NY Times editorial: "Universities Like Yale Need a Reckoning"

Anonymous
I had ChatGPT rewrite it and condense it since it rambled too much...

To move forward, liberals should stop dwelling on why some Americans vote against their perceived interests or reject "our" values. We often come across as out of touch with working-class realities and make ourselves easy targets with jargon and self-righteousness. Economic signs—high inflation, wage gaps, and low presidential approval—signaled the recent Democratic defeat. While our ideals of unity and harmony appeal to us, they don’t win elections in a divided society.

We must defend what matters: public schools under threat, a true national celebration of 2026, and policies that genuinely reach working Americans. We’re losing trust and relevance, especially among young men and non-college-educated voters who increasingly feel alienated. Universities need a reset, as confidence in them has plummeted due to soaring costs, elitism, and left-leaning ideology.

Our challenge is to make our work accessible beyond the academic world. Universities, like public schools, are vital for social mobility and democracy. We need to convey the broader value of history, science, and the arts in everyday life and address the anxieties of those disconnected from academic culture. Trumpism endangers everything we stand for, but democracy is weakened from within if we fail to reconnect and re-educate.
Anonymous
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:Here's one concrete step he proposes (and I couldn't agree more).

We” need to openly recommit to learning and teaching about the whole of our knowledge — our histories, our literature, our sciences, our social structures, as much or more than we stress our racial, ethnic and gendered parts. Those fields of study are important and established for good reasons. But the whole and the parts have to sing together or there is no democracy or broad learning or informed citizenry in the end. We could drown in the habits of our own particularities and favorite ideologies, and lose hold of how humans connect across a multitude of difference. We need answers for our critics who believe we are an ideological monolith, whether they are right or not. We may not like universals anymore, but there are some, like elections, that stun millions into despair or glee.


Maybe I'm obtuse, but what kinds of classes does he want to see taught that aren't being taught?


It’s an issue of how history, literature, etc are framed.

We’ve overcompensated for the fact that these disciplines used to be taught with too much emphasis on white men. Now it’s like if you teach Plato, you’re somehow racist.

The point is to teach all of it, rather than cherry-picking.


The problem with a straw man like this one is that it is so easily refuted.

https://catalog.yale.edu/ycps/subjects-of-instruction/classics/

Anonymous
The author lost me at paragraph 3 by calling Kamala “brilliant.” When will people admit she is a dud intellectually? Just holding certain jobs does not make one smart.
Anonymous
I don't understand how most Americans don't go to college. I really don't. This country has so much opportunity if you are someone who values education and strives for a better life. I think of the fact that public schools encourage reading, that may sound trivial but public schools in the Arab world absolutely do not. And libraries are not commonly used. Just by reading a low income or low middle class child can develop skills to have a better understanding of the world. And through scholarships can get into good schools. Again with the Arab world comparison because that is what I know best--do you think a bright low income kid over there can get into a good school? Very very hard.

Americans don't realize how good they have it. And the American culture of contempt toward educated elites is part of the reason someone like Trump was able to win. I remember reading a Vance interview where he said McDonald's should hire young American men through better wages and I just rolled my eyes. Yeah sure, these hordes of young unemployed white men are dying to work at McDonald's if only they could get 15 bucks an hour. No, they want high-paying jobs being a foreman at a factory or something. And they are angry at their lawyer cousin who was smart to get out of Oklahoma or whatever and make a good life for themselves in DC or NY.
Anonymous
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:Gift link please


Sorry, I thought I shared the gift link. Does this work?

https://www.nytimes.com/2024/11/14/opinion/ya...bkZRa&smid=url-share


The author loses all credibility when he refers to VP Kamala Harris as a "brilliant black women". Both Yale and the New York Times should be ashamed for publishing this drivel written by one with so little awareness of reality.
Anonymous
Anonymous wrote:I don't understand how most Americans don't go to college. I really don't. This country has so much opportunity if you are someone who values education and strives for a better life. I think of the fact that public schools encourage reading, that may sound trivial but public schools in the Arab world absolutely do not. And libraries are not commonly used. Just by reading a low income or low middle class child can develop skills to have a better understanding of the world. And through scholarships can get into good schools. Again with the Arab world comparison because that is what I know best--do you think a bright low income kid over there can get into a good school? Very very hard.

Americans don't realize how good they have it. And the American culture of contempt toward educated elites is part of the reason someone like Trump was able to win. I remember reading a Vance interview where he said McDonald's should hire young American men through better wages and I just rolled my eyes. Yeah sure, these hordes of young unemployed white men are dying to work at McDonald's if only they could get 15 bucks an hour. No, they want high-paying jobs being a foreman at a factory or something. And they are angry at their lawyer cousin who was smart to get out of Oklahoma or whatever and make a good life for themselves in DC or NY.


Because they are not getting low paying McDonald's jobs. They are making $100K+/year without college.

Also, even a state school will run you $120K for 4 years and most poeple can't afford that, actually most can't afford to not work for 4 years.
Anonymous
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:Gift link please


Sorry, I thought I shared the gift link. Does this work?

https://www.nytimes.com/2024/11/14/opinion/ya...bkZRa&smid=url-share


The author loses all credibility when he refers to VP Kamala Harris as a "brilliant black women". Both Yale and the New York Times should be ashamed for publishing this drivel written by one with so little awareness of reality.


Agreed, it should just be "is brilliant" the other 2 adjectives are not necessary and irresponsible qualifiers.
Anonymous
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:I don't understand how most Americans don't go to college. I really don't. This country has so much opportunity if you are someone who values education and strives for a better life. I think of the fact that public schools encourage reading, that may sound trivial but public schools in the Arab world absolutely do not. And libraries are not commonly used. Just by reading a low income or low middle class child can develop skills to have a better understanding of the world. And through scholarships can get into good schools. Again with the Arab world comparison because that is what I know best--do you think a bright low income kid over there can get into a good school? Very very hard.

Americans don't realize how good they have it. And the American culture of contempt toward educated elites is part of the reason someone like Trump was able to win. I remember reading a Vance interview where he said McDonald's should hire young American men through better wages and I just rolled my eyes. Yeah sure, these hordes of young unemployed white men are dying to work at McDonald's if only they could get 15 bucks an hour. No, they want high-paying jobs being a foreman at a factory or something. And they are angry at their lawyer cousin who was smart to get out of Oklahoma or whatever and make a good life for themselves in DC or NY.


Because they are not getting low paying McDonald's jobs. They are making $100K+/year without college.

Also, even a state school will run you $120K for 4 years and most poeple can't afford that, actually most can't afford to not work for 4 years.


Student loans are available. That is not something easily accessible to young people in other parts of the world. If they are making that kind of money without college then why are they so angry?
Anonymous
Why should they have "a reckoning?" They are a beacon.
Anonymous
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:Gift link please


Sorry, I thought I shared the gift link. Does this work?

https://www.nytimes.com/2024/11/14/opinion/ya...bkZRa&smid=url-share


The author loses all credibility when he refers to VP Kamala Harris as a "brilliant black women". Both Yale and the New York Times should be ashamed for publishing this drivel written by one with so little awareness of reality.


All things being equal we do at least know the author's credentials. You are as anonymous as the rest of us here on DCUM and just as likely a high school dropout or paid troll as you are anything else. It is much easier to dismiss your opinions that it is the opinions of someone who has put in the work to earn a doctorate and appointment at Yale. Talk about "one with so little awareness of reality" smh
Anonymous
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:Gift link please


Sorry, I thought I shared the gift link. Does this work?

https://www.nytimes.com/2024/11/14/opinion/ya...bkZRa&smid=url-share


The author loses all credibility when he refers to VP Kamala Harris as a "brilliant black women". Both Yale and the New York Times should be ashamed for publishing this drivel written by one with so little awareness of reality.


Agreed, it should just be "is brilliant" the other 2 adjectives are not necessary and irresponsible qualifiers.


Aren't you the clever one.

VP Kamala Harris is not brilliant, although she is a black woman.

The VP's handlers knew how weak she was--and is--intellectually so they shielded her from engaging in any real interviews.

Kamala Harris' biggest mistake during her brief 107 day campaign was in being dishonest repeatedly.
Anonymous
Anonymous wrote:I had ChatGPT rewrite it and condense it since it rambled too much...

To move forward, liberals should stop dwelling on why some Americans vote against their perceived interests or reject "our" values. We often come across as out of touch with working-class realities and make ourselves easy targets with jargon and self-righteousness. Economic signs—high inflation, wage gaps, and low presidential approval—signaled the recent Democratic defeat. While our ideals of unity and harmony appeal to us, they don’t win elections in a divided society.

We must defend what matters: public schools under threat, a true national celebration of 2026, and policies that genuinely reach working Americans. We’re losing trust and relevance, especially among young men and non-college-educated voters who increasingly feel alienated. Universities need a reset, as confidence in them has plummeted due to soaring costs, elitism, and left-leaning ideology.

Our challenge is to make our work accessible beyond the academic world. Universities, like public schools, are vital for social mobility and democracy. We need to convey the broader value of history, science, and the arts in everyday life and address the anxieties of those disconnected from academic culture. Trumpism endangers everything we stand for, but democracy is weakened from within if we fail to reconnect and re-educate.


Maybe if we found other routes for social mobility and let universities go back to focusing on things like the liberal arts (which is what they were designed for, so what they are good at), things would be better. And go back to teaching more content (history, geography, science) in elementary school.

I'm all for removing the degree qualifications for the vast majority of jobs.
Anonymous
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:Gift link please


Sorry, I thought I shared the gift link. Does this work?

https://www.nytimes.com/2024/11/14/opinion/ya...bkZRa&smid=url-share


The author loses all credibility when he refers to VP Kamala Harris as a "brilliant black women". Both Yale and the New York Times should be ashamed for publishing this drivel written by one with so little awareness of reality.


All things being equal we do at least know the author's credentials. You are as anonymous as the rest of us here on DCUM and just as likely a high school dropout or paid troll as you are anything else. It is much easier to dismiss your opinions that it is the opinions of someone who has put in the work to earn a doctorate and appointment at Yale. Talk about "one with so little awareness of reality" smh


Very aware of the reality that VP Harris and the Democratic Party lost by a near landside in the recent election. The Democrats lost the Presidency, the Senate, and the House.
Anonymous
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:"Endowment hording" is leveled at universities so wealthy they can't be punished or controlled by the public purse strings.

I agree to some degree with other bullet points. But the people who want to knock these schools off of their high horse's should drop the sour grapes arguments.


I mean if you discount the opinions of the 99.99% of people who don’t go to Yale as “sour grapes,” you shouldn’t exactly be surprised that they don’t like you.


Also, he’s a professor at Yale so I kind of doubt this is “sour grapes.”
Anonymous
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:I don't understand how most Americans don't go to college. I really don't. This country has so much opportunity if you are someone who values education and strives for a better life. I think of the fact that public schools encourage reading, that may sound trivial but public schools in the Arab world absolutely do not. And libraries are not commonly used. Just by reading a low income or low middle class child can develop skills to have a better understanding of the world. And through scholarships can get into good schools. Again with the Arab world comparison because that is what I know best--do you think a bright low income kid over there can get into a good school? Very very hard.

Americans don't realize how good they have it. And the American culture of contempt toward educated elites is part of the reason someone like Trump was able to win. I remember reading a Vance interview where he said McDonald's should hire young American men through better wages and I just rolled my eyes. Yeah sure, these hordes of young unemployed white men are dying to work at McDonald's if only they could get 15 bucks an hour. No, they want high-paying jobs being a foreman at a factory or something. And they are angry at their lawyer cousin who was smart to get out of Oklahoma or whatever and make a good life for themselves in DC or NY.


Because they are not getting low paying McDonald's jobs. They are making $100K+/year without college.

Also, even a state school will run you $120K for 4 years and most poeple can't afford that, actually most can't afford to not work for 4 years.


Student loans are available. That is not something easily accessible to young people in other parts of the world. If they are making that kind of money without college then why are they so angry?


They are angry because people like you think they only job they can get is McDonalds and if you look at them your body language shows them you assume they are trash and racist.
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