Joe Knippenberg points out that those on campus who are loudest in preaching "diversity" are probably the ones on campus the least interested in real diversity: the diversity of ideas. In my experience, when academics talk about students "overcoming their prejudices" what they really mean is "students should give up what they used to believe and learn to think just like me."
At NSU we were honored to have Gov. Rounds speak at our commencement ceremony this year. The governor certainly has the support of only a minority of faculty, but when he was introduced the crowd proceeded to give him a standing ovation in which (from what I could see) all faculty participated. They may not have actually applauded, but they stood respectfully. That is the appropriate way to act when listening to a speaker with whom you are in deep political disagreement. I can also report that Gov. Rounds understands the chief virtue of a commencement speech: keep it short. I like my governors short, and my commencement speeches shorter.
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