University President memo on Martin Luther King Day

University President memo on Martin Luther King Day

Joan Ferrini-Mundy

Description

Education must also train one for quick, resolute and effective thinking. To think incisively and to think for one’s self is very difficult. We are prone to let our mental life become invaded by legions of half truths, prejudices, and propaganda. At this point, I often wonder whether or not education is fulfilling its purpose. A great majority of the socalled educated people do not think logically and scientifically. Even the press, the classroom, the platform, and the pulpit in many instances do not give us objective and unbiased truths. To save man from the morass of propaganda, in my opinion, is one of the chief aims of education. Education must enable one to sift and weigh evidence, to discern the true from the false, the real from the unreal, and the facts from the fiction. These words, written by 18-year-old Martin Luther King Jr. in the Morehouse College campus newspaper, are as relevant today as they were almost 75 years ago. Maybe even more relevant. As we celebrate Dr. King’s legacy today, we find ourselves thinking about the role of higher education in our turbulent times and what higher education owes the future generations passing through our lecture halls, laboratories, athletics and arts venues, and now our Zoom screens.

 

Rights Statement

In Copyright - Educational Use Permitted.