How much is a university degree worth nowadays? According to most Americans, not much.
New findings from Gallup show that the perceived importance of going to college has reached a new low. Only a third (35%) of U.S. adults think that a college education is “very important,” compared with 40% who say it is “fairly important” and 24% who say it is “not too important.”
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This diminished confidence in the value of higher education speaks to a long-standing downward trend, captured as far back as 2010, according to Gallup’s polling. This declining attitude has been observed across all groups in society, regardless of sex, age, race, education level, or political identification.
These findings won’t be much of a surprise to anyone who has access to the internet, because they will have had a front-row seat to academia’s downward spiral. Many universities have replaced their initial truth-seeking mission with a preoccupation with liberal activism and fulfilling diversity criteria. Social media clips of activist students behaving egregiously on campus reveal how out-of-control, elitist, and fringe their perspectives are. This has surely led many onlookers to wonder, “What on Earth are they teaching them?”
Of the adults who have little confidence in higher education, over a third say this is due to political agendas such as “indoctrination, brainwashing, or propaganda,” being “too liberal or political,” and “not allowing students to think for themselves.”
This ideology has, not surprisingly, dissuaded many conservatives and young men from attending college. While 42% of Democrats endorse that college is “very important,” only 20% of Republicans say the same. Similarly, 41% of women believe that a college education is “very important,” compared with only 29% of men.
From very early on, the educational system is tailored to girls’ needs. Boys are more likely to be treated as second-class citizens. Upon graduating from high school, young men are reluctant to apply to university because they know there is a good chance they’ll be signing up for more discrimination over the next three or four years. Statistically speaking, fewer men than women complete a high school diploma, and even fewer men graduate from university, leaving campuses today mostly composed of politically liberal young women.
The most compelling data point to me was that fewer than half of college graduates (40%) endorse a college education as “very important.” This percentage is not much higher than what non-college graduates report, at 31%. I imagine both will continue decreasing in the future. In addition to expensive tuition costs, the rise of AI, and increased interest in trade schools, we have no reason to believe that educational institutions will readjust their primary focus.
What is the solution? This brings me to my thoughts on last week’s devastating tragedy. I believe all these themes — a loss of faith in the value of a formal education, bias within our institutions, and political polarization unlike anything we’ve witnessed before — speak to the importance of the work Charlie Kirk was doing as CEO and co-founder of Turning Point USA. Encouraging respectful interactions with those with whom we disagree is the only way to live in a healthy society.
Exposing young minds to a range of opinions is especially crucial when most mainstream content available to them, inside and outside of the classroom, is left-leaning. Without this cultural counterbalance, many young people would be unaware that there is another way to think about the social issues of our time, including transgender activism and whether attending college is right for them.
Open discourse, debate, and mutual understanding were once how we solved disagreements. The way to win respect from one’s peers, especially in an academic setting, is to debate them with evidence, not to claim moral superiority or to coerce them into silence. Winning by force isn’t a win, but a sign of intellectual cowardice.
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Every decent person knows that political violence is never the solution. No one should lose their life because they hold an opinion that differs from someone else’s. These basic tenets of human decency were once understood.
Kirk’s assassination has shaken many of us with the reality of what living in today’s world means. If good-faith, open discussion can’t reach the other side, where does that leave us?
Debra Soh is a sex neuroscientist and the author of The End of Gender. Follow her @DrDebraSoh and visit DrDebraSoh.com.