Today we discussed the formal censuring of a conservative student at Georgetown for his criticism of Black Lives Matter as an organization and his objections to a recent ruling by the Supreme Court. Georgetown University has remained silent as the student has been declared a racist and the student government called for his investigation. At Penn State, the university took an important step in this time of rising intolerance and actually included conservative students in a welcoming message. It did not last. After an outcry from students, the university deleted the tweet — thereby sending precisely the opposite message to conservative students.
Penn State University went out a tweet affirming the inclusive environment at the school that included welcoming messages for a wide variety of student groups including a line stating “Dear conservative students. Your viewpoints are important.”
Students reacted with outrage at the notion of expressly welcoming conservative students to campus. For example, the student newspaper, reported that “student Cassandra Nuñez said the experiences of conservative students and students of color cannot not be presented as equal in any way.” She is quoted as writing “Conservatives in the United States do not live in a system that was built from the blood and trauma of their ancestors — a system that continues to put down people who look like [their ancestors] every day.” There was no objection to other groups being welcomed, just the conservative students.
Rather than reinforce its support for students of color, the university yielded to demands and actually withdrew its welcoming statement to conservatives. The explanation was perfectly Orwellian. Penn State Director of Strategic Communications William Hessert, Jr stated that the school wanted “to express the inclusive, democratic and participatory values of the liberal arts.” However, the “message was not being received well and it is important for us that our messages be received as intended.” To unpack this: we wanted to assure conservative students with other students that they are welcomed but many disagreed with their inclusion in that sentiment. So we deleted the welcome.
Hessert told one site “While we do not believe in deleting our posts, given the sensitivities of the matter we felt that it was better to remove it.”
There was another possibility. Be more inclusive rather than exclusive. I would have preferred an additional reference for liberal or progressive students or even libertarians. The point is that Penn State celebrates its rich diversity of viewpoints, experiences, and culture.
There is a very good reason to reach out to conservative students given the rising intolerance for opposing views on our campuses. As we discussed recently, polling shows that conservative students are much more fearful of expressing themselves in classes and on campuses due to a lack of support — and often outright hostility — from administrators and faculty. The ham-handed action of Penn State took an important gesture of inclusivity and turned it into a chilling messaging of hostility for conservative students who want to join their community.
If this country has to listen to a blithering idiot Trump spout racist and ultra conservative twaddle, then why can’t that same twaddle be emitted where it historically has a place, under the freedom of speech, at universities. It makes sense that if one visits Mar Lago, one bridles one’s opinions. However, the crucible for free speech is the university. Those in control of this treason must be replaced.
Universities are the spawning ground for violent leftwing blithering idiots. That is why free speech no longer exists at Universities and colleges. They are all one sided marxist-fascist sh~tholes.
Pissant State University
There are 97,000 student at Penn State (46,000 at University Park). How many students objected to the inclusion of a Conservative welcome??? Betting it was an infinitesimal number!! Such a woke admin.
Penn is a state named after a goat pen.
Liberty2nd– I think the woke students must demand that the name of the university be changed. After all, William Penn owned 12 slaves in the 1700s. I am sure that was crushing news to those poor students. I don’t see how they can handle having to say or even think about the name.
The issues are vague, the article is lame, students are dumb. They went on dumb, come out dumb too. Hustling round a pen in their alligator shoes. They’re keeping Americans clowns.
Read Randy Newman’s song about Rednecks.
Conservatives are such victims. What a joke. What crybabies about EVERYTHING.
Who is crying? Try to stay focused.
Yeah putz, it is not conservatives who are crying now is it? It is your violent crybaby newborn woke leftwing fascists that are doing all the crying because their little brainwashed egos just can’t handle the idea that someone out there believes we should not have a massive, oppressive, overbearing government with its boot constantly on our throats and filthy hands in our pockets.
Penn State’s once fierce, proud Nittany Lion mascot is now a neutered house cat, hahaha!
meOWWWW!
Want to hear a good joke?
Penn State!
It is time to end all government funding to institutions, like Penn State, that penalize freedom of speech and thought. Don’t use my tax money to fund these racist, anti- conservative cauldrons of hate. Penn State has succumbed to the tyrants of the left and they must be taken to task. This is still America and not North Korea. Don’t allow these pukes to succeed.
Totally agree with J. Richard. Why should any taxpayer fund this?
Why should the responsible parties have public sector jobs? Republicans in Pennsylvania pay taxes too. The juvenile they’re truckling to fancies everyone gets a Chinese-style social credit score and only her tribe gets to enroll at the public’s institutions. Screw her and screw the administration.
Off topic. A local strip club is reopening with masked dancers. Thank God!
I’m betting the complainers numbered a couple dozen out of 7,000 or so incoming freshman. These youths are agents of the worst elements on the faculty and in the administration.
A certain number of people are manifestations of cluster B personality disorders. You don’t cave into them, or you get more obnoxious behavior. Incentives matter.
This is the university in our time:
Pooh pooh Harvard, pooh pooh Yale. I got my education in the mail..
What’s next, Chippendales?
David Brooks talking about free speech and Liberalism: https://www.nytimes.com/2020/07/09/opinion/liberalism-morality.html?action=click&module=Opinion&pgtype=Homepage
I read it and left wondering what he was saying… because it seemed more dealing with his definition or concept of liberalism than discussion of free speech.
He collects payola from PBS and the Sulzbergers. He’s not going to tell the bald truth.
I’m pretty sure you can get a better education on YouTube than at many of these over priced universities. They’re mostly stealing your future anyway and giving it to useless administrators.
For the better part of 4 years I have heard that Trump is a dictator. This coming from the people who want to impose penalties for thought.
If the colleges that spawn these dimwitted uneducated tyrants, had done a half credible job of providing rudimentary history lessons, these twits would at least moderate their abuse of free speech and thought.
Time would be better spent educating these muppets on the French, Bolshevik, and Chinese experiences with revolution.
These fools will follow the path paved by people like Robespierre, Trotsky, et al.
Just emailed the president to urge the tweet be restored.
What would the peanut gallery say if Penn St had sent a similar letter to the “liburuls”?
You conservatives would be clutching the hell out of your collective pearls!
What is it about the right wing that is defined by “thee and not me” rhetoric?
Except that universities offer such succor to Liberals every day.
You are an idiot and a racist who can’t stand people with different opinions. Your feeble mind can’t argue with facts so you demonize. Your a perfect example of who attends crap institutions like Penn State.
J Richard, what makes me a racist?
Just wondering?
Pretty insulting jab and shows lack of understanding of conservatism. Who wears pearls nowadays–what an old-fashioned out-of-touch cliche. And how would you know what conservatives would say? It seems you don’t know because conservative voices have been muzzled for years.
You would be surprised, DV. I live in a majority republican voting district. 99% of my neighbors are in the top earner bracket. Even with the unbelievable amount of corruption, an impeachment, a deadly abdication of duty in the midst of a deadly pandemic, a ranked economy, and a childlike (& highly inappropriate) Twitter prone president; most of my neighbors will vote to re-elect DJT. It’s not like I interact and have relationships with them or anything.
It’s not like I don’t have the innnernets too. It’s not like I don’t have a car radio either.
Conservative opinions and voices are everywhere so just relax.
Just sayin…
test
Chickens!!!! What happened to the days when the administration (adults) ran the school?
They still do. These whinging adolescents are agents of the administration, not its opponents. The problem is the adults are frauds, weasels, and scum.
Penn State- the ‘Sanctuary City for Paedophiles’.
Interesting that the recent arrest of Jeffrey Epstein’s business partner, Ghislane Maxwell, raised again the names of the rich and connected who attended Epstein’s child rape island and rode the ‘Lolita Express’, including US Senator George Mitchell, who was granted the authority to end Paedophile State’s 4 year football ban 2 years early. JoePerv Paterno raped thousands of young boys with Paed Stste’s full funding and support. Paed State bribed former FBI Director Louis Freeh to whitewash the scandal, and bribed Mitchell to end the restrictions early.
oePerv Paterno raped thousands of young boys with Paed Stste’s full funding and support.
He didn’t rape or molest anyone, much less with institutional support.
I believe it was a coach, Jerry (?) Sandusky who was convicted.
Not quite. Sandusky was Paterno’s deputy for many years. He took early retirement in 1999. Three years later, an assistant coach named Mike McQueary witnessed Sandusky in the shower with a youth. Sandusky’s retirement was supposedly devoted to a youth charity he founded, and he took the youngsters enrolled in it around to the athletic facilities at Penn State. McQueary thought he was witnessing a molestation. He spoke to Paterno the next day and they reported it to their superordinates. (IIRC, it was the athletic director and the chief of security they spoke to). Their superordinates dropped the ball, telling Sandusky he couldn’t bring Second Mile kids around anymore (and having him surrender his keys, IIRC). They never reported him to the county sheriff, municipal police, or state police. Paterno and McQueary weren’t heroic, but they followed proper procedures.