Is there any reason why college leaders should issue statements regarding national or international events? No, but they often do. George Floyd, Donald Trump, Israel, etc. College leaders feel the need to say something, almost always with repercussions on campus.

But as Ashlyn Warta reports in today’s Martin Center article, most students don’t want this political posturing.

She writes:

In December 2024, IHE and Generation Lab polled over 1,000 students from nearly 200 two- and four-year institutions on various speech-related topics, such as the climate for civil dialogue and free speech on campus. Other questions concerned who students feel is most to blame for escalating tensions regarding free speech and whether colleges and universities should make statements about political events. The findings conclude that students want (by varying but persuasive percentages) to see the promotion of constructive dialogue on college campuses. Yet they don’t (54 percent) want administrators to weigh in every time the nation conducts an election or police violence captures the public eye.

It’s just pointless virtue signaling from officials to issue such statements. Evidently, they enjoy the attention, but they ought to stop.

Read the whole thing.