I have held what I think is a fairly common opinion regarding our school system especially colleges and universities. I do not think they fulfilled their purpose of truly educating our young people and are more often indoctrination centers telling those that will be our future leaders what to think rather than how to think. it used to be that colleges and universities were where ideas could be discussed openly and freely inviting those with different viewpoints or new ideas to come and discuss them to defend them to convince others or be convinced themselves on the merits of the argument. It has not been that way on our college campuses for quite some time.

The latest example of intolerance comes from Stanford University. The undergraduate student Senate assembly has voted to condemn Assistant Professor of Art History Rose Salseda and they ask that she be censored as well as requesting the University to come up with a detailed plan to prevent such transgressions as committed by Salseda from ever occurring again.

Salseda offended the little snowflakes while teaching a class entitled, "Riot!: Visualizing Civil Unrest in the 20th and 21st Centuries." The class was designed to look at the role various forms of artistic expression play in civil unrest and societal change in the 1990s. The rap group, N.W.A, was being discussed by the professor during one of her lectures. She pointed out that the 'N' in the group's name stands for "Niggaz." There was no discussion by Professor Salseda about the word itself other than to point out that this group seemed to be at the forefront of a movement regarding demands for equal treatment under the law especially when it came to how the police deal with the black community in America. She was simply reciting a fact and not using the word in any context other than as the name of the band.

To most of us a correct recitation of facts that have occurred in history should be something that is encouraged not only in society, but especially in an academic setting. Don't we need to know relevant facts about a historical event or era in order to place it into context and understand what was intended and what was happening? Apparently that's not correct if you are a snowflake at Stanford University or many other universities and college institutions in America.

Despite the fact that the students could not name any other situation in which the professor had offended them using similar language, the student Senate called for harsh action to be taken against her as well as a demand that the University release a detailed analysis of her behavior including their rejection of her attitudes and continued denigration of the African American community, along with a detailed plan of how the University will deal with the prevention of similar incidents in the future. They also seem to ignore her doctoral work and publications regarding achieving equity in the art communities and art history fields for all minorities.

Of course, Stanford University will comply with the demands of the student Senate in order to remain politically correct and give the illusion of tolerance and acceptance. It is likely that Professor Salseda could lose her position with the University or at the very least her track towards tenure and a full professorship position will be derailed. Neither is there any doubt that the students will label her as a racist and treat her as such from this point going forward.

Is it any wonder that as these youths graduate from institutions of higher learning that they carry these thoughts and lessons with them into society at large? Too often these opinions are manifested in an intolerance for anyone with whom they disagree. Now that many universities were going to continue not having kids on campus through at least the fall semester, what little discussion they have had on all issues or lessons will be further diminished. In my experience, online learning further reinforces the idea that you memorize information in order to pass the test and never really develop an understanding of the information. Not that understanding has been a goal of our institutions of higher education in recent history.