DANIEL OWEN | DAILY KENT STATER

Ben Shapiro, a nationally syndicated columnist, speaks to students at the Student Center Ballroom last night. The title of the speech was “How You’re Being Brainwashed.”

Credit: Adam Griffiths

Ben Shapiro, nationally syndicated conservative columnist, told about 25 students and community members that liberally-slanted universities do not broaden students’ horizons.

Instead, in his speech sponsored by the College Republicans, he said the lack of diverse perspectives offered by many university professors does the exact opposite by stifling conservative viewpoints.

“There is good reason to teach both point of views,” he said. “Unfortunately, colleges don’t do that.”

Shapiro said many professors’ agendas include:

• teaching moral relativism as opposed to traditional American values and morals

• defining deviance down toward “tolerance of all behavior”

• controlling class syllabi to focus on the liberal perspective

Even so, Shapiro said the overall environment on college campuses also contributes to the liberal mindset at universities across the country.

“Most student newspapers at colleges across the country are massively liberal,” he said, adding that college programs are the “training grounds for national media.”

In addition, Shapiro proposed that liberal and apathetic students are missing an educational experience because, unlike conservative students, they do not have their ideas challenged due to the liberal slant.

“I don’t think the same thing has happened for liberal and apathetic students,” he said. “Most of them never have to think about their politics.”

Junior political science major Chris Riehle said Kent State professors have been more liberal than he expected.

“Over the years, I have had a lot of liberal professors that push their views,” he said. “College campuses should be a place of exchange of ideas.”

Shapiro also said he thinks it is unpatriotic to label certain deviant behaviors as acceptable if they do not align with the basic religious values at the foundation of American society.

However, he added criticism of things the country has done wrong is not unpatriotic.

“‘Unpatriotic’ is not meant to be a slur,” he said. “It is meant to be a label.”

Contact student politics reporter Jackie Valley at [email protected].