University Elitists Force Ideology on Students

[Harv]

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.

My religious beliefs forbid me from getting tats. I guess I cannot go to that school.

RFID.

If the kids are running around the university with RFID, I must really be getting old.

 

[BvBPL]

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.

Seems it would be a good idea for documentary students to watch Bowling for Columbine. Moore is not a classical documentarian, but his style has really struck a cord for his audience. Watching it seems a good way to open debate what it means to be a documentarian.

 

[Farm Boy]

And that's how I took it, but since then I've had the opportunity to talk with the fine people(they are btw) and the activism never turns off. It's a constant ongoing political opinion piece with bits of technical data thrown in. Seemingly not that unusual. But then again, I thought that was at least part of the point. Which is why I think it's weird that the OP has a problem with it when it happens to be exposure to Cruz.

 

[Timsup2nothin]

And that's how I took it, but since then I've had the opportunity to talk with the fine people(they are btw) and the activism never turns off. It's a constant ongoing political opinion piece with bits of technical data thrown in. Seemingly not that unusual. But then again, I thought that was at least part of the point. Which is why I think it's weird that the OP has a problem with it when it happens to be exposure to Cruz.

My take from the OP was the strangeness of the "all hands" meeting. Professors run their own little worlds, I get that. The university may have an agenda that influences the speakers they invite to use their auditorium facilities (or allow to use said facilities for payment, or pay to make presentations, depending), I get that too.

But I had actually never heard of a university with mandatory attendance full student body events before. I never attended a university (of three, small sample size acknowledged) that even had a building that could handle a full student body turnout event.

 

[Farm Boy]

True, it certainly wouldn't work at a massive state university. But to me, at least, it seems an intriguing idea for say a small liberal arts college/university. If the whole point is that your institution educates broadly knowledgeable and well rounded individuals then exposing them to a wide variety of speakers, the best you can bring in, seems to be an effective strategy. If you have an effective strategy then I don't know that compelling students to get educated really seems all that weird. We compel them to test on knowledge, we compel them to do research. Compelling them to have educational experiences fits the mold at least to me.

 

[BvBPL]

Plenty of small, private colleges have all student meetings.

 

[Timsup2nothin]

True, it certainly wouldn't work at a massive state university. But to me, at least, it seems an intriguing idea for say a small liberal arts college/university. If the whole point is that your institution educates broadly knowledgeable and well rounded individuals then exposing them to a wide variety of speakers, the best you can bring in, seems to be an effective strategy. If you have an effective strategy then I don't know that compelling students to get educated really seems all that weird. We compel them to test on knowledge, we compel them to do research. Compelling them to have educational experiences fits the mold at least to me.

I suppose.

I'm still kinda puzzled about the facility. I went to what I considered a small university. Though it was a state school I think at the time it was the smallest in the Cal State system at 3500 students...and we certainly didn't have any facility that could accommodate 3500. Not even close. Our biggest sport was baseball, and our diamond had bleachers that could maybe seat a thousand. The main auditorium where we had speaker events and such I know was just over 1200. I'm not sure there was even anywhere on campus where you could erect a stage and have festival seating for 3500.

 

[Valka D'Ur]

True, it certainly wouldn't work at a massive state university. But to me, at least, it seems an intriguing idea for say a small liberal arts college/university. If the whole point is that your institution educates broadly knowledgeable and well rounded individuals then exposing them to a wide variety of speakers, the best you can bring in, seems to be an effective strategy. If you have an effective strategy then I don't know that compelling students to get educated really seems all that weird. We compel them to test on knowledge, we compel them to do research. Compelling them to have educational experiences fits the mold at least to me.

But what's the point of forcing students majoring in the sciences, for example, to waste their time listening to a politician, when they could be studying, doing homework, working at a part-time job, having something to eat, or relaxing? If they attended voluntarily, that's their choice. But to be forced is ridiculous. What do they do, conduct a room-to-room search and drag any holdouts to the auditorium by the hair or in handcuffs? Take attendance and punish the students afterward? Were the faculty and support staff all the way down to the janitors forced to attend? If not, why not?

I live in a conservative bible belt that has never elected a non-Conservative provincially in my lifetime. But even Red Deer College wouldn't go this far. Not that it could anyway. They'd have to herd everyone on a bus and take them to one of the arenas in town. None of the auditoriums at RDC are remotely large enough to accommodate everyone at the same time.

 

[Arakhor]

Isn't this university a conservative evangelical institution? If so, inviting along a similarly-minded politician to announce his running for presidential office and then mandating that the entire student body goes along isn't broadening anyone's minds to new ideas. It smacks heavily of a publicity stunt for ulterior motives.

 

[Farm Boy]

I'm merely reacting to the idea that all student meetings are required for a variety of events.

And, frankly, if a schtick of the institution is well rounded individuals then making math students attend lectures on political topics and political science majors attend lectures on the sciences seems exactly right.

 

[Goodfella]

Isn't this university a conservative evangelical institution? If so, inviting along a similarly-minded politician to announce his running for presidential office and then mandating that the entire student body goes along isn't broadening anyone's minds to new ideas. It smacks heavily of a publicity stunt for ulterior motives.

Yeah and Cruz or no Cruz, the stated purpose of "challenging students spiritually, socially, and morally" is mostly bogus when all the convocation seeks to do is further drive in the views these kids were likely raised with. It serves no academic purpose. And the school banned its young democrat club shortly after the organization was founded. Liberty really is just forcing a certain political view while shutting down all others.

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

I doubt this. Liberty University isn't a place many sane people go.

 

[Arakhor]

It's a creationist university with an explicitly conservative evangelical philosophy. If by "well-rounded", you mean "conservative Christian", then yes. I wonder if any Democrats or (gasp) atheists have ever been invited to speak there.

 

[Goodfella]

Convocation schedule: http://www.liberty.edu/faithservice/?PID=2586

Mostly just christian/conservative speakers and artists.

 

[Valka D'Ur]

I'm merely reacting to the idea that all student meetings are required for a variety of events.

And, frankly, if a schtick of the institution is well rounded individuals then making math students attend lectures on political topics and political science majors attend lectures on the sciences seems exactly right.

It's one thing to assign political science majors attend a political rally. That's something that actually has to do with what they're studying. But forcing them to attend a film showing of something that may not have anything at all to do with political science because it would "make them more rounded individuals" is nonsense. It's forcing the students to lose time they could be spending studying what they're actually there to learn.

Would you support forcing the entire student body of a university to attend a screening of the next Star Trek movie next year? After all, 2016 is the 50th anniversary and since that show has had a significant influence on many people around the world over those 50 years, it would help make people more rounded individuals to participate in celebrating this anniversary, right? Even though they may not be studying film, drama, science, literature, and may have zero personal interest in science fiction, would you still force them to go to a theatre and watch this movie because it would make them more rounded individuals? (for the record, I will not be watching this movie in the theatre; it'll have to either be on the Space Channel or Netflix Canada before I'd watch it. 50th anniversary or no, I despise the nuTrek movies and have no intention of encouraging more of them by giving them money)


Why not herd all the students into an auditorium and force them to sing sea chanties? Who cares if they're not music majors and would miss time studying or working or attending to their private lives? Singing is something that makes a person more well-rounded, too.


We're having a federal election here later this year. I will be attending at least one all-candidates' forum, in order to evaluate the local candidates. That's something I do partly because I'm interested in politics, and partly because I see being an informed voter as a duty that all citizens should undertake. But I'd never force anyone to be there who didn't want to be. Except the candidates. Last time, the Conservative candidate chose not to show up - like the Conservative candidates in several dozen other ridings. The forum organizers started setting potted plants on or in front of their chairs, to show how useful a politician is who can't be bothered to face the people (s)he expects to give them a job.

 

[Farm Boy]

It's a creationist university with an explicitly conservative evangelical philosophy. If by "well-rounded", you mean "conservative Christian", then yes. I wonder if any Democrats or (gasp) atheists have ever been invited to speak there.

If you want to pound on Liberty University for being an institution with a specific worldview, have at it. I've been of the impression that getting a liberal worldview from most universities is part of the point, so I don't know why going to get a conservative education is any more-ier or less-ier. Within the framework of higher education, I see no particular reason forcing students to attend guest lectures in incongruous with the mission. It kinda seems very much on point.

I have next to zero sympathy when people whine about general education requirements. If there are guest speakers every 3 days and attendence is mandatory, sure, I could see that being excessive. But maybe one a week or every couple weeks? Oh shucky darn kids, the world contains some stuff that you aren't orgasmic about. Go sing the sea shanties and learn something.

 

[BvBPL]

And while we're at it, screw mandatory diversity, sexual violence, non-hate assemblies too! I don't need to go to learn how not to rape someone when I could be playing Call of Duty.

 

[warpus]

I think if you get accepted to a "University" and there's mandatory pep rallies and/or assemblies, your degree probably isn't going to mean much when you're done.

 

[Farm Boy]

These people learned slightly differently than I did! They must not have learned much of quality.

 

[BvBPL]

Based on what, Warpus?

 

[Timsup2nothin]

I think if you get accepted to a "University" and there's mandatory pep rallies and/or assemblies, your degree probably isn't going to mean much when you're done.

Well, this seems probable. Very few degrees mean much when all is said and done.