Should American University Change Its Name?

There’s a whole pile of campus crazy stacking up in my in-box at the moment, such as the announcement that Portland Community College is going to designate April as “Whiteness History Month,” which, unlike Black History Month, isn’t about celebrating people of pallor. Naturally it is the predictable dirge:

The ProjectWhiteness History Month: Context, Consequences and Change is a multidisciplinary, district-wide, educational project examining race and racism through an exploration of the construction of whiteness, its origins and heritage. Scheduled for the month of April 2016, the project seeks to inspire innovative and practical solutions to community issues and social problems that stem from racism. Whiteness History Month, unlike heritage months, is not a celebratory endeavor, it is an effort to change our campus climate.

But that’s nothing compared to the latest diktat coming from the obviously mis-named American University in Washington DC, which proposes the following as a new required course in its proposed revision to its core curriculum (PDF file):

AU Experience II (1 or 3 credits TBD): A three-credit required course, taken by all AU students in their second semester, normally with the same discussion leader and students and in the same hybrid, discussion-intensive mode as AU Experience I. AUx2 will delve more deeply into the sociological and psychological aspects of the individual and society introduced in AUx1, with special attention to issues of diversity, inclusion, and community. Readings and assignments will include historic and contemporary literature, film, and data on oppression and resistance. Students will explore how historical violence, such as the early slave trade and genocidal conquests, shape the contemporary experiences of marginalized groups and struggles for human rights. Class materials will consider how entrenched systems of inequality marginalize some groups and privilege others. Students will be encouraged to apply what they learn to their individual and collective situation in the multi-cultural environment that is AU. [Emphasis added.]

In other words, leftist propaganda. Of course it has to be required, because otherwise sensible students will avoid this politicized drivel.

Serious question: Shouldn’t American University change its name while they’re at it? After all, America, and the idea of America, is offensive to all of the so-called “marginalized” groups that this new curriculum is directed toward. The place should plainly be called “Multicultural University” or something less triggering than American. Especially since it seems determined to become, in essence, Anti-American University.

Notice: All comments are subject to moderation. Our comments are intended to be a forum for civil discourse bearing on the subject under discussion. Commenters who stray beyond the bounds of civility or employ what we deem gratuitous vulgarity in a comment — including, but not limited to, “s***,” “f***,” “a*******,” or one of their many variants — will be banned without further notice in the sole discretion of the site moderator.

Responses