The war against political correctness has begun.
Over the past decade or so, our society gone to great lengths to find things to be offended about. It’s gotten so bad, in fact, that a counter-movement has emerged where people are getting offended about others being offended.
Until now, however, they’ve had very little else to cling to, as media, public institutions, universities, and pretty much all other aspects of the social arena have increasingly contributed to the coddling of the North American mind.
This restrictive approach is especially concerning in post-secondary institutions, where it’s essential for young people to consider opinions different from their own even if they may be considered vulgar, offensive, or at odds with their own moral compass.
One Toronto school is looking to put an end to all this PC madness.
Starting March 21, students at the Harris Institute, a music production school, will be required to acknowledge in writing the school’s Rules of Civility, a code of conduct that says students, faculty, and staff who are found to have “shouted down an opposing view” can be placed on probation or dismissed.
“In this environment, there is going to be free speech and the open exchange of all ideas,” says Harris Institute President John Harris, who worked together with students and staff to create the new policy. “We’ve got courses that talk about hip-hop culture and rap culture and for some people those are sensitive areas in terms of racism, sexism, et cetera.”
Now, imagine how useful such a measure would be if it were applied to more pressing issues than hip-hop – issues we study to earn degrees, like sociopolitical relations, globalization, immigration, gender equality, and religion. As the Gatestone Insitute writes, sexism, racism, homophobia, anti-Semitism, Islamophobia, and other awful “isms” still exist in many parts of the world. Yes, we should absolutely work to defeat them, but that doesn’t mean we can censor them when we step beyond the walls of our schools.
Perhaps, through measures like this, our universities will once again become a place where students aren’t protected from the real world.
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