The United States of America is known all over the world as "The Land of the Free." Unfortunately, freedom is one of the major issues faced by the American education sector today. In fact, education experts believed that academic freedom and freedom of expression are in jeopardy in several colleges and universities across the nation.
Academic freedom, freedom of expression and free inquiry have been considered as the core values of universities and colleges. But for the past century, these values have been incessantly under attack on campuses hence, there have been several protests against the grave restrictions of these values.
Academic Leaders Are To Blame Over Recent Upheaval Against Freedom On Campus
Today, academic freedom is a major issue faced by U.S. universities and colleges. As a matter of fact, the concept of embracing freedom academically is believed to be far from what it is supposed to be, where freedom of speech and expression in American educational institutions could lead to unemployment and destroyed reputation due to bad publicity, Global Research reveals.
The new source on why these core values are reportedly in jeopardy is due to the academic leaders. According to The Atlantic, academic leaders are responsible in coddling the minds of students, resulting to grave restrictions of academic freedom, free inquiry, and freedom of speech or expression.
Academic leaders are also one of the reasons why students are supportive of free expression suppression on campus. Academic leaders are also too obsessed with job security and the reputation of their institution while too few are suitably interested in making statements.
Why Academic Freedom Protests Exist On Campus
There are also several factors that may explain why protests on academic freedom exist on campus. One is the parents, who are believed to be overprotecting the youths of today from being vulnerable to harmful psychological narratives.
In addition, there are also the cultural, societal and institutional issues. Lastly, the fact that today's young generation is living in a forced ethos of fear and distrust.
Why Some Students Are Supportive Of Free Speech Restrictions
Based on a survey conducted by Gallup, almost 50 percent of a random sample of nearly 3,000 students surveyed are currently supportive of free speech on campus restrictions. The main reason for this is reportedly the widespread use of fear in the United States, which is believed to be responsible in distorting the minds of millennials and students today. Coupled with the rapid growth of social media and the pervasiveness of government scrutiny, students often think the concept of privacy is already outdated.
Due to the rational fears over the police, racial stereotypes and unjustified prejudices, students often choose to be in safer environments in college, where heated debate over ideas are nonexistent. In some colleges and universities, several students are even forced to follow a "straight and narrow path," where they are not allowed to experience playing or making mistakes.
That's why, it is not really surprising that higher education is facing a mental health crisis, as previously reported. Thanks to fears and anxiety, poor mental health among college students is now common while courage at educational institutions becomes a "rare commodity."
Meanwhile, it remains uncertain why academic freedom and freedom of expression may not be free in the U.S. In fact, these core university values are actually stated in academic freedom policies such as the University of California's 3-page policy, Harvard University's academic freedom guidelines and FAU's freedom policy handbook, University Herald reports.
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