In a time when censorship is all the rage, one organization is doing its part to attempt to combat censorship on college campuses and provide a way for intellectual diversity to thrive.
The Intercollegiate Studies Institute (ISI) endeavors to facilitate a vibrant community for students, faculty, and alumni to learn foundational American principles and offer an intellectual community in which to discuss and debate. After speaking with ISI’s president, Charlie Copeland, by phone interview, his mission for providing an avenue for conservative and libertarian college students to succeed in diversity of thought was evident.
As a recent college graduate myself, the instances Copeland passionately relayed struck a chord with some of my own college experiences. The Econ Journal Watch published a study in 2016 which found Democrat professors outnumber Republican professors 3,623 to 314, or by a ratio of 11.5 to 1. Finding myself being a conservative minority in a sea full of liberal students and professors is not specific to me, but a reality for thousands of conservative college students across the country.
ISI boldly cultivates an atmosphere where the importance of having a vibrant marketplace of ideas is still a possibility for future freethinking students and faculty.
Blacklisted at Gonzaga University
ISI attempted to debate the question, “Why Bother with a Liberal Arts Education?” Copeland explained that ISI desired to bring a well-rounded debate to campus by inviting George Mason University Professor Bryan Caplan to argue liberal arts study is unnecessary, Clemson University Professor Brookes Brown to refute, and Utah State University Professor Harrison Kleiner to act as moderator.
“ISI asked Gonzaga for space to host the event, apparently even willing to pay a rental fee. Gonzaga rejected the request, refused to provide an explanation why, and denied the organization’s plan to advertise the event on campus,” Richard Vedder reported in Forbes.
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Copeland relayed that the Gonzaga administration even sought to collect the names of students and faculty that were in connection to the proposed event.