In an op-ed recently published in Newsmax entitled, “Envisioning a Promised Land of Academic Freedom on MLK Day,” Philanthropy Roundtable Adjunct Senior Fellow Patrice Onwuka says higher education institutions have failed Dr. Martin Luther King’s hope for America by declining to embrace free speech and diversity of thought on campus.
Onwuka says while institutions such as Harvard have received a lot of criticism for the recent handling of antisemitism on campus, higher education must commit to intellectual freedom if we want the next generation of students to pursue truth and diversity of ideas.
Below are excerpts from the article entitled “Envisioning a Promised Land of Academic Freedom on MLK Day”:
“Today, amid the bigotry and violent rhetoric in our society, the promise of America’s greatness requires that we return again to these unifying values that divisive ideologies have destroyed. May the traverse into this promised land begin with academia.
Despite its ranking as a top school in the nation, Harvard scored dead last for free speech and academic freedom by the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression (FIRE). This decades-long shift away from the pursuit of objectivity and truth to an obsession with culture and race is now playing out in destructive ways on the quad and in society.”
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“These students and academics have undoubtedly engaged in ample training about sensitive conversations, offensive or hurtful words, and noninclusive behavior. Were empathy and sympathy not values of DEI programming? Is safety and equality only for some?”
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“The removal of one or two college professors will not turn academia back to its core mission. However, institutions and donors can look to points of light to lead them in a better direction.”
To read the complete article, please visit Newsmax.
