This year the Yale Free Press will treat university students like the adults we are— individuals who are capable of grappling with contentious topics with maturity and intellectual rigor.
You’re not just encouraging intellectual freedom but human kindness and tolerance. I lean right and agree that the progressive movement on campuses has gotten out of control, but I am also upset with conservatives who respond with just as much meanness, intolerance and self-righteousness as do extremists on the left.
“ I am insistent on the goodness of our students and faculty alike and the goodness of human beings in general.” Thank you for that.
Absolutely. In similar fashion, a relative was watching a movie with Lecter in it: a vigilante who, in his evil ways, enjoys the evil itself, pretending to rid society of evil people, (but not the evil).
My advice was: Beware of becoming the very thing you claim to abhor, dear and peaceloving nephew!
So happy to hear this. Hopefully other universities will soon follow suit and open and civilised debate can return to our campuses. Keep up the important work you’re doing.
Thank you so much for this piece and for what you are doing at Yale. I am a Registered Nurse and have been greatly disturbed over the last few years to witness culture war politics infiltrate health care practices and a veil of silence and fear descend upon my own peers in the medical community. I’ve considered using a pseudonym when writing about it but your insistence on publicly standing by what you believe encourages me to do the same.
I am sure you have been in touch with the Harvard Salient, but their experience tracked with yours. The Salient was founded in 1981 and persisted over three decades, cultivating writers like Ross Douthat and Naomi Schaefer Riley. Around 2017, however, it slipped into inactivity with the election of Trump, social opprobrium, and the distraction of other activities like the John Adams Society.
Three years ago, however, an intrepid band of talented and determined Harvard students revived the Salient and it is going strong again! At first the writers used only pseudonyms--but in the past year true names became optional and many writers are willingly "out" to the campus now.
Yale has been an incubator for conservative thinkers and I am glad you are raising the banner once again. Thanks and the best of luck!
What a terrific, uplifting piece to read as the school year begins! As the parent of a current Yale student, I am especially heartened that a voice such as yours is present on campus. My daughter's experience with viewpoint diversity has been generally positive and the emphasis on intellectual rigor and goodwill will only improve that experience.
Thank you for sharing about your daughter. I just dropped mine off at Colgate (sob), and the faculty emphasized respect and tolerance for diversity of opinions during their welcoming speeches. Hopefully, the tide is turning.
Good luck to her! I'm on my third child's third year and still get choked up when I board the plane home ;-) That said, there is a world of difference since my eldest began at Stanford when the concept of "safe spaces" were just beginning. Yale felt intolerable with maximal Covid mitigation breeding general fear and a preponderance of safetyism in word and deed but it feels as though something has finally begun to loosen. I hope so. The instruction has been mostly top notch, but administration can be a black hole.
Adults are in the room and on campus at Yale. Students, especially those who disagree on certain issues, will thank you. Campus culture allowing for unfettered academic discourse is an amazing opportunity. That’s the college experience. That’s real life. College campuses across the country are thirsty for this. It is the path forward. Bravo!!
Thank you for your courage. I long for the civilized debate: vigorous, reasoned, and anything but insulting. It is possible to defend an idea and to strongly disagree without feeling a need to destroy one's opponent. Until what seems like five minutes ago, this was obvious.
I will be giving a speech at Stanford University on October 26th where I will expound on this Yale scandal for 90 minutes. This will be the biggest speech of my life.
Admire your courage. However as another has done on this thread, I question the accuracy of your description on campus as fine. If you were a white male (or female) Christian espousing these same beliefs and thoughts on campus, I am curious how the perception of things being “fine” would change.
Well, good for you, but I see the drivel the administration and faculty pump out on a regular basis, and I have a lot of trouble believing the campus atmosphere is "fine." Between new findings in woke pseudoscience and an endless barrage of photos proudly celebrating every shade of melanin except pink as "historic," the factory still seems to be pumping out its unique flavor of ideology sausage at top speed.
If you're looking for stories to research, here's one: please let us know who actually runs Yale. The alumni rebelled a couple of years ago and put forth the first-ever (I believe) candidate for a Yale Corporation seat selected by signature gathering among graduates rather than being anointed as one of two Hobson's candidates by the Corporation itself. Needless to say Salovey announced his defeat, offering no independent third-party confirmation of this convenient result, but promptly stripping alumni of the ability to nominate their own candidates forevermore. (There's a lawsuit on about this, I believe.) Best guess we have is that Yale is run directly by HHS and the Bill Gates philanthropic complex.
Again, admire for your courage, but I think perhaps your view of normalcy is a bit skewed, coming as it does from a campus that views its formerly world-famous Vincent Scully class on Western art and architecture as "no longer relevant."
You’re not just encouraging intellectual freedom but human kindness and tolerance. I lean right and agree that the progressive movement on campuses has gotten out of control, but I am also upset with conservatives who respond with just as much meanness, intolerance and self-righteousness as do extremists on the left.
“ I am insistent on the goodness of our students and faculty alike and the goodness of human beings in general.” Thank you for that.
Absolutely. In similar fashion, a relative was watching a movie with Lecter in it: a vigilante who, in his evil ways, enjoys the evil itself, pretending to rid society of evil people, (but not the evil).
My advice was: Beware of becoming the very thing you claim to abhor, dear and peaceloving nephew!
Evidence?
Encouraging to read about moral and intellectual courage. Thank you. Stay the course.
So happy to hear this. Hopefully other universities will soon follow suit and open and civilised debate can return to our campuses. Keep up the important work you’re doing.
Good. I’m looking up my Alma Mater(s) for signs of this, with fingers crossed.
McGill and Western U, Chinada.
Same here. McGill does have a chapter of SAFS (The Society for Academic Freedoms and Scholarships) so there is hope for it.
Merci bien!
Thank you so much for this piece and for what you are doing at Yale. I am a Registered Nurse and have been greatly disturbed over the last few years to witness culture war politics infiltrate health care practices and a veil of silence and fear descend upon my own peers in the medical community. I’ve considered using a pseudonym when writing about it but your insistence on publicly standing by what you believe encourages me to do the same.
I am sure you have been in touch with the Harvard Salient, but their experience tracked with yours. The Salient was founded in 1981 and persisted over three decades, cultivating writers like Ross Douthat and Naomi Schaefer Riley. Around 2017, however, it slipped into inactivity with the election of Trump, social opprobrium, and the distraction of other activities like the John Adams Society.
Three years ago, however, an intrepid band of talented and determined Harvard students revived the Salient and it is going strong again! At first the writers used only pseudonyms--but in the past year true names became optional and many writers are willingly "out" to the campus now.
Yale has been an incubator for conservative thinkers and I am glad you are raising the banner once again. Thanks and the best of luck!
What a terrific, uplifting piece to read as the school year begins! As the parent of a current Yale student, I am especially heartened that a voice such as yours is present on campus. My daughter's experience with viewpoint diversity has been generally positive and the emphasis on intellectual rigor and goodwill will only improve that experience.
Thank you for sharing about your daughter. I just dropped mine off at Colgate (sob), and the faculty emphasized respect and tolerance for diversity of opinions during their welcoming speeches. Hopefully, the tide is turning.
Good luck to her! I'm on my third child's third year and still get choked up when I board the plane home ;-) That said, there is a world of difference since my eldest began at Stanford when the concept of "safe spaces" were just beginning. Yale felt intolerable with maximal Covid mitigation breeding general fear and a preponderance of safetyism in word and deed but it feels as though something has finally begun to loosen. I hope so. The instruction has been mostly top notch, but administration can be a black hole.
That’s Real Diversity! Not the rake D.I.E. type!
Adults are in the room and on campus at Yale. Students, especially those who disagree on certain issues, will thank you. Campus culture allowing for unfettered academic discourse is an amazing opportunity. That’s the college experience. That’s real life. College campuses across the country are thirsty for this. It is the path forward. Bravo!!
Hail Yale!
Thank you for your courage. I long for the civilized debate: vigorous, reasoned, and anything but insulting. It is possible to defend an idea and to strongly disagree without feeling a need to destroy one's opponent. Until what seems like five minutes ago, this was obvious.
I wrote a 6-part series (ongoing) called "Yale University vows to 'geolocate' most EJMR users"
If the Yale Free Press is reading this comments section, you really should cover this story:
https://www.karlstack.com/p/yale-university-vows-to-geolocate-7b5
I will be giving a speech at Stanford University on October 26th where I will expound on this Yale scandal for 90 minutes. This will be the biggest speech of my life.
https://cli.stanford.edu/events/seminar/chris-brunet-american-conservative
Sounds like a man whose pornography habits require in-depth, explicit exploration.
OMG I wrote this comment before looking at your Substack. What is HAPPENING with this phenomenon???
Good luck! I agree with you too. I think the tide of the Torquemadas is shifting. The Inquisition of the Millennials may be coming to an end.
Admire your courage. However as another has done on this thread, I question the accuracy of your description on campus as fine. If you were a white male (or female) Christian espousing these same beliefs and thoughts on campus, I am curious how the perception of things being “fine” would change.
“installing cameras in bedrooms to prevent sexual assault”
Yeah, that’s not going to have any unintended consequences🙄
Well, good for you, but I see the drivel the administration and faculty pump out on a regular basis, and I have a lot of trouble believing the campus atmosphere is "fine." Between new findings in woke pseudoscience and an endless barrage of photos proudly celebrating every shade of melanin except pink as "historic," the factory still seems to be pumping out its unique flavor of ideology sausage at top speed.
If you're looking for stories to research, here's one: please let us know who actually runs Yale. The alumni rebelled a couple of years ago and put forth the first-ever (I believe) candidate for a Yale Corporation seat selected by signature gathering among graduates rather than being anointed as one of two Hobson's candidates by the Corporation itself. Needless to say Salovey announced his defeat, offering no independent third-party confirmation of this convenient result, but promptly stripping alumni of the ability to nominate their own candidates forevermore. (There's a lawsuit on about this, I believe.) Best guess we have is that Yale is run directly by HHS and the Bill Gates philanthropic complex.
Again, admire for your courage, but I think perhaps your view of normalcy is a bit skewed, coming as it does from a campus that views its formerly world-famous Vincent Scully class on Western art and architecture as "no longer relevant."
Thank you for your courage, and God speed!
Best of luck.