What the heck is happening on college campuses?

Two articles on the topic of freedom of expression on college campuses have grabbed my attention of late. Both are well-written and incredibly insightful explanations of how free speech is under threat on U.S. college campuses.

The first is by my favorite author and feminist, Camille Paglia, who recently participated in a public forum on Free Speech on College Campuses at Drexel University in Philadelphia. My friend and former editor for Planet Jackson Hole, Richard Abowitz, organized and moderated the forum. Here is Paglia’s follow up column “Free Speech and the Modern Campus” for Drexel’s online publication, The Smart Set (also edited by Abowitz). Paglia is a bomb-thrower and recalls how liberals used to be the voice for freedom of expression on college campuses in the 50s and 60s but through her own 40-year career experience as a college professor she reveals what went wrong in the 70s. Read it HERE.

Then today, The New Yorker published Nathan Heller’s riveting piece, “The Big Uneasy.” Heller approaches the issue from both sides of the free speech debate and gives compelling points for both. His research and interviews take place at Oberlin College which has been in the center of the storm. He reveals where campuses have fallen short in providing a safe learning space for all students but also shows how student protests and their unmeetable (and sometimes downright ridiculous) demands have undermined the teachers and administrator’s efforts to provide a rigorous education. Read it HERE.