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News

1984: In the Culture Wars, a Volley at Higher Education

April 10, 2016
1984-50th

As chairman of the National Endowment for the Humanities, William J. Bennett felt moved to issue a 42-page report ripping into the state of those disciplines and urging colleges to “revitalize teaching of the humanities,” The Chronicle reported. “Many academic leaders lack the confidence to assert that the curriculum should stand for something more than salesmanship, compromise, or special-interest politics,” he wrote. A few months later, Mr. Bennett became U.S. secretary of education. In other front-page news, we described Amherst College’s painful prohibition on fraternity activities. Thirty years later, Amherst banned off-campus Greek groups entirely.

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1984-50th

As chairman of the National Endowment for the Humanities, William J. Bennett felt moved to issue a 42-page report ripping into the state of those disciplines and urging colleges to “revitalize teaching of the humanities,” The Chronicle reported. “Many academic leaders lack the confidence to assert that the curriculum should stand for something more than salesmanship, compromise, or special-interest politics,” he wrote. A few months later, Mr. Bennett became U.S. secretary of education. In other front-page news, we described Amherst College’s painful prohibition on fraternity activities. Thirty years later, Amherst banned off-campus Greek groups entirely.

A version of this article appeared in the April 15, 2016, issue.
Read other items in 50 Years of Page Ones.
We welcome your thoughts and questions about this article. Please email the editors or submit a letter for publication.
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