Marsha Barber is a journalism professor at Toronto Metropolitan University and an award-winning poet. She’s a regular contributor to the Star.
Class discussions at my university land differently these days. I want my classroom to be an open place where students test out views and learn to think critically. They don’t have to agree as long as they treat different views with curiosity and respect. That’s no longer happening.
Last month, the Aristotle Foundation for Public Policy in Calgary published results from a survey that provides some insight into why.
That study on freedom of expression reached some disturbing conclusions. Although more than 90 per cent of students are comfortable speaking up about non-controversial issues, fewer than a quarter feel the same way about controversial topics.
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And what’s controversial? Pretty much everything worth discussing, especially if you’re a student: politics, religion, race, gender and sexual orientation. And the most disturbing thing is, perhaps, that certain groups have gone mute out of self-preservation.
Some of my most meaningful time as an undergraduate at McGill University was spent on the debating team. We travelled to Princeton, Columbia and, as Canadian national champions, across the ocean to Oxford. The lessons we learned about freedom of expression and critical thinking were unparalleled. We debated ideas that today might be considered “triggering” or, at least, disturbing. I doubt that could happen today.
According to the Aristotle report, more than two-thirds of students who call themselves “politically moderate” are concerned they’d be penalized for their ideas and not just by other students filing complaints. They worry professors would lower their grades. The figure is even higher when it comes to “very conservative” students. Eighty-five per cent of them say they suppress their opinions for the same reasons.
I see the fallout daily. Students are hiding their religious opinions. In the survey, 69 per cent of Jewish students said they’d be reluctant to speak up if a “controversial religious issue” was discussed. So did 41 per cent of Catholics and 36 per cent of Muslims. Over 15 per cent of Jewish students say they experience daily abuse on campus, as do 3.5 per cent of Catholics and 3.1 per cent of Muslims.
Meanwhile, 90 per cent of agnostics and approximately 87 per cent of atheists said they had never been treated badly or unfairly on campus because of their views. Speaking up just isn’t the same risk for some groups.
It’s “very liberal” students who believe they have the metaphorical megaphone. More than three in four say they’re “not at all concerned that sharing their political views would result in a formal complaint.” Those students understand they’ve nothing to worry about as long as they’re spouting party line.
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But here’s something surprising: many students would likely vote Conservative if they had a vote. In April, a Nanos poll found that approximately half of university-aged voters, aged 18-34, supported the Conservatives. That’s compared to only 30 per cent for the Liberals.
And when students participated in Student Vote Canada and held a mock vote at school to coincide with this year’s federal election, they elected a minority Conservative government. Nearly a million grade school students, from elementary to high school, researched parties and candidates, then cast a ballot at school for their electoral district. In that hypothetical election, the Conservative party won 163 seats, compared to the Liberals with 147 seats.
So, there’s an excellent chance that many of those university students holding their tongues are closet Conservatives.
The Aristotle Institute is paying attention. “There has long been a presumption that university classrooms organically support open inquiry and the exchange of ideas,” said report co-author Dr. Martin Mrazik. Our findings suggest otherwise. The data reveal that students are remaining silent in the classroom for fear of consequences, be they social or academic.”
There have to be guard rails, of course. There’s never tolerance for hate speech in any healthy classroom. But, beyond that, thoughtful disagreement should be the norm.
So much is lost when students go quiet because of fear, including diversity of perspective. Students have no chance to test their views against others by debating and discussing.
And that undermines, not just the university, but the democratic process itself.
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