My alma mater is a fine institution committed to educational excellence. Which makes it all the weirder that Princeton cannot recognize its own deep and debilitating liberal bias, rendering it about as intellectually diverse as North Korea. \u00a0The latest issue of the Princeton Alumni Weekly<\/b> offers up a self-serving paean to \u201cdiversity\u201d followed by a laughably predicable liberal litany. Consider:<\/p>\n
Page 4:<\/b>\u00a0 Article written by President Tighman titled\u00a0 A Renewed Commitment to Diversity<\/b><\/p>\n
She laments that, while the undergraduate body has finally become \u201cdiverse,\u201d \u201cprogress has been much slower among graduate students, postdoctoral fellows, faculty and administrators, due in large part to the decentralized nature of their recruitment.\u201d\u00a0 She implies, without evidence, that this reflects \u201cinequity\u201d rather than the abilities and preferences of potential applicants. In reality the clustering of demographic groups in particular occupations is by no means prima facie evidence of discrimination.\u00a0 The brilliant economist Thomas Sowell \u2013 did I mention he is black? \u2013 once observed:<\/p>\n
During decades of watching both collegiate and professional football, I have seen hundreds of touchdowns scored by black players \u2014 but not one extra point kicked by a black player. Is this because blacks are genetically incapable of kicking a football or because racists won\u2019t let blacks kick a football? Most of us would consider either of these explanations ridiculous\u2026.<\/p>\n
Tilghman opines that \u201c\u2026.diversity and excellence are inextricably linked.\u00a0 Creativity and innovation, forged, in part, by vigorous debate, are most likely to occur when the broadest range of perspectives are brought together.\u201d\u00a0 Alas, PAW<\/b> betrays a remarkably narrow<\/b> \u201crange of perspectives:\u201d<\/p>\n
Pages 5-7:<\/b>\u00a0 six letters on being gay at Princeton<\/p>\n
Page 8:<\/b>\u00a0 \u00a0two letters on \u201cBearing street harassment\u201d [of women]. . . One correspondent claims \u201cThere is still a long way to go before women and girls feel safe and empowered in America.\u201d<\/p>\n
Page 9:<\/b> \u00a0A student remarks,\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cThe Freshman Seminar \u2018Race, Class, and the Selective College Experience\u2019 made me aware of how blessed I was to receive an excellent education.\u00a0 Since then, I have been studying educational injustices and ways to rectify them.\u201d\u00a0 (Is domination of urban school systems by teachers unions an \u201ceducational injustice?\u201d)<\/p>\n
Page 18.<\/b>\u00a0\u00a0 Article titled Inequality\u2019s Effect on Children\u2019s Health<\/b>.<\/p>\n
Page 20:<\/b> \u00a0\u00a0Article titled Class Begins to Paint Picture of Princeton\u2019s Ties to Slavery<\/b><\/p>\n
Page 44:<\/b>\u00a0\u00a0 Article titled LGBT conference welcomes \u2018every voice\u2019<\/b><\/p>\n
Page 45:<\/b> \u00a0Article titled Panelists: Fight for marriage equality is only a beginning<\/b><\/p>\n
Page 48:<\/b>\u00a0 \u00a0Book Review titled\u00a0 A philosopher defends the nanny state<\/b>\u2026..She believes that banning cigarettes and 32 ounce sodas might be appropriate in order to \u201cadvance people\u2019s well-being through regulation.\u201d\u00a0 (Why not ban sodomy as well?\u00a0 After all, AIDS is a communicable disease while cancer and diabetes are not. Editor\u2019s note: I am being facetious.)<\/p>\n
Against these nine liberal items (which actually miss a couple of\u00a0PAW<\/b> favorites, such as \u201cclimate change\u201d and evil Israel), there is exactly one \u201cconservative\u201d article, on Catholicism.\u00a0 That\u2019s \u201cdiversity,\u201d Princeton Style.<\/p>\n
Delivering Diversity<\/strong><\/p>\n If the University actually took diversity seriously, it would stage regular debates between progressive faculty members and reactionary, benighted, unscientific conservatives on such topics as:<\/p>\n On the day following these debates, the key points of each side should be published in a prominent ad in The Daily Princetonian<\/b>.<\/p>\n Copyright Thomas Doerflinger 2013.\u00a0 All Rights Reserved.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" My alma mater is a fine institution committed to educational excellence. Which makes it all the weirder that Princeton cannot recognize its own deep and debilitating liberal bias, rendering it about as intellectually diverse as North Korea. \u00a0The latest issue … Continue reading \n