Penn State University recently made a surprising statement about intellectual diversity, only to retract it after outrage from left-wing students.
“Dear conservative students. Your viewpoints are important,” the announcement read, referencing the isolation and self-censorship many conservative students experience on left-wing campuses. According to the schools Director of Strategic Communications, it was part of a statement aimed at creating a supporting and inclusive environment for students.
Penn State Liberal Arts just deleted this tweet. It is problematic on MANY levels and the swift negative response was utterly predictable. pic.twitter.com/3HN7ZnhxrA
— Lindsay McKenzie (@lindsay_mck) June 12, 2020
A survey conducted at the University of North Carolina found that over two-thirds of conservative students self-censor themselves in the classroom.
The message of inclusivity was swiftly met with fire by left-wing students who, according to the school newspaper, “found the Tweet harmful towards students of color and ignorant of the systemic issues that oppress people of color in the United States today.” A number of the offended students statements were then published in the Collegian, where the message was called “disgusting” and a “humiliation for communities of color.”
Some of the left-wing students attacked the statement as they didn’t consider free speech for conservatives a serious issue on campus. The others, ironically, attacked the statement for welcoming conservative viewpoints at all. “(Conservative students) are the students that call us the N-word and show us first-hand what white-supremacy is,” one of the published students claimed.
The University quickly crumpled, and retracted the statement. They did not respond to The Federalist’s request for comment.
This incident was first identified by Campus Reform, a student-led watchdog supporting intellectual freedom.
