Devorah Goldman’s piece “The Closing of the Campus Mind” in the Weekly Standard is more evidence of how various academic disciplines are walling themselves off from dissent. In this instance, it’s Social Work (although I’ve never understood exactly what body of knowledge is involved there) and she writes about her experience in a course at Hunter College.

She dared to express her doubts about some of the shibboleths in class and was told by the professor, “I can’t have you participate in class anymore.”

As we know all too well, many American college students just can’t stand hearing arguments that conflict with their beliefs. The social work prof was sheltering them and probably herself too. A class runs so much more smoothly if all the students sit passively and nod at your pronouncements. Having one who argues back from time to time is less than ideal. So, no more participation for you.

The piece is also worth reading for its discussion of the environment at Hunter — saturated in PC identity stuff including a gender-neutral bathroom. “We were allowed to differ,” Goldman writes, but “we could not disagree.”

Is this real education, or just training for welfare state activists?