Kerby Anderson

Yesterday I talked about the question Victor Davis Hanson asked: “Do Elite Universities Really Wish to Fight the Federal Government?” In his commentary, he unveils a half dozen problems at universities that might cause American taxpayers to reconsider how much money should be given to them.

The first two problems we talked about were the rising cost of a university education and the lack of any intellectual diversity on campus. A third problem is the Supreme Court ruling against Harvard and the University of North Carolina concerning their use of racial and gender bias in admissions. Unfortunately, many of these colleges have merely rebranded their DEI office with other euphemisms.

Foreign influence on campus is another problem. “Over the past few decades, foreign governments, without audit, have poured some $60 billion into America’s purportedly most prestigious universities.” They obviously expect to receive something for these ideologically driven investments.

These universities also have failed to protect students on campus. They also turn a blind eye to when a conservative judge or a Christian speaker is shouted down on campus. Administrators may issue a statement about “not tolerating violations of free speech” but then do nothing about it.

A final problem is lower academic standards. Victor Davis Hanson documents that the best universities now ensure that 70-80 percent of students in their classes receive As. But it isn’t that these students have become smarter. In fact, many of these elite universities had to provide remedial classes for incoming students.

It is time for universities to restore their reputations and encourage academic excellence.