Thread by @glukianoff

A new “Catching Up With ‘Coddling’”! We’re looking at the effects of bureaucratization on campus. In other words, as colleges evolve into megacorporations, what does that mean for inquiry, education, & #freespeech? 1/21

thefire.org/catching-up-wi…

This is the TENTH part in the series where we revisit the topics in @JonHaidt & my 2018 book, “The Coddling of the American Mind,” with new data, developments, & caveats. 2/21

amzn.to/39w0DLr

In describing the relationship between bureaucratization & the decisions campuses make, we consider three basic frameworks: the narrow corporatism theory, the broader corporatism theory, & the strong corporatism theory. 3/21

The Narrow Corporatism Theory is that education is harmed by the “customer is always right” mentality, which harms free speech & can even foster cognitive distortions that make students anxious & depressed. @ProfEricAdler 4/21
washingtonpost.com/outlook/studen…

The easy examples of this are things like @LSU’s lazy river, @UHouston’s rock climbing wall, & @HighPointU’s … well, everything, but let’s focus on the valet parking & free ice cream. 5/21
dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2…

But this is also seen in cases like @ProfRonSullivan at @Harvard, where he & his wife @StephanieRobins were non-renewed as faculty deans after students objected to him briefly representing Harvey Weinstein. 6/21

thefire.org/when-harvard-s…

What made the case particularly outrageous is that @Harvard_Law didn’t even try to teach its students the legal ethics of criminal defense. Generally, within the law, it’s not just considered tolerable to represent despised figures, but actually NOBLE. 7/21

This needed to be explained to students in very clear language because there’s no reason to think they would’ve known this. But here, the campus failed to educate, & simply gave into the protesting students. 8/21
change.org/p/harvard-admi…

You can see this pattern a lot on campus, including in many of the cases involving racial epithets, especially @UICJohnMarshall, where a prof. remains under investigation for using a censored slur in a discrimination hypo on a civ pro exam. 9/21
thefire.org/fire-warns-uni…

Scholars & students need to navigate the uglier side of human nature, past & present, if we are going to have professionals, including lawyers, capable of helping victims of discrimination & other wrongdoing. Colleges need to educate their students about that necessity. 10/21

Why is this corporatism? B/c the rush to capitulate to student demands is driven by a public relations interest, not an educational one. "Instant removal & investigation" following a complaint serves no educational purpose. It serves a brand protection purpose. 11/21

ZERO TWEET: Continue onward to the next theory of the effect of corporatism or switch tracks to Martin Gurri’s contributions to our ever-expanding First Amendment glossary! 0/21

https://twitter.com/glukianoff/status/1365431528147320837

The Broader Corporatism Theory is encapsulated really well by the 1999 book by @thefire’org’s co-founders, “The Shadow University,” & it boils down to administrators wanting nothing more than “peace & quiet” on their watch. 12/21
amzn.to/3r7eCiu

This theory helps explain ridiculous policies like free speech zones & speech codes, as well as things like @nyuniversity’s requirement that doctors run statements about COVID-19 past marketing employees. 13/21
thefire.org/cases/new-york…

But it also explains the punishment of professors who say unpopular things on social media, such as @collincollege punishing (& later non-renewing) a professor who tweeted about Mike Pence during the VP debate. 14/21
thefire.org/cases/collin-c…

The problem with tranquility as an institutional goal is that education & research both require challenging assumptions & asking uncomfortable questions. & that leads us to the third & final theory, the Strong Corporatism Theory. 15/21

The Strong Corporatism Theory is that higher education is harmed ANY TIME a university chooses a corporate goal (e.g., tranquility, positive PR, profit, etc.) over its teaching & research functions. 16/21

Every time a university investigates clearly protected speech because a social media mob demanded it or punishes a professor because a donor complained, the university is placing its corporate identity above its reason for being. 17/21
thefire.org/teaching-histo…

A truly committed & disruptive university would constantly be getting some negative press. It would allow students to interact & argue while encouraging scholars to do thought experiments. It would be, at times, uncomfortable. 18/21
thefire.org/williams-colle…

Instead, institutions are expelling “wrong-thinkers” & insulating those who remain from consequences with large cash reserves. This is why I added a sixth part to my five things to help campus freedom of speech. We need some new institutions. 19/21

We need some alternative, stripped-down, much lower cost, more accessible avenues that are so attractive to elite students that they exert some competitive pressure. I will be examining alternatives more closely & writing more in the coming months. 20/21

Until then, we have functionally ceded the selection of future leaders to a handful of elite institutions. The minimum we should be asking for is that they prioritize their core functions, education & research, above “brand management.” 21/21

BONUS TWEET: See updated data & discussion of campus as big bureaucratized businesses: 22/21

https://twitter.com/glukianoff/status/1362900972985606147