Left/progressive student groups are getting increasingly brazen in their demands that college officials run things they way the students want. It seems that the weaker the intellectual case for statism becomes, the more aggressive its true believers get. Consider, for example, Bard College.

As we read in this piece, students are petitioning the school to “Expand Social Justice Education.” The proponents know that the Bard curriculum is lacking and also know what must be done to improve it. “The petition outlines five proposed institutional changes that include adding a mandatory social justice orientation to Bard’s introductory ‘Language & Thinking Program,’ requiring that faculty attend social justice training, changing first-year students’ curriculum to incorporate “literatures of the broader world,’ and creating a sophomore social justice seminar.”

Since these students are so certain that “social justice” must be a big part of the college’s curriculum, I think it’s safe to say that expressing doubts about the very concept of social justice would be viciously attacked. Would any faculty member dare bring up Hayek’s argument in The Mirage of Social Justice that the concept is meaningless and serves only as a fuzzy excuse for all sorts of government meddling? Undoubtedly, any prof who did would be pilloried; these kids aren’t into learning, but instead into propaganda for their passionate but ill-considered beliefs.

Bard officials ought to ignore this, but my guess is that they’ll try to keep peace by giving in to some of the demands.

A Bard alum I know points out that in his day, the school was affordable and offered a solid education. Now it costs $60,000 per year and has already descended far into the fever swamps of political correctness.