UNH, like most universities, is weighted down by diversity curricula and all the anti-free-speech BS that goes with it. This handicap culminated in the very public unmasking of the UNH Bias-Free Language guide that, among other things, suggested the word American might be problematic.
National attention motivated UNH President Mark Huddleston to release a statement claiming that UNH is committed to free and open speech. The guide was excised from the website, and the Inclusive Excellence and Diversity Voodoo web pages were retooled, but neither the culture that created it (the minds behind it nor the curricula that inspired it) were shown the door.
Last year, UNH was awarded the most Micro-Aggressed Campus in America by Campus Reform.
Micro-aggressed students called for the removal of an approved display at the Memorial Union Building on campus because it made too many of them uncomfortable.
UNH Professors recently called for the expulsion of two unidentified Trump supporters who counter-protested at an anti-Trump rally.
Cinco de Mayo produced a riot at UNH this year, followed by drifts of triggered snowflakes being coddled by UNH professors and student groups making demands.
Last week, more accusations of discrimination arose over a student accused of wearing blackface. He says it was a facial mask. What if it was? What if, just in case, UNH banned facial treatments that might be misconstrued as black-face?
And just a few days ago, swastikas were reported on campus. The statistical odds of this being a hoax are high, but that doesn’t stop professors, activists, and students from falling all over themselves to make the most of the supposed outrage.
While Huddleston’s tenure was littered with PR disasters, the First Amendment still had a pinky hold on campus. Huddleston has announced his retirement this year. With his departure, who will champion the cause for Free Speech?
His replacement?
They’ll need to see that the value of free speech exceeds the discomfort it sometimes creates for students, faculty, and administrators.
What are the odds of that happening?
