In a lengthy interview Monday with NPR’s Steve Inskeep, President Barack Obama expressed both support and trepidation for the work of student activists across the country.
While Obama declined to wade into specific campus controversies — such as discussions around the seal of Harvard Law School (his alma mater) or the renaming of Yale’s Calhoun College — he did express concern that campus protesters can display an intolerance towards opposing perspectives.
“I think it’s a healthy thing for a young person to be engaged and to question authority…to ask tough questions about social justice, so I don’t want to discourage kids from doing that,” the president told Inskeep.
He added, however: “As I’ve said before, I do think that there have been times on college campuses where I get concerned that the unwillingness to hear other points of view can be as unhealthy on the left as on the right.”
Before University of Missouri’s African American football players spurred student protests across the country, Obama had already weighed in on political correctness in academia.
Speaking at an education town hall in Iowa in September, he said college students shouldn’t be “coddled and protected from different points of view.”
“Anybody who comes to speak to you and you disagree with,” Obama said, “you should have an argument with them, but you shouldn’t silence them by saying you can’t come because I’m too sensitive to hear what you have to say.”
At the time, the president pointed to conservative guest speakers and books with language that may be offensive to African Americans or women as things that might disturb students.
On Monday, he pointed to protests around lectures given by the director of the International Monetary Fund or Condoleezza Rice.
“Feel free to disagree with somebody, but don’t try to shut them up,” Obama told NPR. “If somebody doesn’t agree with affirmative action, you may disagree with them — I disagree with them — but have an argument with them. It’s possible for somebody not to be racist and want a just society but believe that that is something that is inconsistent with the Constitution.”
He concluded: “My concern is not whether there is campus activism, I think that’s a good thing…What I don’t want is a situation where particular points of view that are presented respectfully and reasonably are shut down, and we’ve seen that sometimes happen.”
Activism on college campuses activism has crescendoed in the last few months. From the University of Missouri to Yale, Ithaca College to Georgetown, student protesters have rallied against perceived institutional and societal injustices and against racially-charged symbols.
At the same time, equally fervent views have emerged in opposition to recent student protest movements, which some see as affronts to free speech. Parodic “White Students’ Unions” popped up online, and some pundits accused protesters of being “coddled” or overly sensitive.
As a student at Occidental College, Obama protested against apartheid and participated in campaigns calling for divestment from South Africa. He recounted in his memoir “Dreams from My Father” that he gave a speech at a rally during which two white students forcefully removed him from the stage to help prove his point.
In an interview with ABC’s George Stephanopolous in November, Obama said, “I’d rather see [young people] err on the side of activism than being passive.”
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news...hp_no-name_morning-mix-story-c:homepage/story
While Obama declined to wade into specific campus controversies — such as discussions around the seal of Harvard Law School (his alma mater) or the renaming of Yale’s Calhoun College — he did express concern that campus protesters can display an intolerance towards opposing perspectives.
“I think it’s a healthy thing for a young person to be engaged and to question authority…to ask tough questions about social justice, so I don’t want to discourage kids from doing that,” the president told Inskeep.
He added, however: “As I’ve said before, I do think that there have been times on college campuses where I get concerned that the unwillingness to hear other points of view can be as unhealthy on the left as on the right.”
Before University of Missouri’s African American football players spurred student protests across the country, Obama had already weighed in on political correctness in academia.
Speaking at an education town hall in Iowa in September, he said college students shouldn’t be “coddled and protected from different points of view.”
“Anybody who comes to speak to you and you disagree with,” Obama said, “you should have an argument with them, but you shouldn’t silence them by saying you can’t come because I’m too sensitive to hear what you have to say.”
At the time, the president pointed to conservative guest speakers and books with language that may be offensive to African Americans or women as things that might disturb students.
On Monday, he pointed to protests around lectures given by the director of the International Monetary Fund or Condoleezza Rice.
“Feel free to disagree with somebody, but don’t try to shut them up,” Obama told NPR. “If somebody doesn’t agree with affirmative action, you may disagree with them — I disagree with them — but have an argument with them. It’s possible for somebody not to be racist and want a just society but believe that that is something that is inconsistent with the Constitution.”
He concluded: “My concern is not whether there is campus activism, I think that’s a good thing…What I don’t want is a situation where particular points of view that are presented respectfully and reasonably are shut down, and we’ve seen that sometimes happen.”
Activism on college campuses activism has crescendoed in the last few months. From the University of Missouri to Yale, Ithaca College to Georgetown, student protesters have rallied against perceived institutional and societal injustices and against racially-charged symbols.
At the same time, equally fervent views have emerged in opposition to recent student protest movements, which some see as affronts to free speech. Parodic “White Students’ Unions” popped up online, and some pundits accused protesters of being “coddled” or overly sensitive.
As a student at Occidental College, Obama protested against apartheid and participated in campaigns calling for divestment from South Africa. He recounted in his memoir “Dreams from My Father” that he gave a speech at a rally during which two white students forcefully removed him from the stage to help prove his point.
In an interview with ABC’s George Stephanopolous in November, Obama said, “I’d rather see [young people] err on the side of activism than being passive.”
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news...hp_no-name_morning-mix-story-c:homepage/story
