. It is time that colleges acknowledge what society truly needs in
college students: diversity of ambition. Leaders, followers, entrepreneurs,
experts, CEOs, employees: colleges should be looking for all types of ambition
on college applications, not just leadership potential.
Second, most colleges have not had an appropriate response
to student free speech violations on their campuses. To be sure, the free
speech debate raging among students is happening at a minority of schools,
mostly elite ones. But it is important because of the space it is taking up on
the national stage. I could go on about this for a while, but I’ll make one
simple point in this post: students are working against their self-interest
when they violently protest conservatives speaking at their campus. Many of the
white supremacists who speak at university events are there to gain publicity.
They don’t have to do much work because protesters do it for them. By holding up
a speaking event, or interrupting a speaker, or protesting in any disruptive
way, the speaker can use the protests as evidence that colleges suppress free
speech, giving them more supporters and making more Americans think of colleges
as little more than comfort zones for the liberal elite. I truly do not
understand why students protest against their self-interest. It’s not hard to
see the negative effect of their actions.
I agree that they shouldn't be getting in the way of someone's right to free speech but it is hard to just stand by and let someone who spew hate speech. You're right. They schedule to speak at Berkeley to get a rise out of liberals and make us seem like the violent
ReplyDeleteones. Hate is speech is free speech. But, if Mike Pence came to speak at OPRF(I know that's a crazy hypothetical) it'd be pretty hard for me to just sit there and let it happen. Why should I sit back and let him offer rhetoric that goes against my very existence?
On one level, I totally agree with the leader and follower thing you have. On another, I feel like I could argue that colleges aren't completely unreasonable with what they're looking for. If we limit everyone to just one leader and a bunch of followers, or even a few leaders, we start to welcome risks where the leader goes unchallenged and progress is never made. I feel like what colleges are looking for in "leaders" is the ability to do more than just take what others say and follow. I think they want to see people engage in discussion and lead in different areas. People can both be leaders and followers at the same time, and a balance between those is much more healthy in my mind than just being one or the other. People who are only leaders may find difficulty hearing critiques, and those who are only followers fail to facilitate innovation. I think everyone has something to bring to the table. The tables will be different from person to person, but the possibilities are there. I could also get into group think, where too many like minded people in a discussion will ignore problems with a conclusion and just accept things. Differing viewpoints are vital for well rounded discussions and problem solving. Whether or not colleges have thought things through this far is a mystery, but we can only hope that they're as fair as possible. Anyway, thats my two cents.
ReplyDeleteI see where you're coming from with your point about college protesters, but I very much agree with Jorge. Passiveness in society is the reason that things are still the way they are. Freedom of speech means that you get to say what you believe without being punished by the government, but it does not mean that you are free from the social consequences of speaking hate. Colleges choose speakers that they want to represent them. If you sit down and let yourself be represented by hate, you are no better than someone who openly supports it.
ReplyDeleteI appreciate that you wrote this because these are topics that I too find interesting. First, I think that colleges and society in general sometimes consider leaders to be extroverts who demand attention and thus have the power to influence people. I do not think that it is reasonable to expect everyone to be like this but I think that leaders can also be people who lead by example, their encouragement, and the strength of their values. Therefore I think that it is reasonable to hope that college applicants are leaders because leaders come in many forms.
ReplyDeleteSecond, I think that to a certain extent protests and activism have gotten in the way of progress. I think that everyone has something to offer and if we shut down everyone who we do not agree with then how will we ever grow? If we do not engage with ideas that are not our own then we will be stagnated and unable to think as critically. We need another side to challenge us and let us develop into better people.
I think for your leader/follower idea, it is important for everyone to be a leader. Not every leader is going to become a ruler or monarch, but everyone needs to be able to take leadership in different scenarios. Everyone has something different to offer which I know sounds cliche, but everyone needs to be able to express their ideas with confidence in order for society to reach its full potential. Which brings me to my next point. I believe it is important for people to express their opinions against the hate from conservatives, however I agree that protests aren't the way to do that. Colleges should organize a more controlled way for students to exercise their right to free speech without causing trouble.
ReplyDelete