The great American philosopher Thomas Sowell once said, “The next time some academics tell you how important ‘diversity’ is, ask how many Republicans there are in their sociology department.”
If you were to select your average student and place him or her in any one of the administrative halls here at the university, it would take him or her no longer than 30 seconds to find the answer to Stowell’s question, as the very walls of these departments drip with liberal propaganda as if it could protect against the plagues of Egypt.
Though the academics who occupy the offices of these various departments tend to fancy themselves champions of diversity in religion, orientation and race, I have found that when it comes to the diversity of thought or opinion, they are far less eager to accommodate.
I do not for an instant want to belittle these academics’ achievements in their advocacy for exclusive private clubs in the honors college or in providing safe spaces to those they insist are marginalized.
However, I find it rather peculiar that these academics do not exhibit the same passion when it comes to the political diversification of their departments or in entertaining discussion that varies from their approved narrative.
In all my years at the university, I have never once come across a professor who falls toward the far right of the political spectrum, yet I have found a dozen who fall toward the opposite end of the same spectrum. This leads to a continuation of the epidemic of uniform thought in academics.
Though the epidemic of uniform thought does not find itself isolated to our beloved university, I firmly believe we find ourselves in a rare position in which we can alleviate this problem and set an example for all campuses who suffer its dreadful effects.
I challenge all students who are disgusted by the effects of this epidemic to come forward and label prejudiced academics who propagate this problem. And I challenge them to wage a battle of thought in all classrooms, hallways and publications in an effort to expose this evil and provide it with a correction.
I know in my heart that, if this is to be done, we can achieve the dream of a more perfect system in higher education in which all people are introduced to a free market of ideas regardless of who they are, where they come from or what they believe. It will only be then that true diversity is achieved.
Will Hall is a junior journalism major from Atlanta.
