Colleges should be educating students, not priming activists

It seems a rarity when a student graduates unaffected by the activist mentality plaguing college campuses. The accolades such activists elicit from legacy media certainly don’t help.

Case in point: A New York Times article titled “A final graduation requirement: Making sense of protest” celebrates Mariame Sissoko, president of the Student Government Association at Barnard College, for her act of protest on graduation day.

Sissoko, against college instruction, deviated from her planned speech, saying, “To stand on this stage today is a privilege … that over 15,000 children in Gaza will never receive.”

Clearly, Sissoko was influenced by the viral campus protests at Columbia, which is affiliated with Barnard College.

As the speech ended, a loudspeaker announced that Sissoko had “shared personal views, which may not reflect the views and values of Barnard College.” This signaled to the student body that while Sissoko’s opinion may not be shared, there is no consequence for activism. 

Eventually, someone will have to inform Sissoko that there are a lot more children worldwide who do not have the privilege of or access to higher education that she does, not just the children of Gaza. 

But that was not the intention of the speech, as she went on to spark chants and songs from the student body. The students sang the popular anthem from the Columbia University protests, “We shall not, we shall not be moved.” Booing simultaneously erupted from the crowd. 

If there is one takeaway from the 2024 graduating classes, it is that emotionally charged activists are about to enter the workforce, and it is time to recognize the failure of educational institutions. Our colleges have created activists, not educated professionals. 

So few colleges fulfill the purpose of education and instead produce socially indoctrinated students. Higher education is meant to enlighten students and develop the tools for navigating adulthood while preparing professionals. 

As a current college student myself, I can attest that this is a disservice. The privilege of higher education is the pursuit of knowledge to inform you upon graduating, not to become an activist who creates unauthorized encampments on school property. 

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And how much does the average student at Barnard College or Columbia University know about the Middle Eastern conflict, other than what legacy media would have them believe about it? Fewer than half of college students blame Hamas for its Oct. 7 attack on Israel, after all.

Higher education has been infiltrated by activist ideologies, and it is producing students with more opinions than knowledge. So, please, from one college student to the other: Take the time to do your research before picking a side just because it’s popular.