Monday, April 22, 2013

6 Ways to Defeat the Campus Censors

2. Legally End the Slippery Debate about What "Harassment" Really Means.
3. Litigate Aggressively.
4. Make Colleges Certify Free Speech Protection.
5. Not Just Sticks: Provide Carrots to Colleges that Behave.
6. The Broader Job: Let's Work to Change the Culture.
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Finally, and most broadly, we must seek ways to overcome the "echo chamber" effect that is prevalent in academia and increasingly in our society at large. This is not something that Congress or lawyers can fix: the change must necessarily be cultural. But if a way can be found to promote the idea that truly educated people seek out discussions with smart people with whom they disagree, it could go a long way to overcoming groupthink both on and off campus.

Too often, people succumb to the temptation to dismiss their political and cultural opponents as ignorant or stupid. And there are many ignorant and/or stupid people out there in all walks of life. If you're looking for one to take on in order to make yourself feel better about your beliefs, you'll find one. But nearly every idea in American discourse that is not utterly fringe has hundreds or thousands of advocates who are perfectly capable of making solid cases for their beliefs. The fact is, if you can't find a person who is capable of making rational arguments on behalf of the Tea Party or Occupy Wall Street, you didn't really try, especially in the age of the Internet.

But you might not get this impression on a college campus. As Penn professor Diana C. Mutz discussed in her 2006 book Hearing the Other Side, the more education you have, the less likely you are to have exposure to people with different points of view.

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