# Many university students don't want "discussion;" they want compliance. **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [November 12, 2015, 12:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/many-university-students-dont-want-discussion-they-want-compliance/737342 "2015-11-12T00:42:47Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 6
**Author:** ![Hank\_Beecher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hank_beecher/32/7275_2.png) [@Hank\_Beecher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hank_Beecher)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2015, 2:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/many-university-students-dont-want-discussion-they-want-compliance/737342/101 "2015-11-20T02:39:19Z")
Be careful, you might end up in The Box: [Modern Educayshun - YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iKcWu0tsiZM) ---
**Author:** ![Ibn\_Warraq](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/e19b73/32.png) [@Ibn\_Warraq](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ibn_Warraq)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2015, 3:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/many-university-students-dont-want-discussion-they-want-compliance/737342/102 "2015-11-20T03:15:09Z")
> [@Sam\_Stone](#): > > If you want a ‘hostile learning environment’, try getting a degree in literature at Berkeley as an open conservative. Or try running a conservative student group, or inviting a conservative to speak on your campus. Uh-huh. That sounds like every issue of the Dartmouth Review since the 80s. ---
**Author:** ![MrQwertyasd](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9d8465/32.png) [@MrQwertyasd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrQwertyasd)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2015, 2:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/many-university-students-dont-want-discussion-they-want-compliance/737342/103 "2015-11-20T14:29:14Z")
> [@Velocity](#): > > Does anyone else sense that protesters on college campuses (and frankly, elsewhere as well) used to state that they wanted dialogue and debate about topics…but somewhere along the way, this was dropped and now they simply require 100% compliance with their demands at once, no debate, no discussion? Like this ? > **[Germaine Greer gives university lecture despite campaign to silence her](https://www.theguardian.com/books/2015/nov/18/transgender-activists-protest-germaine-greer-lecture-cardiff-university)** > > Writer’s views on transgender women prompted thousands to sign petition to prevent lecture at Cardiff University ---
**Author:** ![Urbanredneck](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/ea5d25/32.png) [@Urbanredneck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Urbanredneck)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2015, 9:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/many-university-students-dont-want-discussion-they-want-compliance/737342/104 "2015-11-20T21:49:29Z")
I have a question. When do college students have time for such things as sit ins and hunger strikes? I mean if you pulling a full loaf of 16 or more credits in subjects like advanced calculus and physics you spend about 3 hours a week out of class on each subject so thats 62 hours alone. I always had a part time job in college soother than attending a few political rallies I didnt have much free time. Plus nowadays with the high cost of college a student better be taking 18 hours or more and getting thru as fast as possible. ---
**Author:** ![Shodan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9f8e36/32.png) [@Shodan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shodan)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2015, 10:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/many-university-students-dont-want-discussion-they-want-compliance/737342/105 "2015-11-20T22:00:38Z")
> [@Urbanredneck](#): > > I have a question. > > When do college students have time for such things as sit ins and hunger strikes? > > I mean if you pulling a full loaf of 16 or more credits in subjects like advanced calculus and physics you spend about 3 hours a week out of class on each subject so thats 62 hours alone. I always had a part time job in college soother than attending a few political rallies I didnt have much free time. > > Plus nowadays with the high cost of college a student better be taking 18 hours or more and getting thru as fast as possible. The hunger striker in Missouri is a grad student in educational administration, and his father is a multi-millionaire. Maybe he was hoping to push the president out, and grab the position for himself. Regards, Shodan ---
**Author:** ![Urbanredneck](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/ea5d25/32.png) [@Urbanredneck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Urbanredneck)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2015, 2:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/many-university-students-dont-want-discussion-they-want-compliance/737342/106 "2015-11-21T14:55:41Z")
> [@Shodan](#): > > The hunger striker in Missouri is a grad student in educational administration, and his father is a multi-millionaire. Maybe he was hoping to push the president out, and grab the position for himself. > > Regards, > Shodan You know if you look at some of the demands they do seem to be tailor made for future jobs of those doing the protesting. Like “Director of diversity” would be perfect for a black studies major. ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Nylock](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/77aa72/32.png) [@Mr.Nylock](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Nylock)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2015, 4:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/many-university-students-dont-want-discussion-they-want-compliance/737342/107 "2015-11-21T16:16:49Z")
> [@Shodan](#): > > The hunger striker in Missouri is a grad student in educational administration, and his father is a multi-millionaire. Maybe he was hoping to push the president out, and grab the position for himself. > > Regards, > Shodan I now almost have a grudging respect for this character. Well played, well played indeed. ---
**Author:** ![D\_Anconia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/67e7ee/32.png) [@D\_Anconia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/D_Anconia)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2015, 3:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/many-university-students-dont-want-discussion-they-want-compliance/737342/108 "2015-11-23T15:25:33Z")
40% of Millennials want to limit speech that is “offensive” to minorities. No discussion allowed. > **[40% of Millennials OK with limiting speech offensive to minorities](https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2015/11/20/40-of-millennials-ok-with-limiting-speech-offensive-to-minorities/)** > > That's compared with 27% of Gen Xers and 24% of Boomers who say the same. ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2015, 3:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/many-university-students-dont-want-discussion-they-want-compliance/737342/109 "2015-11-23T15:40:38Z")
Those numbers go _down_ with education level, according to your cite, so I don’t see what you’re so worried about. ---
**Author:** ![Shodan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9f8e36/32.png) [@Shodan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shodan)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2015, 4:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/many-university-students-dont-want-discussion-they-want-compliance/737342/110 "2015-11-23T16:19:16Z")
I don’t know about **D’Anconia** , but since support for such censorship is nearly double among Democrats than Republicans, and since [college professors are overwhelmingly Democrat,](http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A8427-2005Mar28.html), I am worried that they will use their position to indoctrinate for this kind of idiocy. Regards, Shodan ---
**Author:** ![billfish678](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7bcc69/32.png) [@billfish678](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/billfish678)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2015, 4:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/many-university-students-dont-want-discussion-they-want-compliance/737342/111 "2015-11-23T16:47:54Z")
> [@D\_Anconia](#): > > 40% of Millennials want to limit speech that is “offensive” to minorities. No discussion allowed. > > [40% of Millennials OK with limiting speech offensive to minorities | Pew Research Center](http://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2015/11/20/40-of-millennials-ok-with-limiting-speech-offensive-to-minorities/) Besides the horribleness of the idea on a philosophical level, one wonders how they think such a thing should or even might work in actual practice. Its about as bad as saying the government should give free shit to people who want or need it. ---
**Author:** ![iiandyiiii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/iiandyiiii/32/7924_2.png) [@iiandyiiii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iiandyiiii)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2015, 5:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/many-university-students-dont-want-discussion-they-want-compliance/737342/112 "2015-11-23T17:18:27Z")
> [@Shodan](#): > > I don’t know about **D’Anconia** , but since support for such censorship is nearly double among Democrats than Republicans, Tried my damnedest to find a defense/explanation for this, based on the wording of the question or something like that, and came up with nothing. I’ll just say that I hope that those Democratic supporters and leaners who answered on the pro-censorship side of this poll did so out of ignorance rather than actual conviction that the government should prevent and sanction offensive speech. ---
**Author:** ![Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/left_hand_of_dorkness/32/7156_2.png) [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2015, 5:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/many-university-students-dont-want-discussion-they-want-compliance/737342/113 "2015-11-23T17:25:13Z")
> [@iiandyiiii](#): > > Tried my damnedest to find a defense/explanation for this, based on the wording of the question or something like that, and came up with nothing. I’ll just say that I hope that those Democratic supporters and leaners who answered on the pro-censorship side of this poll did so out of ignorance rather than actual conviction that the government should prevent and sanction offensive speech. It seems pretty clear to me: they asked whether leftist sacred cows should be gored, not about whether rightist sacred cows should be gored. Ask whether the government should be able to prevent speech offensive to Christians, or sexually explicit speech, or speech about homosexuality, or speech about the benefits of abortion, and see how the numbers skew. The people who favor such censorship are wrong, regardless, but let’s not pretend this shows that liberals favor censorship more than conservatives. ---
**Author:** ![iiandyiiii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/iiandyiiii/32/7924_2.png) [@iiandyiiii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iiandyiiii)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2015, 5:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/many-university-students-dont-want-discussion-they-want-compliance/737342/114 "2015-11-23T17:28:00Z")
> [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](#): > > It seems pretty clear to me: they asked whether leftist sacred cows should be gored, not about whether rightist sacred cows should be gored. Ask whether the government should be able to prevent speech offensive to Christians, or sexually explicit speech, or speech about homosexuality, or speech about the benefits of abortion, and see how the numbers skew. > > The people who favor such censorship are wrong, regardless, but let’s not pretend this shows that liberals favor censorship more than conservatives. I hadn’t thought of that – I’d love to see polling results for this. ---
**Author:** ![Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/left_hand_of_dorkness/32/7156_2.png) [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2015, 5:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/many-university-students-dont-want-discussion-they-want-compliance/737342/115 "2015-11-23T17:35:33Z")
> [@iiandyiiii](#): > > I hadn’t thought of that – I’d love to see polling results for this. [This report](http://www.pewglobal.org/files/2015/11/Pew-Research-Center-Democracy-Report-FINAL-November-18-2015.pdf) shows that support for freedom of religiously offensive speech in the US is even higher than support for freedom of racially offensive speech–but support for sexually explicit speech is much lower. ---
**Author:** ![Shodan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9f8e36/32.png) [@Shodan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shodan)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2015, 6:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/many-university-students-dont-want-discussion-they-want-compliance/737342/116 "2015-11-23T18:06:27Z")
> [@](#): > > [Most voters across the partisan spectrum think the government should not be allowed to prosecute religious leaders for comments that criticize government and social policies that violate their basic religious beliefs. But Democrats don’t believe that nearly as strongly as Republicans and voters not affiliated with either major political party do. > > Seventy-seven percent (77%) of GOP voters and 67% of unaffiliateds say it is not a hate crime when religious leaders criticize social policies such as gay marriage that violate the basic beliefs of their religion. Democrats agree but by a much narrower 46% to 35% margin]([Voters Stand Up for Religious Leaders Defending Their Faith - Rasmussen Reports®](http://www.rasmussenreports.com/public_content/lifestyle/general_lifestyle/october_2014/voters_stand_up_for_religious_leaders_defending_their_faith)). The tendency is for Democrats to label speech as “hate speech” and say that it should not be protected, but free speech should. Obviously it is not monolithic on the GOP side - Ben Carson wants to ban religous hate speech. In this [he agrees with a clear majority of other blacks](https://today.yougov.com/news/2015/05/20/hate-speech/). It depends on how you frame the questions, of course, and both sides have the unfortunate tendency towards “free speech for me but not for thee”. Regards, Shodan ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2015, 6:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/many-university-students-dont-want-discussion-they-want-compliance/737342/117 "2015-11-23T18:41:59Z")
> [@Shodan](#): > > I don’t know about **D’Anconia** , but since support for such censorship is nearly double among Democrats than Republicans, and since [college professors are overwhelmingly Democrat,](http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A8427-2005Mar28.html), I am worried that they will use their position to indoctrinate for this kind of idiocy. > > Regards, > Shodan I’m sure that’s **D’Anconia** ’s worry too, but the numbers he referenced show that people who go to college become _less_ likely to want to prohibit speech. ---
**Author:** ![Shodan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9f8e36/32.png) [@Shodan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shodan)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2015, 7:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/many-university-students-dont-want-discussion-they-want-compliance/737342/118 "2015-11-23T19:08:56Z")
Unless they become [professors](http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2015/06/22/the-university-of-california-s-insane-speech-police.html#). Regards, Shodan ---
**Author:** ![Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/left_hand_of_dorkness/32/7156_2.png) [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2015, 8:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/many-university-students-dont-want-discussion-they-want-compliance/737342/119 "2015-11-23T20:15:36Z")
> [@Shodan](#): > > It depends on how you frame the questions, of course, and both sides have the unfortunate tendency towards “free speech for me but not for thee”. Agreed. ---
**Author:** ![Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/left_hand_of_dorkness/32/7156_2.png) [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2015, 4:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/many-university-students-dont-want-discussion-they-want-compliance/737342/120 "2015-11-24T16:18:35Z")
> [@Shodan](#): > > It depends on how you frame the questions, of course, and both sides have the unfortunate tendency towards “free speech for me but not for thee”. [Here are some numbers to back it up](http://www.theharrispoll.com/health-and-life/Censorship_2015.html): > [@](#): > > Politically speaking, Republicans are nearly twice as likely as Democrats or Independents to believe there are any books that should be banned completely (42% vs. 23% & 22%, respectively). > In addition, adults who have completed high school or less are more likely than those with higher levels of education to believe there are any books that should be banned (33%, vs. 25% some college, 24% college grad, 23% post grad). [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/many-university-students-dont-want-discussion-they-want-compliance/737342.md?page=5) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/many-university-students-dont-want-discussion-they-want-compliance/737342.md?page=7)