This is a guest opinion

Samford University in Birmingham is struggling with LGBTQ+ students protesting that they are not protected from discrimination. The Baptist, private campus has ethical and legal issues to deal with as students say their reports go unheard.

Birmingham’s Samford is not alone in dealing with harassment of students with different beliefs and cultures.

At Columbia University students are demonstrating and being accused of antisemitism while at other prestigious schools claims of Islamophobia have also made national news. Similar controversies have arisen at Cornell, Wellesley and the University of Pennsylvania. Jewish and Muslim students say they are afraid.

The U.S. Department of Education’s Office of Civil Rights is investigating to determine if the schools are in violation of Title VI of the Civil Rights Act, which prohibits discrimination based on race or national origin. The issue is complicated— assuring campus security while protecting free speech.

But should we also ask what is expected of a college education? Narrow-mindedness? Is it time to take a second look at those admission essays? What happened to analytical thinking? College should enlighten students by stimulating the mind and enlivening the soul.

Scholars over decades have pondered what is the purpose of education. Maybe the best assessment is from Eleanor Roosevelt. In 1930, she wrote “Good Citizenship: The Purpose of Education.”

If you were to ask even a relatively small group of teachers, administrators, students, parents, community members, business leaders, and policymakers to address the question of purpose, how difficult do you think it would be to reach a consensus?

You might have better luck asking, ‘What is the meaning of life?’

In the United States historically, the purpose of education has evolved according to the needs of society. Education’s primary purpose has ranged from instructing youth in religious doctrine, to preparing them to live in a democracy, to assimilating immigrants into mainstream society, to preparing workers for the industrialized 20th century workplace.

And now, as educators prepare young people for their futures in a world that is rapidly changing, what is the goal? To create adults who can compete in a global economy? To creative lifelong learners? To create emotionally healthy adults who can engage in meaningful relationships?

Yes.

Before getting a master’s degree from the University of Alabama, I graduated in 1971 from what was then a new college, the University of South Alabama in Mobile. There was no ivy on the buildings. But we did have issues to confront. I was a member of the Student Government Association and we debated how to deal with anti-Vietnam War students and those enrolled on ROTC scholarships.

I had many friends in each group. I had been a sorority girl and dated frat boys, some who were ROTC. But I fell in love with a smart hippie who I later married. I hope I’m not too sentimental to remember that many of us respected the views of our fellow students. As proof, a planned demonstration in the center of campus at the flagpole was nonviolent.

Shouldn’t it be our goal to provide students exposure to and understanding of different views?

Eleanor Roosevelt nailed it. She summed up the proper education. To graduate citizens who can contribute to the well-being of the community.

Jean Lufkin Bouler is a former education reporter for The Birmingham News and author of several nonfiction books