Decrying “Extreme” Behavior at Dartmouth
18th April 2014
Step back and note something obviously out of whack with this whole controversy. It is said that college campuses are the prime venue of “rape culture.” But most college campuses are run by liberals, and liberalism and its correlates—maximum individual liberation in all things sexual—is the dominant orthodoxy. Why is this problem ostensibly most severe where liberalism reigns? Perhaps for the same reason that poverty and social dysfunction are worst where liberalism reigns supreme (Detroit). Hanlon notes a rising number of reported rapes at Dartmouth. He should be embarrassed by this. But he ought to ponder this question: is sexual assault a problem at conservative colleges like Hillsdale, Patrick Henry, Liberty University, or Regent University? I wonder why not. Actually I don’t. Hillsdale and other conservative colleges actually take seriously their role as moral instructors of young adults, and extend this responsibility to enforcing the alcohol laws, basic behavior and manners, and even dress codes. Liberal universities like Dartmouth might want to borrow a clue, but don’t hold your breath.