The Stanford Review the campus conservative publication really outdo themselves this issue, taking on IHUM, the University's mandatory humanities series. This is like elementary school kids editorialiszing about homework, or protesting short recess periods. And yet, even having decided on such a softball of an assignment, the staff stands around and watches the pitch sail by. They don't like IHUM because it doesn't introduce students to the intellectual foundations of Western thought and culture. To a certain extent, I agree; I think a lot of students leave Stanford without any sense of where the West is coming from. Which only makes it more frsutrating when the authors fail to make even the most cursory arguments for why it's important for students to understand that tradition. There's the line between inspiring debate and mere agit-prop, and the Review, as usual, falls far behind it.
As a libertarian/independent, I've long had beef with the Review simply because of the enormous opportunity cost. Stanford's only going to get one conservative voice, and it's depressing to see it filled month after month with the same sophomoric drivel.
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