College enrollment and trust are low, caught in the death spiral of liberal ideology

In the 1960s, campus activists often asked, “What if they went to war and no one came?”

Today’s social justice activists may soon be asking the same question, as more young people shun higher education.

Trust in higher education is plummeting. According to Gallup, trust in colleges has fallen to 36% in 2023, down from 57% in 2015. Not surprisingly, given the growing intolerance of opinion on our campuses, the biggest declines are occurring among Republicans and independents.

Enrollment has fallen precipitously across the country. From 2010 to 2021, enrollment fell from about 18.1 million students to about 15.4 million.

There are many factors behind this decline: falling birth rates, economic crisis, etc. But higher education is increasingly seen as an academic echo chamber for far-left agendas. For many, there is little point in attending campuses where you are expected to self-censor and professors reject your values ​​in their courses.

This fear is amplified by surveys showing that many departments have purged their ranks of Republicans, conservatives and libertarians.

In my new book, “The Indispensable Right: Free Speech in an Age of Rage,” I wrote about intolerance in higher education and surveys showing that many departments no longer have a single Republican, with faculties reproducing their own views and values.

A survey (based on self-reports) found that only 9% of law professors identified themselves as conservative.

In many schools, the emphasis is now on activism degrees, while denouncing mathematics, statistics, classics, and even meritocracy as examples of white privilege.

There is an academic echo chamber that controls the publications, speaking opportunities, and advancement of like-minded ideologues. As this circle intensifies, it becomes increasingly difficult for opposing voices to break through.

We have seen the same perverse phenomenon in the media, where outlets are seeing their readership and revenues plummet. Journalism schools and editors are now arguing that journalists must reject objectivity and neutrality as the touchstones of journalism.

It doesn’t matter that this advocacy journalism is killing the profession. Reporters and editors continue to cut off the branch they’re sitting on. For journalists, turning newsrooms into echo chambers brings them more security, advancement, and opportunity.

Meanwhile, trust in the media is at an all-time low, as higher education surveys show. As a result, new media are on the rise, with people turning to blogs and other sources of information.

The same phenomenon is occurring in academia. For those of us who believe in physical educational institutions, we may be witnessing a death spiral for some universities and colleges as administrators and professors treat their students as a captive audience for their ideological agendas.

Meanwhile, alternative educational opportunities are growing rapidly. Take the Catherine Project, launched four years ago, which offers free discussions of classical works, without ideological indoctrination. The project has reportedly doubled in size since 2022.

We are destroying our institutions through an excess of ideology and a lack of courage. Recently, Columbia University interim president Katrina Armstrong apologized to students who stormed and ransacked a building during anti-Israel protests.

During the protests, a Jewish Columbia professor was barred from visiting campus by the university because he risked provoking anti-Semitic reactions among students. Yet Armstrong apologized… to the Occupy protesters, for his predecessor calling the police.

Like many conservatives and libertarians, Jewish students and families are now reportedly looking for alternatives to schools like Columbia.

What is certain is that many administrators and departments will continue to shut out dissent and maintain the academic echo chamber. Many of them have tenure and hope to ride out their institution’s decline while enjoying the accolades of being academic crusaders. Of course, it will become increasingly difficult to be social warriors if you wage war and no one comes.

Jonathan Turley is the Shapiro Professor of Public Interest Law at George Washington University. He is the author of “The Indispensable Right: Free Speech in the Age of Anger” (Simon & Schuster).