Re “An ‘us’ vs. ‘them’ mentality on campuses turns potential friends into allies — or enemies” (Opinion, Sept. 26): Studies keep showing that young people are miserable. Why is that? In their op-ed, Pamela Paresky and Samuel J. Abrams are spot-on in their explanation of what is happening on campus. But how did we get here?
As a society, we often claim to hold niceness and tolerance as among the most important virtues. Yet what does that even mean? Certainly, the adults in the room are not modeling this behavior. Could it be that the incessant focus on so-called wokeness, which can be divisive at its core, is an excuse for people to be mean to each other while armored in false virtue? Anyone questioning the popular narrative is subject to cancellation or vilification. Students are not being taught to challenge ideas; rather, they are being told that people holding divergent viewpoints are “bad.”
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Those who are compelling this agenda and profiting from all the diversity, equity, and inclusion training (which has ballooned into a multibillion-dollar industry) have no accountability or incentive to solve any real problems.
How is it working? Paresky and Abrams make it clear that it is not working.
Ashley Jacobs
Boston
The writer is executive director of Parents Unite.
