Pope Center Praises New Essay by FIRE’s Greg Lukianoff

George Leef, director of research at the John William Pope Center for Higher Education Policy, has written a review praising FIRE President and CEO Greg Lukianoff’s essay in the recently published The State of the American Mind: 16 Leading Critics on the New Anti-Intellectualism. The Pope Center is a North Carolina-based nonprofit institute dedicated to improving higher education in both North Carolina and the nation at large.

Greg’s essay, entitled “How Colleges Create the ‘Expectation of Confirmation,’” describes how college students increasingly believe they have not only a “right not to be offended” but also a stricter “right to have [their] views confirmed.” Leef wholeheartedly agrees with Greg’s argument, writing:

We hear again and again from college leaders that they want students to learn “critical thinking skills,” but evidence keeps mounting that the exact opposite is happening—that many students are learning how to make life miserable for those who dare to disagree with them.  Leaders who really care about the intellectual development of the students who come to their schools ought to pay attention to the alarm Greg Lukianoff is sounding.

Check out Leef’s review of Greg’s essay over at the Pope Center’s website. Those who are interested in reading Greg’s full essay can purchase The State of the American Mind in hardcover and Kindle format at Amazon.com.