In recent weeks, college students have been making headlines for reasons that should alarm all lovers of free speech and debate. Students at universities across the country are throwing a collective temper tantrum, demanding that their universities shelter them from ideas they disagree with by providing “safe spaces” where dissent is not allowed and forcing the resignations of anyone who contradicts them. Sadly, many university administrators have already capitulated to these absurd demands and the state of education in America has suffered because of it. 

These protestors are dangerous because they are demanding students, professors, and university administrators give up their right to free speech in order to rid our country’s college campuses of anything that could possibly be offensive. They are not making arguments to support their position, instead they are just asserting demands and using force and intimidation to silence all who oppose them. 

These students want to limit free speech in order to avoid having to hear ideas that offend them. However, it is impossible to live in a free country without hearing controversial speech. If these students continue in their attempts to rid their lives of offensive ideas, they will end up shouting down more and more debates. This is because their definition of offensive speech so broad that it includes anything that they disagree with.  

This is because most universities today are not teaching students how to have civil discussions. Instead they are training students to resort to vilifying those with whom they disagree and demanding that the dissenting voice be silenced. By behaving in this way, these students show that they are not mature enough to enter society as adults. By encouraging this behavior, universities are failing in their mission to educate students. 

Thankfully, we have resisted this trend at Ashland University. In all of my classes, professors encourage lively debate and, while I have seen many disagreements between students, I have never witnessed the personal attacks that students at other institutions hurl upon dissent. I am glad that here at Ashland we embrace free speech and open debate and recognize the need to confront controversial ideas, rather than run from them.