Harvard going Orwell, protecting students from conservative websites
By Thomas Lifson
As someone who spent almost two decades at Harvard, first as a student and then as a member of the faculty and officer of the
university, I am ashamed at how far an institution that proclaims "Truth" ("Veritas" in Latin) as its motto has fallen away from that mission. The Harvard University library system is now in the business of warning away students from polluting their minds with dissident information that might raise uncomfortable questions in Liberalville. Can't have the youngsters questioning the orthodoxy of the left!
Thus, we have the spectacle of Harvard librarians rating political websites and warning away students and faculty, lest their minds become confused by viewpoints that might disturb the liberal mindset. (For instance, remembering that when Bill Clinton fired all the U.S. attorneys, it was a normal "replacement," but when Donald Trump did the same thing, it was an outrageous "ousting" of dedicated crime-fighters.) Harvard undergraduates, too young to remember the Clinton firing, must be protected from viewpoints that might confuse them.
This graphic published by the librarians ought to be a matter of shame for the university:
By Thomas Lifson
As someone who spent almost two decades at Harvard, first as a student and then as a member of the faculty and officer of the
university, I am ashamed at how far an institution that proclaims "Truth" ("Veritas" in Latin) as its motto has fallen away from that mission. The Harvard University library system is now in the business of warning away students from polluting their minds with dissident information that might raise uncomfortable questions in Liberalville. Can't have the youngsters questioning the orthodoxy of the left!
Thus, we have the spectacle of Harvard librarians rating political websites and warning away students and faculty, lest their minds become confused by viewpoints that might disturb the liberal mindset. (For instance, remembering that when Bill Clinton fired all the U.S. attorneys, it was a normal "replacement," but when Donald Trump did the same thing, it was an outrageous "ousting" of dedicated crime-fighters.) Harvard undergraduates, too young to remember the Clinton firing, must be protected from viewpoints that might confuse them.
This graphic published by the librarians ought to be a matter of shame for the university:
"When in doubt, ask a librarian."
...because librarians are sophisticated consumers of political news, and because they have exhaustively researched each of the hundreds of websites they "rate"?
I am sorry, but this is dangerous nonsense. I was grateful for the help that the staffs of several Harvard libraries (there are dozens of libraries at Harvard) gave me in my years there. They knew what their collections contained and how to get a hold of even the most obscure items. But they always knew they were in a service role, not in the role of determining what sources I should rely on. That was my job!
How about, when in doubt, read what they have to say, read others, and make up your mind? That was what I always did.
Consider this: the Harvard librarians do not trust students to make up their own minds. Instead, they find certain viewpoints dangerous, and want to make sure that youngsters are warned away from viewpoints dissenting from liberal orthodoxy.
In actuality, it is the job of librarians to collect, organize, and store source materials for students and scholars to use in their work. It is the job of scholars and students (not librarians) to evaluate those sources and appropriately draw on them in their research and writing. At the mammoth Harvard University Library system, they seem to have forgotten this role distinction. In the age of Trump, the dangers of exposing bright young minds to information incompatible with the worldview of leftists is so great that the librarians took it upon themselves to warn away students before those viewpoints ever reach their eyes.
One of the websites the Harvard Librarians ban as "biased" is American Thinker. We have plenty of company on the right, much less on the left. Doug Ross has collected the ratings for us and a number of our colleagues:
...because librarians are sophisticated consumers of political news, and because they have exhaustively researched each of the hundreds of websites they "rate"?
I am sorry, but this is dangerous nonsense. I was grateful for the help that the staffs of several Harvard libraries (there are dozens of libraries at Harvard) gave me in my years there. They knew what their collections contained and how to get a hold of even the most obscure items. But they always knew they were in a service role, not in the role of determining what sources I should rely on. That was my job!
How about, when in doubt, read what they have to say, read others, and make up your mind? That was what I always did.
Consider this: the Harvard librarians do not trust students to make up their own minds. Instead, they find certain viewpoints dangerous, and want to make sure that youngsters are warned away from viewpoints dissenting from liberal orthodoxy.
In actuality, it is the job of librarians to collect, organize, and store source materials for students and scholars to use in their work. It is the job of scholars and students (not librarians) to evaluate those sources and appropriately draw on them in their research and writing. At the mammoth Harvard University Library system, they seem to have forgotten this role distinction. In the age of Trump, the dangers of exposing bright young minds to information incompatible with the worldview of leftists is so great that the librarians took it upon themselves to warn away students before those viewpoints ever reach their eyes.
One of the websites the Harvard Librarians ban as "biased" is American Thinker. We have plenty of company on the right, much less on the left. Doug Ross has collected the ratings for us and a number of our colleagues:
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weaselzippers.us unreliable bias
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wnd.com bias clickbait
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zerohedge.com
conspiracy
Missing from any hints of bias are the New York Times, NBC News, and pretty much everyone in the MSM.
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