John Ellis, professor emeritus of German literature at the University of California, argues in a recent op-ed that American campuses are a “cancer on society,” in part by breeding anti-American radicalism. He cites the “destructive influence of left-wing activists” as the main cause and advocates removing them from the classroom.
In a Wall Street Journal op-ed, Professor Ellis identifies several serious problems at American colleges and universities, including the prioritization of social justice over academic achievement, censorship of conservative voices, and attacks on the nuclear family.
– Never have college campuses exerted so great or so destructive an influence. Once an indispensable support of our advanced society, academia has become a cancer metastasizing through its vital organs.
He attacks the influence of left-wing political activists, who he says fuel anti-American attitudes on many campuses. This has drastically contributed to the deterioration of education, censorship, and the politicization of society.
– The radical left is the cause, most obviously through the one-party campuses having graduated an entire generation of young Americans indoctrinated with their ideas.
Reclaiming control
To solve the problem, Ellis proposes effective reforms that focus on replacing political activists with serious professionals as soon as possible. He stresses that it is not a matter of trading left for right, but of taking back control of higher education from the “cultural vandals.
– Effective reform means only one thing: getting those political activists out of the classrooms and replacing them with academic thinkers and teachers. (No, that isn’t the same as replacing left with right).
Professor Ellis urges lawmakers to urgently engage in the reform process, including pushing for new campus leaders and firing professors who violate the terms of their employment by prioritizing activism over education.
“Corrupt institutions”
Despite ongoing reforms in some Republican states such as Florida, Texas and North Carolina, the professor warns that the greatest threat to America’s future lies within its “corrupt elite.
He urges parents and students to rethink their views on college and question whether the current form of higher education is worth the effort and investment.
– If enough parents and students gave serious thought to the question whether this ridiculous version of a college education is still worth four years of a young person’s life and tens or hundreds of thousands of dollars, corrupt institutions of higher education would collapse, creating the space for better ones to arise.
According to John Ellis, it is important to act now to prevent “the tyrannical grip of higher education from destroying successful American society”.
