What Happened to Our Campuses?

According to Victor Davis Hanson, calls for trigger warnings, campus diversity programs, and other policies aimed at shielding students from emotional discomfort and divergent opinions are warping the educational mission of US colleges. In addition to compromising educational quality, Hanson points out that those activities divert attention from more serious threats to student well-being, such as skyrocketing educational costs and student loan debt. Aside from youthful naiveté and progressive ideology, he blames a noncompetitive environment among and within colleges for many of the problems. He proposes accountability-based reforms such as university exit exams, academic freedom rankings, and closer donor oversight as possible solutions.