Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump spoke recently of his intent if elected to “end” political correctness on university campuses, and Steve Kolowich at Chronicle of Higher Education asks a number of observers, including some who have been critical of that phenomenon, to describe what practical changes in federal higher education policy that might entail. I’m quoted on how Trump’s intent is “not something that you could easily reduce to the four corners of a policy proposal.”
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This might do a lot of the work: a sustained enforcement of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, entailing the end of all “affirmative action” admissions, hiring, or promotions involving racial or sexual preference, which is to say all of it, and all “holistic” admissions/hiring/promotions used to smuggle in racial or sexual preference, which is to say all of it.
(That would be, en passant, the end of the college admissions essay.)
In general, college admissions officials hold too much arbitrary power to determine who shall be among the rulers and who among the ruled. This will reduce some of the worst abuses of it.
George Will has long used the Civil Rights Act of 1964 as a superlative example of statecraft as soulcraft (as in his book of that title): you can sometimes legislate morality, more or less. The enforcement I suggest might well have moral effects.
I suppose he could stop the over reach of Title IX casting due process to the winds on campuses. Indeed, I suppose under the theory of Title IX he could affirmatively insist on due process for males in campus adjudications.
Exactly; require due process on campus for all. Plus, remove all immunity at the federal level for administrators.
They got into this mess with a series of “Dear Colleague” letters. All he’s gotta do is send out a memo that says “Never mind.”
One good start would be to stop Government backed student loans. That would prevent people like “trigglypuff” (google her!) from going to Amherst on the Taxpayer’s dime (or on loans that Hillary says she’s like to be forgiven).
Colleges would have to lower the cost of tuition and compete for students with more practical degrees instead of nonsense “‘Gender Studies” programs.