First, the bad news:
Today’s college students are tomorrow’s attorneys, teachers, professors, policymakers, legislators, and judges. If, for example, a large fraction of college students believe, however incorrectly, that offensive speech is unprotected by the First Amendment, that view will inform the decisions they make as they move into positions of increasing authority later in their careers.
The results [of the survey] are notable for several reasons. First, the fraction of students who view the use of violence as acceptable is extremely high. While percentages in the high teens and 20s are “low” relative to what they could be, it’s important to remember that this question is asking about the acceptability of committing violence in order to silence speech. Any number significantly above zero is concerning… A surprisingly large fraction of students believe it is acceptable to act — including resorting to violence — to shut down expression they consider offensive. And a majority of students appear to want an environment that shields them from being exposed to views they might find offensive.
And in somewhat related news:
Pomona College emailed students Monday night to announce there would be no penalties imposed on Pomona students who were “present and did block access to buildings” during [Heather] Mac Donald’s speech, preventing audience members from getting into the venue or, for those few who made it in earlier, exiting.
Details of the incident, in which Ms Mac Donald had to be escorted off campus by police officers for her own safety, can be found here.
Update:
And because the above isn’t quite bad enough, here’s a video of students informing us that the masked thugs and sociopaths known as Antifa are merely trying to “educate” anyone who disagrees with them. For those who missed it, here they are randomly “educating” some young women.
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