As student demonstrations disappear from the news cycle, and commencement ceremonies are either canceled or broken down into small groups to avoid critical masses, now is the time to ask what’s next for American universities.
The demonstrations themselves are proof that American educators, officials, and administrators have not done a good job of educating students for meaningful civic engagement. The students’ intractable demands, invasions of public spaces and buildings on university campuses, and repeated refusals to negotiate with university authorities in good faith can be either dismissed as hooliganism or, more productively, seen as an indication that many students have lost faith in democratic governance and believe that power plays are the only way to get their way.
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