This is how freedom fails. When parents let their children get their heads filled with the mush of marxist professors let loose in our schools, colleges and universities.
“Freedom is never more than one generation away from extinction. We didn’t pass it to our children in the bloodstream. It must be fought for, protected, and handed on for them to do the same.”—Ronald Reagan
Kids today: 4 in 10 call Constitution ‘outdated,’ OK with silencing speech.
Free speech, support for the Constitution, and even having a variety of friends are taking a hit on America’s campuses as college undergraduates appear to be adopting a “my way or the highway” attitude.
A new survey of campuses developing the nation’s future leaders shows an antagonistic approach by students to views they don’t agree with. And worse, a majority feel that they can’t express a view different from those of their professors.
The survey for Yale University’s William F. Buckley Program, provided to Secrets, is the latest to show the fading of thought diversity on campuses and shrinking support for the First Amendment and the Constitution overall.
Among the key findings in the survey of college undergraduates conducted by McLaughlin & Associates for the program:
- Thirty-six percent believe the Constitution is outdated, while 52% call it “important.” A year ago, 63% called the founding document important.
- While support for the First Amendment is at 72%, that is the lowest in six years.
- More students, by a margin of 48%-41%, favor “speech codes.”
- For the first time, a majority of students (52%) “now say they share the same opinions and beliefs as all or most of their friends.” Only a third have friends who don’t think like them.
- Forty percent agree that “it is sometimes appropriate to shout down or disrupt a speaker on campus.”
- Thirty-nine percent “agree that violence can be justified to prevent a person from using hate speech or making racially charged comments, while 51% disagree. This is the highest ‘agree’ number in four years and an eight-point increase from last year.”
- Fifty-three percent feel intimidated in sharing their views if they disagree with their professor.
Pollster Jim McLaughlin expressed surprise and concern over some of the results.
“These findings are a real indictment of the radical teachings of the American higher educational system and a total lack of understanding of the U.S. Constitution by students,” he said.
“Think about it. More than one-third of students call the 8th wonder of the world an outdated document, and a bare majority, 52%, call it an important document. What is interesting is that freshmen are more supportive than the seniors when it comes to the Constitution as the leftwing indoctrination seems to sink in,” he added.
And noting the feeling that a majority of students have about clashing with their professors, he said, “Most students are afraid of sharing their views. There appears to be a lot of intimidation going on from the powers that be on college campuses, namely their professors and fellow students.”
The survey covered several other issues. Secrets yesterday reported on the survey’s results on racial and policing issues.