It's time to defund higher ed

(AP Photo/Charles Krupa, File)

Well, maybe not completely defund. But we definitely should quit funding a decent chunk of spending on colleges and universities, since they clearly waste ridiculous amounts of money on really stupid things. And it’s hard to see what value is provided to either taxpayers or even the students, besides a nice vacation at an overpriced spa.

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Portland State University (PSU) began its annual “Sex Week” on Feb. 28, featuring topics ranging from BDSM gear maintenance, to “Chicanx sexuality,” to a community panel about polyamory.

To kick off the week, students were invited to a “leather workshop” to learn “how to care for your BDSM leather so it can look great and last a long time!”

The panel on polyamory, dubbed “Polyglamorous,” invited students who were “[c]urious about non-monogamy” to come learn “how polyamorous people navigate dating multiple people in addition to school and work.” Students and alumni hosted the discussion on “ethical non-monogamy and polyamory.”

Fine, whatever.

Just don’t tell me that if this is what higher education institutions are doing, failing to fund them will imperil the future of our nation.

Because frankly, I don’t think that America would be any worse off if students had to search the internet to find information on these topics, or even, heaven forbid, go through life without the knowledge of how best to ensure that their bondage gear is in top shape.

Geez.

Students were also lectured on purportedly damaging aspects of Latino culture.

“Undoing Marianismo and Harmful Ideologies About Chicanx Sexuality” was an event hosted on March 6 by a professor of Chicano and Latino Studies in which she criticized the “cult of virginity” in Hispanic communities.

At another Sex Week event, held March 2, students were instructed on “how grownups like to play with vibrators, dildos, anal toys, toys for BDSM, and more” by a transwoman who is “training to be a rabbi with the goals of helping to foster comprehensive sex education as well as create holistic spaces for people to explore the intersections of sexuality, gender, and spirituality.”

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Colleges around the country are dropping majors that used to be at the core of college education while wasting time on crap like this.

My objection is not to the content–well, yes it is, but not solely–but rather to the shift in values that gives value to this kind of discussion over the actual core curriculum that should be at the heart of university education. Students now come out of college barely able to articulate a thought more complicated than an emoji.

It’s not that nobody leaves college with a decent education and the ability to think, write, speak, and do basic math. Some even come out well-educated and capable. It may be rare, but it happens.

But absolutely nobody should be able to graduate without meeting those standards, and the majority of students don’t come close these days. The best we get is people who know how to use dildos during S&M orgies with multiple partners in drag.

No. We shouldn’t fund this.

One good way to get rid of the student debt problem is to stop sending so many people to school to learn stupid things from stupid, self-satisfied people who can’t define a simple term like “woman.” If donors to colleges and universities want to fund scholarships for students to become ideologically motivated morons, more power to ’em. But I can see no pressing national need for an increase in the supply of polyamorous chicanx trans rabbis.

Federal aid should go solely to economically useful things in the STEM area, and to basic research. I wouldn’t have said that a couple of decades ago because I believe an educated populace is vital to a healthy democracy.

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But colleges and universities gave up on providing education. There is barely a pretense anymore. They are luxury spas for entitled brats who sybaritically indulge themselves while learning how to whine using critical theory language. The college I went to, back in the 80s, was a bit spartan but provided a great education; now they advertise the new stables for horses they have, the new luxury workout facilities, and they are all about the amenities.

Fine. If parents want to send their kids to a ridiculously expensive spa, that is their business. But not on our dime, thank you.

It’s time to cut off the gravy train. I don’t see a single reason why the taxpayers should be required to fund this:

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Ed Morrissey 10:00 PM | November 22, 2024
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