Letters to the editor, like early-morning callers on C-SPAN, sometimes fall short of the ideal of civic participation.
Occasionally, though, a letter-writer hits the nail on the head so perfectly that his words should be shared widely.
That person is Oliver Sherouse, a “data science” nerd at George Mason University’s Mercatus Center and Duke alumnus.
His letter to The Chronicle on the student protests that have overtaken Duke and other colleges in recent months should be read in full. A snippet:
President [Richard] Brodhead, reasonably, will heed the calls to “do something” so that he can get back to work. This “something” seems likely to be the insertion of a few warmly sensitive requirements into the curriculum: “Structures of Power in Society,” or something. …
No one believes these courses would realistically amend even local power structures. At best, there will be a Sensitivity version of Writing 101, to be grumbled through before the real classes. But at worst, some unsuspecting innocents might actually take them to heart.
We can see the result of the sensitivity regime from Yale to Claremont: silence. Not only does it condemn dissent; it condemns agreement. As a slew of resigned administrators can attest, even would-be supporters must weigh each word to avoid that dread pronouncement: It’s not what you said, it’s how you said it.
Read the whole thing, and tweet Sherouse your compliments for so eloquently stating such reasonable thoughts.
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