„I am considered stupid or uneducated for believing this, I had a teacher who expressed this openly."

According to a study conducted at the University of North Carolina, some universities do not provide their students with an atmosphere conducive to free expression. It is already instructive how delicately the problem was named: students who call themselves conservative face special challenges. Perhaps the situation is somewhat more dramatic than the challenge, if young people cannot freely share their thoughts during their university studies.   

The survey took place in 2020, which revealed that

41 percent of conservative students indicated that they were forced to choose their words. While only 9 percent of liberal college students said the same

- writes in a recent article of Campusreform.org. In the research, the students were also asked about which topics they felt uncomfortable when they did not dare to speak openly at the university. The respondents indicated the topic of race relations in the United States, as well as the use of police force, the use of weapons, immigration policy, climate change and the use of masks as highly risky topics. - writes campusreform.org.

There was a student who said: "I am strongly conservative, I will not apologize for my beliefs. However, college campuses have become extremely intolerant of these views. I am considered stupid or uneducated for believing this, I had a teacher who expressed this openly. When the topic of women's rights and health care came up, I didn't dare to say that I didn't support abortion, because I would have been reported or harassed."

Another young man spoke of coming from an immigrant family, so he can see first-hand that while more and more taxpayers' money is being spent to fund social justice causes, government officials are corrupt. The majority doesn't know about it, it's hard to state your point of view without being judged and accused of being insensitive to social justice issues.

The university students also reported that in some courses the professors teach the subjects from the perspective of their own political beliefs.

One of the presidents of the university commented on the study that the culture of free expression is fundamental to their mission as a public university. According to him, they do not deserve public trust if they do not prepare students for the exercise of democratic citizenship rights, if they do not conduct an open and honest dialogue. He also added that too many students are reluctant to express their opinions and do not dare to share their ideas, and this undermines the goals of higher education. The question is whether it will be possible to change this.

Source: hirado.hu

Cover image: Illustration / MTI/Balázs Mohai