The “Post-Truth” World of Academia

, Alex Nitzberg, 3 Comments

Radical ideas that defy reality can flourish at Universities that indoctrinate students with intellectual insanity while inculcating them against Biblical morality.

“Post-truth,” the “Oxford Dictionary’s Word of the Year 2016,” provides an apt description of the culture and ideology propagated today on many of America’s college campuses.

The term is “ … an adjective defined as ‘relating to or denoting circumstances in which objective facts are less influential in shaping public opinion than appeals to emotion and personal belief.’”

Consider the “IvyQ” conference held this year on the Harvard College campus.

Harvard’s “Office of BGLTQ Student Life” explains that “ … IvyQ is an intercollegiate conference for BGLTQIA+ students and allies … ” In the 2016 “Program Guide” one of the 2016 conference co-chairs describes it as “ … a completely student-run conference … ” The same co-chair also states, “We say that IvyQ is an explicitly radical conference—but by that, what we really mean is radically inclusive of all struggles, including across class and racial lines.”

The IvyQ Conference is held at a different institution each year and has previously been held at locations including Cornell University in 2015, Dartmouth College in 2014, and the University of Pennsylvania in 2010 for the inaugural conference.

The 2016 IvyQ program guide says:

“Part of making IvyQ a safe space is respecting one another’s identifications, whether they relate to sexual orientation, gender identity, race, ethnicity, or any other community/identity category. Every person has the absolute right to define themselves as they see fit. If someone identifies with a particular label or culture, do not question or reject that identification.”

Apparently, in the “post-truth” world of liberal academia, an individual may “identify” in a way that fails to comport with reality, yet their objectively false fantasy must be accepted unquestioningly.

What about the truth? It has been supplanted by political correctness.

And what about decency? According to the program guide, this conference that Harvard College allowed on its campus featured events like “Drag Night” and a session titled “Erotica/Porn as a Tool for Social Justice.”

The “Sponsors” list for IvyQ 2016 includes:

  • Harvard Office of Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion
  • Harvard Gender & Sexuality Caucus
  • Harvard Office of BGLTQ+ Student Life
  • Harvard Office of Career Services
  • Harvard Office of the Assistant to the President for Institutional Diversity & Equity
  • Ann Radcliffe Trust/Women’s Center Community Fund
  • Harvard Undergraduate Council

The list of “Official Sponsors” includes:

  • Microsoft
  • Capital One
  • Uber
  • Fenway Health.

Alex Nitzberg is an intern at the American Journalism Center at Accuracy in Media and Accuracy in Academia. Follow him on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.