The Washington Free Beacon's Ellison Barber moderated a BlazeTV Real News panel discussion Monday on what's behind left-wing campus intolerance for conservative speakers and the atmosphere for conservatives at colleges in general.
The most recent example was former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, the first African American woman to hold the title, being invited to Rutgers to give the commencement address and receive an honorary degree. Rices's invitation is being fiercely protested by many faculty and students due to her role in the administration of President George W. Bush.
Dr. Ben Carson, who was forced to step down from speaking at Johns Hopkins where he was once head of pediatric neurosurgery, Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas and other prominent black conservatives have also faced severe hostility on college campuses. As Barber pointed out, though, the vitriol is not reserved only for blacks. Many other conservatives, regardless of race or gender, have faced strong reaction at liberal universities and colleges.
In answer to Barber's question about why these conservatives get invited in the first place, The Blaze's Buck Sexton said the deans and higher-level college officials often are not as politicized as the left-wing professors, where their single-mindedness is enforced through the tenure track system. Professors who don't toe the line politically are not as likely to advance, he said, adding there were more Marxists among his professors when he was in college than Republicans.
CampusReform.org's Katherine Timpf said her research showed it is difficult to hold any conservative opinions on college campuses, citing the pressure of liberal professors who are openly hostile to Republican politicians and conservative thinking in general.
Timpf added liberal students are often not adequately challenged on their beliefs, as a result. Upon visiting the University of Southern California last year when Obama sought authorization to strike Syria and asking students there if Obama still deserved his Nobel Peace Prize, they said he did. However, Timpf said none could articulate why.