Why university students rule the world
illustration by Devin Beauregard
IT’S TRUE—UNIVERSITY students have all the power. Unfortunately, it also means we’re responsible for the world’s sorry state and its lousy prospects. If you look at who has the wealth and the power, it’s university graduates. And it’s been that way for a while. You would think all these well-educated people could turn the world into a utopia, but a peaceful and prosperous world seems as distant a dream as the flying car. Politicians are a predominantly learned lot. The ones who make it to the very top are especially likely to possess diplomas. Two of Canada’s major political parties are headed by PhDs, and the prime minister holds a master’s in economics. American President Barack Obama was a law professor. British Prime Minister Gordon Brown earned a PhD in history. French President Nicolas Sarkozy is a lawyer. German Chancellor Angela Merkel has a doctorate in physical chemistry. Need I go on?
Those who advise these leaders, whether from the professional public service or the competitive private sector, are also mostly university-educated. With the incorporation of business and management training into university, even the corporate elite have framed pieces of paper in their offices. It makes sense; only the most knowledgeable should counsel our decision-makers, and the easiest method of certifying knowledge is the university degree.
Then there are the other important institutions of our society. Schools are fi lled with university-trained teachers. The legal system is nearly all lawyers. The media is replete with journalism-degree holders. Engineers carry alumni cards, too. International institutions like the World Bank and the United Nations are staffed by economists, political scientists, and countless other recipients of advanced degrees. Hospitals employ doctors and nurses and other health professionals who have attended medical schools at universities.
Yet, why is it that only the doctors historically take an oath to fi rst do no harm? Shouldn’t that be the oath that all university students take upon admission? If we are to go on to such important positions, if we are to be the leaders of our society, should we not vow to do only good?
Some argue that the university has no business turning us into ethical, upstanding citizens. It is there merely to transfer knowledge and skills. Political and moral assertions or advocacy are beyond the scope of academia; they are extracurricular.
What a narrow vision. I guess we have to leave the ethics training to our parents and peers, instead, or to society in general. Or maybe reality TV.
Why not gather up all the smartest people in the world inside a single institution and then gather up all the potentially smartest of the next generation in the same, let them mingle and learn from each other, but not let them give or receive any instructions on morality or purpose. What a grand plan! Perhaps just by chance they will invent the fusion reactor instead of the nuclear bomb.
Of course, the odds are stacked against that. The end result is exactly as you’d expect. History repeats itself, and injustice and war continue to flourish.
Take the Iraq War, for example. Not only were the United States’ best and brightest—in George W. Bush’s cabinet—advocating for it; so were many politicians, journalists, and even academics. And this was something that a firstyear philosophy student could see was plainly wrong. Hell, the invasion’s supporters had to come up with a whole new rationale for war to defend it: the Bush Doctrine. Welcome to university—if you can’t fi nd a theory to justify your actions, invent a new one.
Next, look at the wonderful financial innovations of the last decade. We should all give thanks to the math and statistics PhDs who invented derivatives so complex that ordinary economists and bankers couldn’t understand them or manage them, leading to the financial crisis and the recession. Without those geniuses, where would we be?
In other words, our world is the way it is—for better and for worse—because of the people who pass through the halls of ivory towers. Our successes come in large part thanks to them; but so do our failures. For how much brain power universities bring together, I’m surprised they haven’t figured out a way to hold their graduates to some moral standards. For how much suffering this oversight has caused, I’m surprised that the ivory isn’t stained with blood.
"For how much brain power universities bring together, I’m surprised they haven’t figured out a way to hold their graduates to some moral standards"
Actually, universities do impose a moral standard so far as academic work is concerned. No one is any doubt about the correctness of plagiarism, for example.
But attempts to expand this to a broader set of moral standards would likely only increase the mount of political indoctrination that already infects our universities. The University of Delaware's wretched "Residence Life" program demonstrates what happens when universities forget that their central purpose is education, and instead attempt moral transformation.
Brace yourself. Here’s a professor’s point of view on lessons in morality within the ivory tower. Yikes!
Okay, I do agree that we could probably do a better job of instilling some moral fibre in the young and hapless creatures that pass through the halls of ivory towers. But there’s a difference between possessing subject matter knowledge and having morals. The two are not mutually exclusive, of course, but neither is one necessarily dependent on the other. More’s the pity, perhaps, but that’s how it seems to work.
And as we hold students captive in our classrooms for their morality lesson, how do we establish whose morals are right? Which should be promoted? Which should be ignored? Personally, I wish that large-scale factory farms could be abolished. I wish that more people rode their bikes instead of driving. I wish that there were no such thing as organized religion. I wish the Iraq War hadn’t been launched. I consider all of these things to be somehow tied into my moral and ethical framework. But I'm not at all sure that preaching these views to undergraduate students would be desirable, effective or welcome. And where should I draw the line? Should I teach only those ethics associated with my subject field? Or do I branch out to include instruction on those associated with my own personal view of what it takes to be a good world citizen? Sure, I have a PhD, but I don’t think I know what’s best for everyone in all circumstances. And I don’t think that my circumstances are the same as everyone else's. And I do think that, often, the moral and ethical decisions that one makes are influenced by the situations in which one finds oneself. Sure, I think I’m a pretty decent person. But I know I've made some decisions that I later regretted. That’s not to say that I didn’t make the best decisions that I could with the information available to me at the time. But I’m certainly not perfect. And I don’t necessarily want to be judged – and perhaps especially not by a group of 18-year olds – on the basis of some of those decisions as part of a morality lesson. But if I were to dole out instruction on values, I wouldn’t want to be a hypocrite either by pretending that I always get everything right the first time. Or even the second time.
Asking professors to be responsible for overtly teaching morals is a tall order. Knowing the ins and outs of one’s field of specialization doesn’t necessarily equip one for effectively teaching right from wrong. Assuming that right and wrong can be clearly defined, of course. (Aside: Heck, it doesn’t even necessarily equip one for teaching the ins and outs of the field of specialization in question!) Personally, I'm not sure that I could live up to the pressure of feeling that I have to be supremely ethical in all that I do and teach in order to shape the morals of the next generation. I’m only human. Having a PhD doesn’t make one a god. Or even a demi-god. Double more’s the pity.
But it’s not that I’m a slacker or unwilling to do my part to make the world a better place. I certainly do feel a huge responsibility as a professor. It's absolutely true that professors encounter most students during their formative years as they transition from teenagers to adults; as a result, professors can and do greatly influence the development of students in many respects. That’s truly an awesome responsibility – in both senses. And I do take it seriously. And while there are many instances where I would absolutely love to have the option of holding students to my own particular brand of moral standards, I wonder how many of them would actually go willingly down that path were I to try? Would you, for instance, be happy if I were to, say, insist that you meet some of my personal standards for appropriate behaviour? Hmmmm, I suspect not. And does that make you a bad person? Should you now be considered immoral because you don’t fall into line with my values, seeing as how I do have a PhD and all? Of course not.
Rather, I think that one of the main contributions that I can make is to try to teach and encourage critical thinking. I’m always happy to share my opinions and thoughts – and yes, even my values – but I don't feel comfortable with the idea that students should just accept them as truth and adopt them wholesale. I may be good, but I’m not that good! Students need to learn to evaluate situations and outcomes and arrive at their own decisions. I admit that sometimes it is hard to stand by and watch people make decisions that I don’t agree with, especially when those decisions impact negatively on me. But it’s all part of the learning experience. It’s also part of growing up and maturing into the leaders of tomorrow. It’s not my place to rob students of that experience. I wouldn’t be doing them, or the world, any favours.
As a professor, and as a person, I think perhaps the best that I can strive for is to lead by example: be considerate and honest, be open-minded and empathetic, be willing to listen and to take the time to critically evaluate the options before me and to consider their impact before making any decisions or rushing to judgment. I guess that for me, it largely comes down to a “golden rule” type of approach: treat other people the way that you would like to be treated. Both inside and outside the ivory tower. So that’s what I try to do. In this, I’m more successful at some times than at others, but I keep trying. What else can one do?
I also think that some of this type of learning – this transfer of values by example – might often be better achieved outside the formal confines of a classroom. For me, at any rate, it seems that it might be more effectively conveyed if one really established a rapport with a student, which typically requires significant one-on-one interaction. But that takes time. And effort. And it may not be realistic to think that I can give the same amount of personal attention to every student that I encounter. Moreover, it may not be every student who particularly wants to engage in that type of interaction. Some students don’t seem to want to get anything out of university other than the absolute minimum subject matter knowledge required to get their degree. To what lengths should I go to try to give recalcitrant students the opportunity to gain more than just basic subject field knowledge? Professors can provide opportunities, but it’s up to students to take them and to run with them. In addition, in trying to impart some moral guidance, how much disrespect should I be prepared to endure for the greater good? Even with my PhD, I don’t have it all figured out yet. Nevertheless, I'm sure that I have significant room for improvement in this area. I’ll keep working on it.
So yes, I fully agree that professors should try to do a better job of equipping the next generation with the ability to make ethically sound decisions; but I’m puzzled as to why they should be under pressure to be the primary ones to do so? It seems to me that just about anyone could take on this role through leading by example. And, in my opinion, pretty much everyone should. Students too. If we all made the effort to be a little more considerate and to treat other people the way that we would like to be treated, then both the ivory tower and the world beyond it would likely be far better for it. But I don't think that one need necessarily have a PhD to make that happen. I certainly hope not, anyway. Otherwise, the world is well and truly screwed! But that’s just my two cents’ worth. Or perhaps my two dollars’ worth, as it were. Later, gator.