The views expressed by contributors are their own and not the view of The Hill

Activism is not the mission of universities

by Nicholas Giordano, opinion contributor - 06/01/24 11:00 AM ET

FILE - Pro-Israel demonstrators sing a song during a protest at Columbia University, Thursday, Oct. 12, 2023, in New York. As the death toll rises in the Israel-Hamas war, American colleges have become seats of anguish with many Jewish students calling for strong condemnation after civilian attacks by Hamas while some Muslim students are pressing for recognition of decades of suffering by Palestinians in Gaza. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura, File) — FILE – Pro-Israel demonstrators sing a song during a protest at Columbia University, Thursday, Oct. 12, 2023, in New York. As the death toll rises in the Israel-Hamas war, American colleges have become seats of anguish with many Jewish students calling for strong condemnation after civilian attacks by Hamas while some Muslim students are pressing for recognition of decades of suffering by Palestinians in Gaza. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura, File)

College administrators, professors and even elected officials seem to have lost sight of higher education’s purpose.

Today, many seem to believe that the primary function of these institutions is to provide a platform for activism. Any steps to contain or limit political protest are seen as antithetical to their very existence. This view is erroneous, and we need to correct the misconception and restore the academic focus of colleges and universities.

Post-secondary education serves a critical role in society. By fulfilling its foundational, primary mission of teaching students to think critically, and to acquire knowledge through scholarship and research, these important institutions prepare the next generation to be productive citizens. That’s not just for their benefit, but for the benefit of all of us.

Higher education is tasked with cultivating well-rounded individuals — that is ultimately the reason the government provides taxpayer money to support the industry, whether in student loans, subsidies, research grants or tax breaks. These students will become future leaders in medicine, engineering, education, science, policy and economics. For our country to remain prosperous, we need to be able to draw from a skilled and talented population.

Graduates must be able to think critically and apply their knowledge to solve complex problems and drive innovation. When institutions fail to produce such graduates, they betray not only tuition-paying students but society as a whole, as America’s competitive advantage slips away.

It’s hard to see how today’s college students will go on to become assets to our companies or communities. Just look at what happened at Google just a few weeks ago, when 28 employees were fired for staging a workplace temper tantrum, demanding their employer cease doing business with Israel. In this self-centered view of employment, these workers saw the company’s role as serving their personal interests. Given what we’re seeing on campuses today, it’s easy to see how they got that impression and why incidents similar to this have been increasing over the last few years.

Their childish behavior forced the CEO of one of the world’s top companies to play Dad and remind employees that Google is ultimately “a workplace.” Embarrassing, to say the least. We can thank our colleges and universities for the quality of today’s employees, but firing everyone isn’t an option. Companies need talented, productive employees — the unrealized productivity and innovation of a subpar workforce can’t be quantified. U.S. colleges and universities are failing in their obligation to society, and they need to start doing their jobs again.

Protests should never overshadow an institution’s ability to fulfill its mission, particularly when those protests interfere with student learning. Interestingly, while expensive, traditional four-year schools have descended into chaos, community colleges stand in stark contrast. Teaching, studying and learning have continued on these campuses uninterrupted.

Students like mine at Suffolk Community College often work full-time jobs, juggle family responsibilities or return as adults to seek new opportunities. They are focused on acquiring practical skills and knowledge to improve their lives and the lives of their families. They embody the true mission of higher education. The vast majority of students at these expensive universities approach their post-secondary education with the same intent, but these elite schools have failed them.

The pro-Palestinian protests prevented students from accessing the resources and facilities for which they pay. And the institutions that allowed these disruptions not only failed to provide this fundamental service, but they have also sullied the reputations that their students paid a steep price for. Attending an elite institution is supposed to unlock access to impressive networks, lucrative opportunities and a lifetime of potential success. That’s increasingly an outdated notion.

A survey from November 2023 revealed that 45 percent of companies plan to drop the four-year degree requirement for many positions this year, and that the overwhelming majority of small businesses are dissatisfied with recent college graduates. Some companies have announced they will no longer hire students from certain schools, particularly Columbia University. Employers prefer competent and productive employees, not political activists.

Americans’ confidence in higher education was already at historic lows — just 36 percent — and we can anticipate that it is likely to plummet further. These institutions must refocus on their core mission: critical thinking, scholarship and merit. If they do this, they may be able to reclaim their integrity and rebuild trust. If not, they will continue their decline into irrelevancy.

Nicholas Giordano is a political science professor at Suffolk Community College and a Leadership Institute Campus Reform Higher Education fellow.