The Cornell Student Assembly shut down a resolution to create a committee that would have allowed for students who aren’t progressive liberals to have access to a broader range of political opinions. It was narrowly defeated by a 10-11-1 vote.
The resolution, titled “Expanding Ideological Diversity among Faculty Members,” called for students and faculty to investigate ways to diversify the political viewpoints offered by the University, and break the ideological echo chamber. It does not explicitly call for conservative faculty members to be hired.
Student Assembly representative Mitch McBride, who forwarded the resolution, cited a 2015 report from the Cornell Sun, which found that 96% of political donations from Cornell faculty went to liberal causes or the Democrat party.
According to the Cornell Review, students who backed the proposal included the Cornell College Republicans.
It states: “diversity, especially that of diversity of thought, is fundamental for an active learning environment to prosper whereby information and ideas can be discussed and debated by people with different perspectives and philosophies.”
“Universities ought to be places where debate and dissent exist in order to ensure knowledge is expanded,” it continues, adding that “students can create better arguments and challenge subtle assumptions when dealing with differing viewpoints.”
Such a proposal is considered heresy among many leftists, who prefer to protect their ideological bubble—or “safe space” from the intrusion of conservative and libertarian ideas. Even viewpoints from moderate liberals that run counter to the progressive narrative are often squelched.
Speaking to the Cornell Review, a student, Irvin McCullough, said that the opponents of the resolution argued that “conservatives have not been historically oppressed as have other groups,” “spending resources on intellectual diversity diverts resources from promoting other forms of diversity,” and “conservative students are free to speak out in class if they find something disagreeable or wish to argue their own point of view.”
In other words, conservative students are forced to bend knee to progressive ideologues and are unable to take the podium—being only allowed to speak from a defensive position.
“I find it disheartening and demoralizing that my fellow student leaders do not believe in all types of diversity as they claim. Ostensibly, they believe in supporting aspects of diversity that they agree with, but not others,” he said.
William Jacobson, a conservative professor at Cornell Law School, expressed his support for the resolution and noted that its rejection only served to further emphasize its importance.
“The rejection of the Resolution seems to highlight the need for the relief sought in the Resolution,” Jacobson said.
Intellectual diversity is conducive to critical thinking—without it, universities like Cornell cease to educate and only serve to indoctrinate students into blind ideology.
Ian Miles Cheong is a journalist and outspoken media critic. You can reach him through social media at @stillgray on Twitter and on Facebook.
