Is There Hope for American Colleges? | Jonathan Butcher

About this episode

The episode discusses the challenges facing American colleges regarding political intolerance and features an interview with Jonathan Butcher about the state of higher education.

Graduation season is once more upon us. The long school year has come to a close, and now, in caps and gowns, the nation’s graduates gather to receive their various certifications, diplomas, and degrees, and listen to wisdom from a speaker. However, many college graduations are not the same tranquil affairs they used to be. FIRE, the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression, reports that attempts by students to disinvite commencement speakers over political beliefs have increased sharply over the last decade or so. To name one example, students at Morehouse School of Medicine are attempting to block the commencement speech of alumnus Congressman Rich McCormick, over his stances against DEI, abortion, and transgender surgeries among other views. Some schools, such as New York University, have switched to recorded remarks by students in lieu of an in-person speaker. At this point, the level of intolerance and intellectual coddling taking place at American universities is not a new story. It’s bad, but is there a way back? This week, the Heritage Foundation is releasing a new book: Higher Education in America: It’s Worse than you Think. I sat down with Jonathan Butcher…

People in this episode

Guest: Jonathan Butcher

Topics covered

• American colleges
• graduation
• political beliefs
• intolerance
• higher education
• freedom of speech

Keywords

• American universities
• commencement speakers
• political intolerance
• higher education
• graduation season

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Heritage Foundation, Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression

Places: Morehouse School of Medicine, New York University

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