Harvard going Orwell, protecting students from conservative websites

As someone who spent almost two decades at Harvard, first as a student and then as a member of the faculty and officer of the university, I am ashamed at how far an institution that proclaims "Truth" ("Veritas" in Latin) as its motto has fallen away from that mission. The Harvard University library system is now in the business of warning away students from polluting their minds with dissident information that might raise uncomfortable questions in Liberalville. Can't have the youngsters questioning the orthodoxy of the left! Thus, we have the spectacle of Harvard librarians rating political websites and warning away students and faculty, lest their minds become confused by viewpoints that might disturb the liberal mindset. (For instance, remembering that when Bill Clinton fired all the U.S. attorneys, it was a normal "replacement," but when Donald Trump did the same thing, it was an outrageous "ousting" of dedicated crime-fighters.) Harvard undergraduates, too young to remember the Clinton firing, must be protected from viewpoints that might confuse them.

This graphic published by the librarians ought to be a matter of shame for the university: "When in doubt, ask a librarian." ...because librarians are sophisticated consumers of political news, and because they have exhaustively researched each of the hundreds of websites they "rate"? I am sorry, but this is dangerous nonsense. I was grateful for the help that the staffs of several Harvard libraries (there are dozens of libraries at Harvard) gave me in my years there. They knew what their collections contained and how to get a hold of even the most obscure items. But they always knew they were in a service role, not in the role of determining what sources I should rely on. That was my job! How about, when in doubt, read what they have to say, read others, and make up your mind? That was what I always did. Consider this: the Harvard librarians do not trust students to make up their own minds. Instead, they find certain viewpoints dangerous, and want to make sure that youngsters are warned away from viewpoints dissenting from liberal orthodoxy. In actuality, it is the job of librarians to collect, organize, and store source materials for students and scholars to use in their work. It is the job of scholars and students (not librarians) to evaluate those sources and appropriately draw on them in their research and writing. At the mammoth Harvard University Library system, they seem to have forgotten this role distinction. In the age of Trump, the dangers of exposing bright young minds to information incompatible with the worldview of leftists is so great that the librarians took it upon themselves to warn away students before those viewpoints ever reach their eyes. One of the websites the Harvard Librarians ban as "biased" is American Thinker. We have plenty of company on the right, much less on the left. Doug Ross has collected the ratings for us and a number of our colleagues: Site Harvard Labels Real Description americanthinker.com bias Political news and opinion liberals hate AmmoLand.com bias Firearm news liberals hate barenakedislam.com hate News about Isamic terror that liberals hate breitbart.com political unreliable bias Political news and opinion liberals hate canadafreepress.com conspiracy bias Political news and opinion liberals hate centerforsecuritypolicy.org bias conspiracy News about Isamic terror that liberals hate citizensunited.org bias Pro-free speech group that liberals hate city-journal.org political Urban news that liberals hate CNSNews.com unreliable bias Political news and opinion liberals hate commentarymagazine.com political Political opinions that liberals hate conservativereview.com political Pro-Constitution articles that liberals hate counterjihad.com bias News about Isamic terror that liberals hate dailycaller.com political clickbait unreliable Political news and opinion liberals hate dailysignal.com bias Pro-Constitution articles that liberals hate drudgereport.com political bias Political news and opinion liberals hate familysecuritymatters.org conspiracy bias News about Isamic terror that liberals hate FreeBeacon.com bias Political news and opinion liberals hate freedomworks.org political Pro-Constitution articles that liberals hate frontpagemag.com bias hate News about Isamic terror that liberals hate gatesofvienna.net hate conspiracy News about Isamic terror that liberals hate heartland.org bias Pro-business group that liberals hate heritage.org unknown Pro-Constitution articles that liberals hate jihadwatch.org unknown News about Isamic terror that liberals hate judicialwatch.org unknown Pro-Constitution articles that liberals hate lifenews.com bias clickbait Pro-Life articles that liberals hate lifezette.com clickbait Pro-Life articles that liberals hate nationalreview.com unknown Political news and opinion liberals hate pamelageller.com conspiracy fake bias News about Isamic terror that liberals hate PeakProsperity.com unknown Economic facts that liberals despise pjmedia.com unknown Political news and opinion liberals hate powerlineblog.com unknown Political news and opinion liberals hate rightwingnews.com bias unreliable Political news and opinion liberals hate ShadowStats.com unknown Economic facts that liberals despise SteveQuayle.com unknown Political news and opinion liberals hate theamericanmirror.com unknown Political news and opinion liberals hate TheBurningPlatform.com unknown Economic facts that liberals despise theconservativetreehouse.com unknown Political news and opinion liberals hate theduran.com unreliable Political news and opinion liberals hate thegatewaypundit.com bias conspiracy unreliable Political news and opinion liberals hate theintercept.com unknown Political news and opinion liberals hate therightscoop.com fake clickbait Videos of news shows that liberals hate truepundit.com bias clickbait Political news and opinion liberals hate twitchy.com clickbait rumor Tweets that liberals hate unz.com unknown Politically incorrect articles that liberals hate weaselzippers.us unreliable bias Political news and opinion liberals hate weeklystandard.com political bias Political news and opinion liberals hate westernjournalism.com bias clickbait Political news and opinion liberals hate wikileaks.org unknown Government documents that liberals hate wnd.com bias clickbait unreliable Political news and opinion liberals hate zerohedge.com conspiracy Political news and opinion liberals hate Missing from any hints of bias are the New York Times, NBC News, and pretty much everyone in the MSM.