Wooster students part of ‘grassroots movement’ countering cancel culture, coming together across differences
An article published in The Atlantic magazine discussing free speech on college campuses highlighted a group of Wooster students as part of what the author called a “grassroots civil-dialogue movement” of students coming together to discuss controversial issues including policing, gender identity, and free speech.
After detailing the growing incidence of the censure of free speech on college campuses, the article highlights groups of students meeting on a number of college campuses including a dialogue that took place at a meeting of the College Republicans at The College of Wooster. Dylynn Lasky, a white sophomore who leans liberal, and Bobby Ramkissoon, a Black conservative senior, shared their experience. They both also attended a conference through the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education (FIRE), which promotes free-speech rights on college campuses and offers counsel to students who request it. The students told The Atlantic how the meeting raised powerful issues, allowed students to speak up about what’s important to them, and demonstrated the propensity for students to engage in a civil-dialogue organization like the one they intended to start at Wooster.
“I would like to believe that the same seed that was planted in me was also planted in other conservatives in the room,” Ramkissoon said in the article, adding, “it confirmed to Dylynn and I that we needed more of these conversations.”
The Atlantic used their story as an example of how organizations like theirs on college campuses nationwide are creating a safe space inviting students “from across the political spectrum…[and removing] the anxieties of so-called cancel culture while still upholding a commitment to equity and inclusion.” The author further asserted that because of the lack of diversity in smaller communities, colleges like Wooster are where students are first learning to talk across differences and engage in these constructive conversations.
Image: Students attend Scot Spirit Day, an annual event on Wooster’s campus where they’re encouraged to learn more about student organizations and become involved.
Posted in News on February 14, 2022.
