Who Redefined Diversity?

Submitted by Saul Fridman (Australia), Apr 13, 2005 at 17:55

Presumably Universities (sometime in the 1980s) decided to create their own definition of "diversity". So far as I'm aware it doesn't correspond with the ordinary meaning of the word with which I'm familiar. I would think that any rational approach to "diversity" would necessitate hiring large numbers of conservatives and pluralists, if only to offset the number of postmodern, theoretically driven nincompoops who continue to argue that socialism works (and that the 70 year failed experiment that was the USSR was the result of not following the theory closely enough!)

I work at a well-regarded law school in Australia. It is clear that, not only is the overwhelming majority of faculty opinion well to the left of centre, but even research agendas have become politicised. Promotion requires research "productivity", which, in turn is measured quantitatively and in terms of success in gaining competitive research money, most of which is doled out by bodies controlled by....senior academics! In law, this has resulted in a tidal wave of "interdisciplinary" research (one of the relatively new styles of the left, who dislike legal research that contains only law!). This research must be "innovative", generally oppose the status quo (unless that status quo is represented by some form of socialism) and include some sort of "empirical" component.

Needless to say, few outside the academy bother to read this rubbish. Students will simply parrot what they think is required in order to gain good grades. It is unclear whether academics are having much success in converting bright students...but with the overwhelming tide of mediocrity sweeping our Universities, one must worry about continuing indoctrination.


Outside the United States, the other booming "industry" in academia is anti-Americanism. In effect, within the academic community it is simply presumed that one must of course be anti-American (much in the same way at American academics simply presume that all other academics are Democrats (which of course is largely true).

Of course the biggest casualty in all of these culture and political wars is the truth! Students are carefully shielded from anything masquerading as truth: there is, apparently, no such thing as an objective truth, nor any such thing as objective reasoning....the moral relativity within our Universities is staggering: our Prime Minister, Howard, is described as a war criminal while Australians who trained with Al Queda, publish hate letters, publicly advocate anti-semitism are heros of the left, particularly if they have managed to return from Camp X Ray.

I have a five month old son, and am beginning to think that bright people will no longer entrust their children to Universities for education by the time he is old enough to consider attending!

---

Note: Opinions expressed in comments are those of the authors alone and not necessarily those of Daniel Pipes. Original writing only, please. Comments are screened and in some cases edited before posting. Reasoned disagreement is welcome but not comments that are scurrilous, off-topic, commercial, disparaging religions, or otherwise inappropriate. For complete regulations, see the "Guidelines for Reader Comments".