WASHINGTON, DC—It’s a different campus and a different chant: Students and scholars at the University of Chicago are in agreement: “Western Civ has got to stay!!”
In a recent referendum, the University of Chicago student body voted overwhelmingly, 1043-481, to encourage the “faculty to reconsider their decision to reduce and eventually delete the Western Civilization sequence from the course offerings of this University.” Nearly a third of the undergraduate college voted on the referendum, more than voted on any other issue on the ballot.
The students’ action comes in tandem with a recent statement by Scholars for the University of Chicago condemning the university’s decision to eliminate the Western Civilization sequence.
“This is a man bites dog story,” said Anne D. Neal, Executive Director of the American Council of Trustees and Alumni. “Now it’s students and alumni who are demanding higher standards and a rigorous curriculum while the administration makes excuses for lower standards. Students want a strong education that gives them exposure to the greatest achievements of Western Civilization. This is particularly important at a time when our civilization is under attack.”
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