Political Correctness May Be Going Too Far on College Campuses
Political correctness has infiltrated every facet of learning and life on college campuses, even down to the type of Halloween costumes students can wear.
It is a problem that speaks to the larger issue of censorship, which is prohibiting free speech at colleges and universities.
"The problem is that people can really get their feelings hurt, let's say by wearing allegedly culturally appropriated costumes and there is a drive by administrators and students to make sure that doesn't happen," explained Sterling Beard, editor-in-chief of CampusReform.org.
Beard listed five universities that have already begun policing students on what costumes they can and cannot wear.
According to CampusReform.org, the Penn State student government body unanimously approved a resolution urging students to avoid culturally appropriated costumes.
The University of Massachusetts, Amherst posted "racism evaluation and assessment meters" in student residence halls in an effort to help students determine whether or not their costumes of choice are offensive.
"Let's say you wanted to be part of a costume with three blind mice," Beard explained. "Fairly simple, harmless, children's rhyme, right? No, that's offensive to blind people. That's ableist. You can't do that."
"It's going to get to the point where nobody is allowed to dress up for fear of offending someone," he warned.
In the last 20 years, more than 400 universities have adopted speech codes, which forbid speech that is disrespectful or offensive.
"Censorship is like a cancer that eventually spreads out of control and eventually everyone has something to worry about," Dr. Mike Adams, at the University of North Carolina-Wilmington, told CBN News.
Beard agreed, saying that not only is speech being censored but now one's freedom of expression is being monitored.
"The larger problem it creates is -- think about this -- it constitutes part of your freedom of expression, part of your freedom of speech," he said.
"Here in 20 to 30 years when those students are in positions of power, be it on the courts or in the legislature, think about what that is going to do to the First Amendment," he warned.
