Penna Dexter

Our universities have been moving leftward for decades. William F. Buckley warned of the drift in his 1951 book, GOD AND MAN AT YALE. Conservatives advocating reform have mostly been ignored.

Families who want to avoid the prevailing leftist indoctrination can seek out Christian colleges, or schools — like Hillsdale College — that refuse federal funding. But most chose based upon prestige, family legacies, or scholarship offers. Many parents were unaware of how socialists’ “long march through the institutions” would affect their offspring. Recently, however, more students report having to self-censor to avoid consequences for their conservative or religious beliefs.

After the 2020 George Floyd riots, universities ramped up their DEI policies. Then, two years ago, campus celebrations of Hamas terror began. Americans — and not just conservatives — were shaken. University officials were interrogated. Their masks came off. Some schools lost federal funding. Others faced the possibility of losing such subsidies.

Earlier this year, the Manhattan Institute’s Christopher Rufo brought together 40-plus scholars, intellectuals, and policy leaders to formulate what he calls “a practical vision for reform.” They came up with “The Manhattan Statement on Higher Education.”

Consequently, in early October, the White House offered universities a “compact” under which, in order to receive funding preferences, universities must return to their historic duty to “advance the public good.”

Now, Manhattan Institute’s City Journal has come out with a report which assesses schools on qualities that go well beyond those measured in U.S. News & World Report and other traditional college rankings. The report measures free speech, how the school handles politics on campus, and students’ professional success after graduation. A Wall Street Journal editorial praises the new report for awarding higher marks to colleges “that have demonstrated ideological pluralism among the faculty,” for their “vibrant and inclusive campus social life” and for fostering “student tolerance for controversial speakers.”

It’s no surprise that not one Ivy league school made the top 10.