Opinion: More than a few people — from the left, right and centre — fear universities becoming silos of cultural and political conformity.
Before the war the expense of university had put it out of reach for most Canadians. “But by 1947 almost 35,000 veterans were enrolled in universities,”Saskatoon StarPhoenix Afternoon HeadlinesThere was an error, please provide a valid email address.By clicking on the sign up button you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc. You may unsubscribe any time by clicking on the unsubscribe link at the bottom of our emails. Postmedia Network Inc.
Part of the academic silo problem is the rising cost of university in Canada and especially the U.S., which is often more polarized. In the 1970s, I was one of only a small fraction from Argyle secondary school in North Vancouver who went onto university, but even then it was less costly and summer jobs could pay the rent.
Polling indicates a third reason the divide is occurring is faculty are overwhelmingly left-leaning. Yet Burns says “what’s most dangerous for the health of America’s intellectual elite is not that most professors have similar cultural tastes and similar liberal politics. That will probably always be the case. It’s that the campus setup makes it easy for them to forget that reasonable people often don’t share their outlook.
Weighing in from the centre of the spectrum, Canada’s Macdonald-Laurier Institute this year conducted a large opinion poll that exposed how the values and politics of university professors can freeze out those who don’t habitually subscribe to liberal-left beliefs.Article content Indeed, Leger found one-third of Canadian university faculty are prepared to “cancel” their colleagues if they express unconventional views. Support for academic freedom, which protects the right to study controversial issues, runs at a modest 56 per cent for male professors and only 31 per cent among female faculty.Article content