As college students take their finals, the rest of us and breathe a sigh of relief to know that, for the next few months, we will be free from all the college foolishness we've been dealing with this academic year.
Ironically, it's the idea of college as a "safe space" that makes students so hot-headed, violent, and generally the opposite of things you'd expect to find in a "safe space." Of course, the very thing that makes college educational is that it's intellectually challenging rather than supportive and "safe."
But all these protests are looking to shut down conversations. But once a conversation is over, it's done. There is no more debate, no more chance for talking. And that's exactly what the university should be about.
The point of protest should be to open and continue conversations, and taking them to some sort of solution. Not to end them before they begin. Many students today seem to come to college to teach rather than to learn, thinking they know everything they need to know and must share their knowledge with the ignorant, i.e. those who disagree with them.
Unfortunately, it's likely that students have learned their uncompromising technique from the people who are supposed to teach them otherwise: their teachers.
Watch the full conversation below or here on YouTube, or listen and subscribe to the podcast here.
Antony Davies
Dr. Antony Davies is the Milton Friedman Distinguished Fellow at FEE, associate professor of economics at Duquesne University, and co-host of the podcast, Words & Numbers.
James R. Harrigan
James R. Harrigan is Managing Director of the Center for Philosophy of Freedom at the University of Arizona, and the F.A. Hayek Distinguished Fellow at the Foundation for Economic Education. He is also co-host of the Words & Numbers podcast.