If a student has been admitted to a college or university, that would seem to signal that the individual “belongs” there, but only if his or her academic performance is satisfactory. But these days, campus administrators have embraced a different view. Students (some of them, anyway) must be constantly reassured that they “belong” at the school. That’s rooted in the erosion of admission standards under the “diversity” mania.

In today’s Martin Center article, Professor Martha McCaughey looks at the new “belonging” mantra:

Some education scholars have argued that student success depends on a sense of belonging. Educational leaders are trying to build belonging into their disciplinary societies, and it was also invoked, to explain Claudine Gay’s resignation from her post as Harvard’s president, by a professor who wrote, “Black people will never belong there because we weren’t meant to — not then, not now, not ever.”

In other words, we have a new excuse for failure. Minority students (and faculty) who don’t make it just weren’t made aware of how valued they are. It also gives administrators something to do.

Oh, but what’s the harm in emphasizing “belonging”? McCaughey shows that there is harm:

While a feeling of belonging can result in a commitment to the organization and to teamwork, belonging can also lapse into safetyism and censorship. For example, a high-school librarian and blogger lists what belonging looks and feels like, using language such as, “When the things I love, value, prioritize, or need are celebrated, centered, and made space for” and “When I see other people like me reflected positively in that space.” The librarian then takes a facile step further, stating, in boldface, “I know I belong when things that harm (physically, psychologically, or emotionally) me are not allowed and when that rule is vigorously enforced and upheld.” Here, “harm” moves beyond physical harm to the psychological and emotional realms, giving us an imperative to banish these harms through vigorous enforcement.

The “belonging” movement not only infantilizes young adults, but undermines the purpose of college education to foster inquiry.