October 7th of last year once again went down in history as a day of infamy. The shock of Hamas' slaughter of Israel's innocents and the inexplicable reactions of so many young Americans continues to reverberate today. This tragedy shined a bright spotlight on the shocking moral vacuum that pervades today's college campuses, but it came as no surprise to many of us.
These events have further exacerbated skepticism about the job readiness of college graduates, even those from the nation's most elite schools. For example, several CEOs and many large law firms have expressed reluctance to continue hiring Ivy League graduates. Billionaire Harvard alumnus Ken Griffin withdrew support from his alma mater, calling the graduates “whining snowflakes.”
Public confidence in higher education is at an all-time low nationwide as skepticism grows, leaving many to question the value proposition of a college degree. Taylor Randall, president of the University of Utah, correctly pointed out that Americans' confidence in higher education has plummeted to 36%. Fortunately, a majority of Utahns (52%) still maintain great confidence in higher education, according to a Deseret News poll, but that doesn't mean there's no work to be done.
I agree with Randall that this eroding trust in higher education must be addressed. To do this, I believe we need to fundamentally rethink our approach to university education, starting with core curriculum requirements.
Why have university values become so unstable? I believe it is an abandonment of the basic principles that once produced generations of down-to-earth, educated citizens. “Woke” dogma has infected academic curricula, stifling free speech and critical thinking. This fact is summarized well by Michael Gibson. “Even though there are approximately 5,300 universities and colleges in the United States, he only has one perspective on each campus.”
Critical theory and postmodernism have replaced Western thought, art, and literature, giving way to the narcissistic nihilism of the modern academy. So-called “neo-Marxism” underlies much of this change. It is the driving force behind the New Left and the root of the false dichotomy of “oppressed versus oppressors” that seems to govern most actions and beliefs in academia today.
What's worse is that taxpayers are footing the bill for all of this. To repeat the pseudo-Marxist maxim: “The capitalists will sell us a rope to hang ourselves with.” In fact, it's even worse. By funding today's universities, we are not selling a rope to those who want to destroy our republic. We give it to them for free and it's paid for with taxpayer dollars. So the question arises, why do we continue to do so?
But as someone with a Ph.D., and having taught for many years at Utah State University, I continue to believe in the value of a college education for many people. I believe it is not too late to restore higher education to its rightful and essential place in a free society.
That's why I'm introducing reforms that will return Utah's universities to the timeless truths that built this nation. In order to save the university, we need to “return to the future.''
SB226 proposes starting by reorienting general education (the foundational coursework that graduates must complete on the way to their major degrees) to re-inspire free thought and strong citizenship. There is. We must return to the intellectual foundations of America and Western civilization to produce tomorrow's leaders and informed, conscientious people.
Utah is behind where it should be in basic higher education. Our first proposed reforms include a restoration of rhetoric and English composition, Western and American history, classical philosophy and civics, and neoclassical economics. No matter what field a student chooses to major in, they need to have a solid foundation in the fundamental skills, principles, and ideas that were the foundation of America's founding.
America is far from perfect, and Western thought is not without its flaws. But despite our imperfections, America remains the greatest nation of all time. It truly is “the last best hope for humanity on earth.” In creating our founding documents, our founders relied on what had previously existed: the Bible, Greek philosophy, the Roman Republic, Magna Carta, a thousand years of English common law, and the corpus of great Western thought. . We would be wise to follow their lead.
The currently popular Awakening Curriculum remains available and uncensored. But reintroducing a traditional introductory curriculum and staffing it with qualified faculty to teach it will help re-establish a truly competitive marketplace of ideas at public universities.
Utah's public higher education system values intellectual rigor, innovation, and open inquiry, and is mandated to produce leaders who understand the past. All students must have clear eyes about America's triumphs and tragedies in order to better meet America's future challenges. Let “elite” universities further strengthen cultural divisions and political fervor. Utah's institutions must take the lead in building a future workforce, community, and citizenry capable of meeting the needs of our constitutional republic.
Sen. John Johnson is an entrepreneur, academic, and member of Utah's 3rd Senate District. He and his wife live in Ogden.
