Campus chalking continues
More stories from Ryan Fischer
Political chalkings on campus, April 6, 2016.
Donate to The Parthenon
$400
$500
Contributed
Our Goal
Your donation will help continue the work of independent student journalism at Marshall University. If you benefit from The Parthenon's free content, please consider making a donation.
Monte • Apr 7, 2016 at 1:19 am
It’s called freedom of speech and tolerance and falls under the area of being open to, being exposed to and examining viewpoints other than one’s own. In the past, it was one of the reasons one attended college. It is a quality that used to be revered. It used to be taught in colleges and universities. I recall one fabulous professor I had at MU–Dr. Plybon in the English Dept. I was blessed to have him for an undergraduate creative writing class. He loved playing devil’s advocate, pitting pros and then cons of an argument at the same student. He challenged beliefs and positions on issues. There were many “aha” moments as students were faced with defending their beliefs (prejudices ?) or perhaps changing them. There was enlightment and many new possibilities in thinking were considered. This was an exercise in establishing reason and logic and critical thinking. It was so very different than the mantra (brainwashing) being taught in so many other classes. Things are so much worse today. So very few instructors are exposing and teaching logic and critical thinking. So many are delivering a mantra–one way or the highway. We really need many, many more Dr. Plybons.