Universities Weblog

Are U.S. colleges and universities incubators of radical liberalism? Are professors and administrators hostile toward conservative thinking? One recent UCLA grad thinks so.

Ben Shapiro, a former campus newspaper columnist who was apparently fired for his right-wing views, recently wrote Brainwashed: How Universities Indoctrinate America's Youth. His treatise, published by WND Books, a conservative organization, tells of professors spouting liberal propaganda and colleges adopting speech codes to repress unpopular views.

Critics cite Shapiro's lack of data and source materials, claiming that his book is nothing more than a conservative diatribe. One Amazon review calls it a "disgruntled teenage diary" rife with "unsubstantiated assertions, out of context anecdotes [and] third party quotes." Some reviews, however, say "Amen" to a book which points out, if not entirely convincingly, that American colleges, or at least American professors, tend to lean to the left and can be intolerant of opposing views.

To make sweeping generalizations about such a diverse industry is to invite criticism, but criticism can sell books.

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