Nearly every college assigns a “summer book” for incoming students to read. This goes back a long time — I recall that as a freshman in 1969, I was expected to have read Northrop Frye’s The Educated Imagination. It had nothing to do with current events, much less any ideological position.
Over the years, however, things have changed. Today, “summer books” are mostly chosen to help get the new students in a leftist frame of mind. They emphasize issues that the college administrators think will help turn them into social-justice warriors.
In today’s Martin Center article, Ashlynn Warta writes about the trouble with these book choices. She writes, “Common reading programs are an opportunity to start students’ education on an intellectual high note. Before the semester even begins, students can begin grappling with good reading material that will prepare them for an academically rigorous time in college. Unfortunately, research from the Chronicle of Higher Education reveals that many universities squander this opportunity by assigning trendy, politically charged books that often lack depth.”
Rarely do schools assign a great book that has “stood the test of time.” Instead, they go for trendy, one-sided books that involve race, criminal justice, poverty, etc.
Her conclusion rings true: “While the summer reading is only one book, it nevertheless is indicative of what colleges and universities deem important for students to learn. And the findings from the Chronicle’s report suggest that many colleges are more interested in promoting vapid, headline-chasing, and politicized materials than in providing students with a well-rounded education.”