Students at tiny Reed College in Portland have vowed to protest until administrators drop the freshman requirement for Humanities 110, a foundational Greek literature and philosophy course. Many universities over the past three decades have already jettisoned the requirement, under pressure, William Hicks writes.
Reed College is one of the rare holdouts.
Critics like Reedies Against Racism say such courses uphold white supremacy and ignore the contributions by other cultures. Proponents believe they examine a vital part of the development of Western civilization, attested to in some of the world’s most important works of literature and philosophy.
Last year’s protests at Reed were quiet and for the most part undisruptive. Students sat behind the professor three days a week holding up signs. After Drumm walked out on the first class this year Reed officials sent a guideline on dissent via email to Reed students. The guidelines have been in effect for decades and affirm that dissent is accepted as long as it does not comprise force and doesn’t disrupt the activities of the college.
Reedies Against Racism responded on their Facebook page by calling the email a threat to black students and contended that free speech was only tolerated by the Reed administration for white students.
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