At a town hall appearance Monday in Des Moines, Iowa, President Obama gave college students some wise advice: don’t be afraid to debate!
Recently, a trend has appeared in college campuses that some have called intense political correctness. Schools have canceled or uninvited guest speakers who say controversial things or don’t align perfectly with the universities’ way of thinking (this includes colleges typically considered liberal).
Obama said of the issue, “I’ve heard some college campuses where they don’t want to have a guest speaker who is too conservative or they don’t want to read a book if it has language that is offensive to African-Americans or somehow sends a demeaning signal towards women. I gotta tell you I don’t agree with that either. I don’t agree that you, when you become students at colleges, have to be coddled and protected from different points of view.”
He also explained that for him, college was a place where a free exchange of ideas took place. Some of them he agreed with, some he didn’t, but he always appreciated hearing all sides as it usually made him more informed and well-rounded.
“Sometimes I realized maybe I’ve been too narrow-minded, maybe I didn’t take this into account, maybe I should see this person’s perspective,” Obama said. “That’s what college, in part, is all about.”
After all, if you can’t speak your mind and debate your views on a college campus, where people specifically pay thousands of dollars to learn, where can you?
What do you think, collegiettes? Does Obama understand what’s happening on college campuses?