CHOICES HAVE CONSEQUENCES – AT 11:46 A.M. ET:  The market works.  Colleges are now feeling the backlash from parents, applicants and taxpayers over their indulgence of leftist snowflakes and faculty clowns.  From Fox:

Both the University of Missouri and Evergreen State College have been rocked by left-wing demonstrations, some of which administrators in both schools allowed. Now both have had to deal with falling enrollment and a decline in funds - and there are fears the situation could spread to other schools.

The defining issue is whether parents and donors see administrators as capable of containing clashes and responding firmly when protests get out of control, experts say.

Jacqueline Pfeffer Merrill of the American Council of Trustees and Alumni, a nonprofit that advocates for a variety of higher education issues, told Fox News that how a college handles freedom of expression matters greatly to prospective students, their parents and donors.

“When they look to what college to pick, parents and students are thinking of the largest investment their family is likely to make beyond the purchase of a home,” Pfeffer Merrill said. “Across the political spectrum, one of the most essential assets is [the opportunity] to be exposed to a wide range of views.”

There is increasing concern, she said, “about a lack of openness to having a full conversation” amid a growing intolerance of views that are different or considered offensive.

“It’s senior leadership at the colleges that sets the tone,” she said.

And...

One school that has resisted the kinds of demands Missouri and Evergreen gave in to is the University of Chicago.

In the summer of 2016 incoming freshmen at the University of Chicago received a welcome letter that made the institution’s commitment to the free and open expression of ideas clear:
“Our commitment to academic freedom means that we do not support so-called ‘trigger warnings,’ we do not cancel invited speakers because their topics might prove controversial, and we do not condone the creation of intellectual ‘safe spaces’ where individuals can retreat from ideas and perspectives at odds with their own.”

COMMENT:  This year will be critical.  The left feels empowered by violent demonstrations it has mounted throughout the country.  But the backlash against violence and censorship on college campuses is also gaining strength.

Congress and state legislatures must be prepared to cut off funds from colleges that do not meet basic standards of freedom and peaceful assembly.  Some will have the courage to act.  Others will not.

September 2,  2017