 Gary Saul Morson and Morton Schapiro of Northwestern University wrote a brilliant piece for Persuasion warning of the regressive direction academia is heading in, should universities continue to undermine and diminish open inquiry. “Speech codes that seek to enforce ideological uniformity and force members of the community to monitor their opinions and to self-censor run counter to our nation’s basic principles. They undermine the interchange of ideas that invigorates higher education and undergirds all serious research.” Read the full article here.  The Foundation for Individual Rights in Education (FIRE) announced yesterday that the Rutgers Law Student Bar Association dropped a policy requiring student groups to promote Critical Race Theory in order to get funding. An amendment passed by the SBA in November of 2020 “mandated that any group hoping to receive more than $250 in university funding must ‘plan at least one (1) event that addresses their chosen topics through the lens of Critical Race Theory, diversity and inclusion, or cultural competency.’” Read the full article here.  Izabella Tabarovksy penned an insightful op-ed for Areo Magazine in which she details how her Soviet upbringing made her grateful for the open inquiry that is fundamental to American life and education. She also expresses concern that the United States may be heading in an all too familiar direction. “Censorship obscures our view of reality and impedes our society’s ability to function. The longer the next generation spends growing up in this culture, the more it will imbibe it.”
Read the full article here.  Photo: Gregory Pratt of the Chicago Tribune Halfway through her term, Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot declared that she will only grant one-on-one interviews to journalists of certain specified races. Gregory Pratt of the Chicago Tribune was granted an interview. When he asked that Mayor Lightfoot consider giving interviews to journalists of all backgrounds, the Mayor’s office declined his request. Pratt subsequently decided to cancel his interview. Read more here.  After the Fairfax County School Board unanimously voted to remove Thomas Jefferson High School’s race-blind, merit-based admissions process in the name of diversity, parents have continued to stand up for pro-human values at the top-ranked public high school in America. Last week, a federal judge ruled that a parents' group from Thomas Jefferson can move forward with a suit alleging anti-Asian discrimination under the new admissions process. Matthew Barakat covered the story for the Washington Post. Read the full article here.  As neo-racism becomes increasingly prevalent in elite private schools across the country, more parents and alumni are standing up for pro-human values. Last month, FAIR Advisor Bari Weiss published an open letter from a concerned parent at The Brearly School in Manhattan. And yesterday, FAIR Advisor Glenn Loury published an essay from an alumni of the school, detailing a troubling Zoom training session at the school. “What was said at the meeting I attended was worrisome. But the jargon and slogans would have little purchase without their deadly adjuncts: polite demurral, passive acceptance, and enforced silence.” Read the full article here. |
