I am a little freaked out. Our son was admitted to the Chapman University business school and is planning to attend in the fall. However, I just read that the Chapman business school just had extreme right wing pundit Ben Shapiro (google him) give the speech at the senior class dinner. I am not concerned that he was invited to speak but that he is being held up as an example to business school seniors at a private dinner. We are liberal Seattleites and are wondering what we have gotten ourselves in to.
There are certainly some conservative students and faculty on campus, but there are many liberals as well. Ben Shapiro was brought in by a private donor and the conservative student group. He wasn’t welcomed by all and many students, faculty, and parents were justifiably upset that his talk was closed and thus his extremist views went unchallenged. There were students (and flyers) posted outside the venue who shared why they find him dangerous.
I think Chapman admin is definitely on the conservative side but they don’t force their views. They recently defended the failure to remove a controversial movie poster (Birth of a Nation) as not wanting to censure but the Film School faculty was allowed to vote for the removal and it has since been returned to the benefactor. Perhaps that was the correct call…letting each school have control rather than the administration, but I felt like the poster should have been removed.
My daughter attended a very conservative private high school where her views were often disrespected. She chose to stay there to be a voice. Thankfully, she has found that most of her college friends at Chapman are either liberal or open to discussion so she doesn’t feel attacked like she often did in high school. Chapman is not Berkeley, that’s for sure, but there are voices on both sides. You’ll see more conservatives in the business school than the film school, but I think students with any beliefs will feel comfortable and able to speak out for what they believe. Your son will have to decide if he feels that Chapman is the right place for him…and hopefully his voice will be heard.
Ben Shapiro is definitely not “extreme right-wing”. You do know he is Jewish, right? He is conservative, but he is very smart. He makes his arguments, and defends them well. You might not like his position, but he is not hateful.
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If you were concerned about conservative views why would your son choose a school known to lean in that direction. About 95% of higher education institutions lean left. In addition, this is what college is about…hearing alternative view points, critical thinking and analysis. Echo chambers don’t benefit society at large.