The woke university implosion

December 25, 2022. Meanwhile, on campus, the dumbing deviancy down phenomenon is running full speed ahead, apparently towards either a brick wall or a deep chasm. You choose.

In a famous exchange in the “The Sun Also Rises,” Ernest Hemingway wrote: “How did you go bankrupt?” Bill asked. “Two ways,” Mike said. “Gradually, then suddenly.”

“Gradually” and “suddenly” applies to higher education’s implosion.

During the 1990s “culture wars,” universities were warned that their chronic tuition hikes above the rate of inflation were unsustainable.

Their growing manipulation of blanket federal student loan guarantees and part-time faculty and graduate teaching assistants always was suicidal.

Left-wing indoctrination, administrative bloat, obsessions with racial preferences, arcane, jargon-filled research and campus-wide intolerance of diverse thought short-changed students, further alienated the public — and often enraged alumni.

And heaven forbid that we should ever apply the concept of merit.....

Located in Fairfax County, Virginia, Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology has long been ranked as one of the premiere high schools in the nation. It’s a “magnet” charter school that focuses on the sciences and STEM curricula. But for several years now you wouldn’t have guessed that based on the school’s record of students receiving National Merit awards. That’s because none of the students reportedly received those honors. Except that’s not true at all. The top students in the school did indeed receive National Merit awards, but two administrators at TJ have been withholding notifications of the awardsfrom students. They reportedly did this as part of their “equitable grading policy.” And the parents of students who were not credited with those achievements are seeing red.

Universities are collectively showing a decline in enrollments, a decline in merit and a decline in constructive, positive outcomes for students, graduates, parents (of students) and society. There is no "justice" -- "social" or otherwise -- in enrolling unprepared students and graduating same with massive debt, meaningless degrees, unmarketable skills, and an enhanced sense of entitlement, all in the pursuit of "social justice." Per Milton Freedom, putting equality (or worse, equity) ahead of liberty and you will soon get neither. Putting liberty ahead of equality and you will get both.