College in the Time of Crazy

It’s hard to break a habit. 

Mine is reading the news. You can take the boy out of Newhouse - but you can’t take the Newhouse out of the boy. 

For most of my life, I have started my day with a meticulous review of the headlines in the New York Times. But in the last few years, the shape of this habit has changed as the world, too, has changed. 

And not for the better. The bleakness of COVID lockdowns gave way to massive inflation, civil unrest, and unprecedented division. 

Now we have Trump 2.0. A crazy, dangerous and chaotic time. Bombs away in Caracas. The betrayal of Nicki Minaj. An unkind and upside down age, almost dystopian in disposition - presided over by zealots and a mafia of blond women donning ill-fitting suits from the clearance rack at Dillard’s. 

But nothing has hit harder, or made me more anxious, than the sustained assault on higher education. Populist rage has been aimed squarely at a system viewed as the elitist arbiter of a society that champions ideas - and people - ultraconservatives just don’t like. 

Though I freely concede that my beloved higher education roost and its leadership have, in some cases, managed things terribly; some campus cultures indeed devolved into their own versions of smug bias and belittling intolerance. But the price of those indiscretions is now being paid. Literally. 

It’s not just the money. It’s the thinking, the ideas, the menacing of academic freedom. And now: it’s Plato. 

You heard me. 

Texas A&M has censored one of time’s greatest thinkers, a godfather of intellectual and philosophical awakening. 

A recent course in the university’s philosophy department came under scrutiny for its inclusion of excerpts from Symposium. The work is expansive, but is replete with references to gender fluidity and diverse sexual orientations. Naturally, the course was to cover and examine these themes. Which to those in charge in Texas, are bad, and worthy of being erased from discussions of Western civilization - and from your education altogether. 

Whatever you might think about the work’s key narratives and mature content, Symposium has been taught in a great many colleges for a great many years - many philosophers and academics label it as “foundational.” And do mind: we are not talking about an audience of high schoolers, where a clear and reasonable argument could be made for why it’s just too risque for that stage of life, or why parental guidance would be needed. No, in fact we are talking about college students, actual adults - defined so by law. 

But it’s especially poignant being that the work itself centers on dialogue. The exchanging of ideas and viewpoints together as a group of people - passionately, openly, with genuine and respectful interest. The championing and creation of beauty, expression, resonance. Love itself. A broadening of the mind, the heart and the human experience. This is largely what college is, and should be. But now it isn’t - at least in College Station. 

I’m bewildered and disoriented by it - and I’m quite positive that 17-year-olds trying to run a college search are, too. Their parents definitely are. My most visited webpage at the moment is Air Canada. 

But those fares are currently quite pricey. So what to do? 

First, I think let’s consider steering clear of the Texas public universities - at least until James Talarico gets elected. You can move to Austin later, where you'll love eating really expensive bacon from a truck. 

Second, do your own homework. Even in doing mine for this piece, I discovered certain nuances that were not being widely reported that helped frame this story and temper my indignation (slightly). If the fit for you is a large public flagship in a red or red-ish state, learn what is on that state’s legislative docket right now, and what has already been passed - and how those laws could shape your college experience. Or not. Ask probing, honest questions of administrators, professors, students and admission officers. 

Third, don’t throw the baby out with the bathwater. Private institutions are generally less susceptible to state government influence. So even if the immediate environs of a college are a hotbed of rueful intolerance, the actual experience on campus isn’t likely to be significantly affected, and it could still prove a lovely and inclusive place. I’m looking at you, Grinnell. 

Fourth, be critical in your assessments of the news media and its sources, and don’t give into hysteria. I find that the truth always lies somewhere a tad closer to the middle. 

Fifth, remember that this is both ghastly and temporary - and even in the context of this time, the A&M case is an extreme. I think that sometime soon, genuine inquiry and good reason and dignity will be in vogue again. Remember that the madness of Vietnam, Richard Nixon and Watergate eventually gave way to the ecumenical kindness of Jimmy Carter and the bright, unrestrained glory of Halston jumpsuits. In the meantime, persevere by being convicted, but kind. 

Lastly, when you get to college, I encourage you to read things that make other people want to control and silence you - whatever they may be. Entertain things that make you think differently. Things that are controversial, to you or someone else. Talk to people that you aren’t comfortable with. Continue to be a provocateur with your words, but learn to de-escalate when necessary. Stand up for other people and their right to be themselves freely. Ditto for you and yourself. Spend four years at the marketplace of ideas - make our dear Plato proud. 

So despite the crazy dumpster fire that is life in 2026, I can say with authority that you’ll still go to college and love it. You will still find a fabulous fit for yourself. And in doing so: you’ll come to create your very own symposium.