Content-type: text/html Downes.ca ~ Stephen's Web ~ Universities should never be neutral on the social issues of the day | Wonkhe

Stephen Downes

Knowledge, Learning, Community

The lede is buried in the last paragraph of this article: "to suggest that the institution of a university does not have a right to take a position on them is historically flawed, intellectually inconsistent and fails to value the inherently progressive nature of universities. Universities have never been, are not and should never be neutral on the social issues of the day." One might argue that once they agreed to accept external funding universities gave up their right to take positions on things like social justice. But the constitution of universities, as argued in this article, as creations by students and societies for students and societies to support and enrich their ambitions argues exactly against that. If governments cannot fund things specifically designed to make society better, it cannot fund anything.

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Stephen Downes Stephen Downes, Casselman, Canada
stephen@downes.ca

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Last Updated: Nov 21, 2024 07:07 a.m.

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