Politicians shouldn’t determine what classes college students can take

What is it like to be white? That is a question that will be attempted to be answered by some students at UW-Madison. A course entitled “The Problem of Whiteness” is among the course offerings at the university next semester. And some have a real problem with this. Two Wisconsin lawmakers, Reps Steve Nass and Dale Murphy, are demanding the course be pulled and the professor who teaches it be fired. Most disturbingly, they are also threatening that they and fellow lawmakers will withhold state funding to the university if they don’t follow through with their orders. Do we really want lawmakers to determine what courses our public universities can teach? These politicians say the university needs to explain to “the hardworking people of Wisconsin” why their money is being “wasted to advance the politically correct agenda of liberal administrators and staff.” Who is to say the money is being wasted? This is a course that students sign up for voluntarily. The course seeks to challenge students to rethink race issues. That is exactly the type of critical thinking about difficult and controversial topics we should want our students to undertake. That is much better than having the politicians telling college students what they can and cannot study.