University Elitists Force Ideology on Students

[GoodEnoughForMe]

Attendees whooped and hollered at Cruz's calls for liberty, booed when he mentioned Obamacare and cheered when he said he would repeal it. But the students, some of whom wore Rand Paul T-shirts, were required to be there, giving Cruz the appearance of a packed house for the first nationally broadcast campaign event of the 2016 presidential election.

The announcement was made at the school's Convocation, a thrice-weekly mandatory assembly with a stated purpose to "develop campus unity, disseminate information, and challenge students spiritually, socially, morally and intellectually," according to a Liberty University's Student Honor Code.

"All students are required to attend Convocation," the code states, warning students that they face disciplinary action should they miss it. Its required attendance is also mentioned in the 10 Liberty University Distinctives (sic), which are inspired by the late Jerry Falwell, who founded the university.

Liberty University President Jerry Falwell, Jr., in a statement sent to Mashable, said in part, "It is no secret that Convocation is held three times a week and attendance is required, just like class is required for students."

...

In a tweet, another student said most of those in attendance didn't even want to be there.

Everyone doesn't want to mention Convo is required LOL. 99% of the audience doesn't even want to be there LMAO

— Kym Yvonne (@LuvKymYvonne) March 23, 2015

Source: http://mashable.com/2015/03/23/liberty-university-ted-cruz/

It's long been known that the elitists at universities are ramming ideology down student's throats. Here is proof that these ivory tower creations are abusing their role as educators.

 

[caketastydelish]

Nonsense, even public institutions are filled to the brim with this, only they tend to be left-wing instead of conservative. The professors themselves and their marxist lectures.

(note, I'm not trolling, this is my genuine position)

 

[GoodSarmatian]

Oh, Liberty University.
And here I thought this would be a story about a university.

 

[Harv]

"All students are required to attend Convocation," the code states, warning students that they face disciplinary action should they miss it.

I am curious about something: How do they enforce this? Do they take attendance?

Back in my university days, I remember professors passing around attendance sheets. Twenty people might have been in the class, but seventy names were checked off. The professor did not care. He said he would find out after the final examination.

 

[Arakhor]

The professors themselves and their marxist lectures.

I'm probably going to regret this, but what is a Marxist lecture when you're not studying politics? How is classics, geology or accounting even remotely Marxist?

 

[BvBPL]

How do they enforce this? Do they take attendance?

RFID.

 

[warpus]

A mandatory pep rally at a university?

Uhhhh.... maybe this is a high school?

 

[Wolfbeckett]

I am curious about something: How do they enforce this? Do they take attendance?

Back in my university days, I remember professors passing around attendance sheets. Twenty people might have been in the class, but seventy names were checked off. The professor did not care. He said he would find out after the final examination.

When you get accepted to the school they tattoo a bar code onto your forehead. They don't cotton to these newfangled RFID chips, it's too much like admitting that science is real.

 

[Tahuti]

Really, if you dislike a university's ideological orientation, do not enroll for it. I have pretty much planning on dropping out given that every university I know of is hell bent on forcing an ideology of one stripe or another through the students throat, and I do not plan to just helplessy resent that fact. Best to ignore it and build your own rules.

How is classics, geology or accounting even remotely Marxist?

You are hitting the nail on its head. Of course none of these have anything to do with Marxism. Nor do movies, books or history that have not any explicit endorsement of Marxism for that matter. The problem is that, particularly in the humanities and social sciences, academics these days seem rather hell bent on connecting it with Marxian thought.

In other words, they are Polanding Marxism. While as a right-winger, I disagree with Marxian views, Karl Marx is pretty much innocent at this. If anything, it creates a rather tarnished view of Marxism. Karl Marx developed his views not as an ivory tower college professor but as someone who saw what happened and interpreted accordingly. You may agree or disagree with his interpretations, though making far-fetched cultural theories about how a movie supposedly represents 'late capitalism' is horribly intellectually lazy and a desecration of the thought of any philosopher.

 

[Terxpahseyton]

As a Western European, I was - perhaps naively - kind of wondering about many students opposing actual health care (not that Obama Care means that, but you know, the direction counts) .. until half a minute into reading the OP.

Uhhhh.... maybe this is a high school?

My constant thought when reading anything about American universities. When I attended law school in Germany, the only class checking on attendance was the one held by an American teacher.

 

[Timsup2nothin]

I'm probably going to regret this, but what is a Marxist lecture when you're not studying politics? How is classics, geology or accounting even remotely Marxist?

A Marxist lecture is more likely Economics than Politics. Marx displayed a greater understanding of capitalism than pretty much anyone else, so he should be a standard in the subject in most universities.

 

[downtown]

Non story to me. Attendance at every one of these special speaker events is mandatory, even the ones that aren't Republican or evangelical.

If you don't want an exceptionally structured academic experience, Liberty is clearly not the school for you.

 

[Terxpahseyton]

A Marxist lecture is more likely Economics than Politics. Marx displayed a greater understanding of capitalism than pretty much anyone else, so he should be a standard in the subject in most universities.

Eh... he had an intriguing philosophical understanding, that is for sure and I agree every course on economics should pay credence to it. It seems like a crucial perspective putting some opposition to orthodox perspectives.
But his actually hard economics? I am not confident to talk about it absolutely, but I have learned a thing or two and it seems they were hardly relevant in his time, let alone nowadays. They were all construed to substantiate his idea of an inevitable collapse of capitalism and if you get into how he theorized so, it gets shaky quickly and in the end ridiculous.
I can give you a quick run-down if you care to and which illustrates it nicely. I'd just have to translate it since my "work" on it is in German ("work" because I copied a lot of it, admittedly - but it passed the seminar).

 

[Timsup2nothin]

Eh... he had an intriguing philosophical understanding, that is for sure and I agree every course on economics should pay credence to it. It seems like a crucial perspective putting some opposition to orthodox perspectives.
But his actually hard economics? I am not confident to talk about it absolutely, but I have learned a thing or two and it seems they were hardly relevant in his time, let alone nowadays. They were all construed to substantiate his idea of an inevitable collapse of capitalism and if you get into how he theorized so, it gets shaky quickly and in the end ridiculous.
I can give you a quick run-down if you care to and which illustrates it nicely. I'd just have to translate it since my "work" on it is in German ("work" because I copied a lot of it, admittedly - but it passed the seminar).

Probably not the time or place, but just a quick thing to consider: the capitalism of his time is as extinct as the dinosaurs. Would it have collapsed? I'd guess yes, were actions not taken to modify it. Most of those actions, though most people in the west hate to admit it, were mostly guided by lines of analysis that can be characterized as 'so if Marx is right what can we do about it?' The fact that modern capitalism and the capitalism of that time bear hardly any resemblance to each other makes it easy to mistake his analysis as inaccurate, but without his analysis we would not have gotten from there to here.

 

[Terxpahseyton]

I am sorry but I think you are talking out of your arse.
It is true that Marx's economics were strongly rooted in the actual historic economic structures of his time, but it seems plain to me that Marx abjectly failed to actually understand those economics (even if he may have produced some interesting perspectives or analysis) and I have no idea whatsoever in what way Marx's analysis of capitalism was prudent in its survival.

 

[Timsup2nothin]

I am sorry but I think you are talking out of your arse.
It is true that Marx's economics were strongly rooted in the actual historic economic structures of his time, but it seems plain to me that Marx abjectly failed to actually understand those economics (even if he may have produced some interesting perspectives or analysis) and I have no idea whatsoever in what way Marx's analysis of capitalism was prudent in its survival.

Well, I could counter that with another anatomical reference, but I'll let it lie. You did say you passed the seminar after all.

 

[JollyRoger]

I liked that he got trolled by kids in Rand Paul shirts.

 

[caketastydelish]

I'm probably going to regret this, but what is a Marxist lecture when you're not studying politics? How is classics, geology or accounting even remotely Marxist?

It's obviously only applicable in humanities subjects which is what I was referring to.

I had an overly-obnoxious history professor who saw everything from a Marxist perspective (and openly admitted it).

 

[Masada]

I had an overly-obnoxious history professor who saw everything from a Marxist perspective (and openly admitted it).

"I had this one Marxist professor, therefore the academy is full of Marxists".

I'm probably going to regret this, but what is a Marxist lecture when you're not studying politics? How is classics, geology or accounting even remotely Marxist?

Marxist exegesis is a thing so a Marxist approach to classics would not surprise me. (In fact I would be surprised if Marxist perspectives were not employed in the classics since class issues suffuse Greek and Roman writings.)

 

[Farm Boy]

While I don't know that many of the teaching staff I'm exposed to are actually Marxist, probably half of them that teach media are pretty hell bent on something. I see a lot of "documentaries" being studied and there's a constant stream of Bowling for Columbine and Food Inc going through. Not to mention the handouts about Monsanto being the antichrist.