For any of you who have not deposited it may pay for you to consider On Saturday, March 30, 2019, the Wall Street Journal published an op-ed by two Villanova faculty members. It seems as though the thought police are encroaching. Speaking from experience, my daughter specifically tailored an opinion paper to agree with a professor’s political point of view for fear of receiving a low grade. That being said she did have some wonderful professors, however in todays highly charged political climate free speech is being threatened more and more, especially on college campuses, while “safe spaces” serve to segregate and eliminate intellectual development. In an email from the president, he addresses the opt ad, but in a less than to the point way says, faculty need to get in line and not trigger students. This poses a threat to the free and spirited exchange of ideas by trading cherished values for political correctness under the guise of inclusion!
I saw the op ed, and could not agree with you more! After we visited Villanova a second time, and met with the head of a department (shall remain nameless, in the humanities), we came away with an uncomfortable feeling we initially couldn’t put our finger on. We were disappointed, as Villanova had been at the top of my daughter’s list. She was accepted EA, and while it’s nice feather in her cap, she decided to pass. After hearing a couple of stories similar to your daughter’s, she could see the the shift happening there. After reading the op-ed, she feels she dodged a bullet. She has no desire to spend the next four years with professors afraid to teach and encourage discourse for fear of creating a “hostile” learning environment. Nor does she relish the thought of being in a university that would allow thought police to intimidate students from expressing their individual beliefs.