I’m a gap year student applying to one or two LAC’S. I was looking through youtube videos on protests about feminism, #blacklivesmatter and all that other stuff in Mizzou or w/e. I am a liberal but also have a ‘conservative’ personality if that makes any sense. I think these protests and movements demanding ‘safe spaces’ are downright pathetic. My question is, how bad are these movements? I saw that this overly PC mentality has seeped its way even to Yale and UCLA. Does it get worse in other institutions that aren’t as elite as the ones mentioned above? I once visited NYU and saw chalk writings with the words etched saying “Kill all white men” and “Die Cis Scum” in the center where the students gather. I clearly have contempt for this behavior and really don’t want to see it while trying to learn, some students even impede others students education in the name of their movement by blocking off entries, revolting or skipping class and etc. Do these things happen on a regular basis or am I just being a victim of the media?
TLDR: Is the overly PC mentality prevalent in all college campuses or is it rare to find? If so, knowing these types of people are very outspoken, have they bothered any of you?
It’s not as common as the news would make it out to be. I think the reason it’s exploding at certain schools–especially elite schools–is that high flying Millennials also tend to be REALLY into social justice, and also simply the prevalence of social media makes it easy for these things to get press/build momentum. There are plenty of schools whose politics lie in the middle of the road, or at the least are less likely to have “action oriented” student bodies. It’s the majority of them, really. And I think even at the schools we see “exploding” that it’s not the majority of students participating in demonstrations. You could likely be at those schools right now and avoid it if you wanted. (and FWIW, I don’t think it’s an “overly PC” attitude. I think it’s young Millennials wanting to have agency over the issues that are important to them–in some cases they are myopic to a fault, but in others, I think they are starting essential conversations.)
I deal with it all the time. My professors usually battle with them, and they are called “moochers and freeloaders” in class, because they want a social justice system. It has pros and cons, but it is alienating people.
Thanks for the response, @proudterrier. That definitely calmed my apprehension about my stay at an LAC. I was referring more to the myopic, where disagreeing with them would lead them to tell me to “Check my privilege” or I need to learn a specific pronoun for them as to not offend them… Either way, the majority of these types of people are misinformed.
@Buttergreen Thanks for the info, good to know that some professors don’t pamper these children.
I’d take anything buttergreen posts with a grain of salt.
With that said, it’s not a big deal. The media is overblowing it.
I go to UMich and I’ve seen stuff from our students apparently make national media… and yet, no one on campus knows about it. Only the media. And then it gets picked up by the right wing press and made to look as though it’s universal.
This. All of the complaining about how PC will tear our nation apart and the few actual oversteps is a product of media. I don’t think any school actually has this problem: only a few isolated incidents at a few schools that are blown up and set on fire by the media.
Showing an effort to make broad social and political changes to redress injustices caused by prejudice. It often involves changing or avoiding language that might offend anyone, especially with respect to gender, race, or ethnic background.*
It thus irritates me when people say things like “overly PC” or “too PC,” because I’m not quite sure how it is possible to want to redress injustice and avoid offense “too much” and what would be bad about that.
Do you know what feminism and the Black Lives Matter movement are about? Feminism is about equal rights for women. The Black Lives Matter movement is in response to (well-documented) increased police and state violence against black Americans, and the desire to address that inequality. You think it’s “pathetic” for women to want to get paid the same as men and for black people to not want to be killed by the police? The students at Mizzou are reacting to actual events of prejudice and discrimination that they’ve experienced first-hand on campus.
There are certainly some extremist events and movements at some campuses, and some students may “take it too far” (although “too far” is definitely subjective). But the media realizes that these stories are selling ads and moving units, so they’re reporting on them far out of proportion to how often they actually happen. I attended a very liberal university for graduate school - one that was in the media for weeks due to a very high-profile set of protests that happened all around the same time, all when I was writing my dissertation - but campus life was actually pretty quiet for the most part. It was the kind of thing where you could be involved if you wanted to be, but if you did not, you didn’t have to be.
Ok.
“There are certainly some extremist events and movements at some campuses, and some students may “take it too far” (although “too far” is definitely subjective” - That’s what I meant by Overly PC, in general that type of group isn’t PC at all. Thanks for the definition, by the way.
Not even going to comment on that second paragraph as I disagree with almost everything, I’d probably get banned anyways and I’m disinclined to starting a debate.
If what julliet said bothers you, in all seriousness, you may want to consider a campus more known for conservative politics.
Her 2nd paragraph was neutral and if you don’t agree with that then you might have a hard time on the majority of college campuses. If you don’t agree that women should be paid the same as men for the same work or that Black people shouldn’t be killed by police (or take it silently) then you are definitely going to be an outlier. And that’s fine if you’re fine with that.
But I go to a very liberal uni and know some conservatives so it’s definitely doable.
I can tolerate disagreement, I’m also atheist but applying schools affiliated with religion. I’ll just try to hold back my personal opinions in both of those types of schools. As for the record, I’m not misogynistic or racist. I do think that black lives matter and feminism are both in good intentions, but I disagree that it plays a positive role because of reasons.
Going to college entails dealing with ideas that make you uncomfortable or angry. Maturing into adulthood means navigating and negotiating these ideas. You don’t have to “hold back” your personal opinions - college isn’t about censorship, it’s actually quite the opposite - you are supposed to engage with your peers, even if you disagree with their political leanings. That’s how you become more well rounded.