(photo of University of California Santa Barbara)

At my son’s college (UCSB) a professor, accompanied by her students, assaulted a 16-year-old girl who was handing out pro-life literature. They stole her poster and cut it up with scissors. The professor (who teaches a class on pornography) said she was setting a good example for her students and the poster “offended” her. Read about the incident here and the administration’s response.

At UCSB students are signing a petition that states in part: “We also put pressure on administration and the Office of Student Life to re-evaluate rules and regulations that allow outside community members to so heavily trigger and target students and faculty on this campus.”

It’s no longer acceptable to have a free exchange of ideas. It’s clear from other “incidents” that universities will no longer invite speakers who might “trigger” discussions. (See the Condoleezza Rice story below.)

I never knew that the constitution guaranteed us protection from being offended! We live in a society where it is now forbidden to present information that might “trigger” a reaction and might be “offensive” to any individual. It truly scares me — that we are raising and graduating an entire army of close-minded, unquestioning drones –because one side refuses to have other points of views discussed.

Where does that leave “an open exchange of ideas?”Take for example how a student feels at Harvard: “Let’s give up on academic freedom in favor of justice.”

Here are 7 more examples of how freedom of speech is being squelched on campus:

 1. Modesto California student was not allowed to pass out copies of the Constitution.

2. Incident from 2009 where “the comfort level of students matters more than their education.”

3. Professors at Rutgers oppose Condoleezza Rice to speak at commencement. She’s the first black woman Secretary of State.

4. Ray Kelly, Commissioner of New York City shouted down at Brown University.

5. No republicans need apply to speak at commencements. 

6. No Conservatives Welcome at Swarthmore.

7. USC professor bashes conservatives during lecture.

If you are concerned with this trend of only allowing one point of view on college campuses, here’s a list of books for you to read — and your young adults, too: Farenheit 451, 1984, Red Scarf Girl, Anthem, and Ella Minnow Pea.

Do you have any other books to recommend for this list?