Picking Sides: The Fight For Your Mind

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“There is an undercurrent of dissatisfaction – even suspicion – among the public about the role colleges play in society, from admissions processes to the way free speech is constrained on college campuses.” -Pew Research, 2019

As Harvard University publicly reveals that they are scaling back on participating in political stances, educational professionals are having discussions of what needs reforming in the education world. Recently, a board of eight chairmen at Harvard issued a Report on Institutional Voice in the University to address the controversial statement of political involvement. The recent jihad between Israel and Palestine has forced civilians at American Universities to grab their poster boards and start marching, rooting for either side in a frenzy that has destroyed intersection traffic, graduations, and business propositions.  

According to the report, Harvard "is not a government, tasked with engaging the full range of foreign and domestic policy issues, and its leaders are not, and must not be, selected for their personal political beliefs.” The report also pointed out that in the reality of today’s world, which is saturated with opinions and social media, an influx of Ideas would only mean problems for the institution and its leaders. 

Basically, any ideas or values that do not directly affect the university’s core function really have no place interfering with the learning that is supposed to be taking place. This seems sensible, right? In a perfect world, yes, but it may just not be that easy... 

When bull-headed situated professors go head-to-head with adult students from a different generation, the rhetoric is going to be colorful. One of my debate professors said that “a smart listener considers both sides of the story before making a decision.” Rational as that may sound, it is not always the case. Many minds are stubborn and have already considered their opinion through a biased-lens, due to a variety of factors including life circumstances, family morals, and natural differences in thinking. Just as a DNA molecule is unique to its owner, so are the thoughts to the mind. Humans are not supposed to think in uniform, for what makes a civilization is the substance of its people and their ideas. In order for society to thrive- this big, crazy melting pot of ideas must be stirred constantly with new ingredients. 

Infiltration at the hands of lobbyists is nothing new in the world of higher education, especially at Ivy League Schools. How does society avoid the bureaucracy issues at colleges without interfering with interests, donations, and funding? Colleges need to be focusing on the development of critical thinkers, which entails being able to hypothesize all outcomes with ample information from both sides. A community college sophomore from a local Oregon college sums it up perfectly: "It's important for us to form our own thoughts and opinions without the overarching influence of a superior."



Read Harvard’s Report on Institutional Voice in the University here:

https://provost.harvard.edu/sites/hwpi.harvard.edu/files/provost/files/institutional_voice_may_2024.pdf?utm_source=SilverpopMailing&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=5.28.24%20Institutional%20Voice%20(1)








https://www.pewresearch.org/social-trends/2019/08/19/the-growing-partisan-divide-in-views-of-higher-education-2/

https://www.washingtonpost.com/education/2024/05/29/harvard-university-political-statements/

https://abcnews.go.com/US/harvard-longer-comment-public-matters-unrelated-core-function/story?id=110640128

https://www.myheraldreview.com/opinion/commentary/defending-higher-education-against-cynical-politics/article_fe8d789c-f776-11ee-b3ef-93af3a2d5bb2.html

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