College faculties are bursting with professors who are eager to turn their students into social-justice warriors, intent on going out into the world to rid it of racism, threats to the environment, capitalism, and all other supposed obstacles to the perfect world. Do students want such courses?

In today’s Martin Center article, Bucknell University professor Alexander Riley observes that at his institution, the heavily ideological courses have an under-enrollment problem.

He writes:

On occasion, there has been modest press reflection on the fact of under-enrollment in “Studies” and other highly politicized courses. Almost a decade ago, the Chicago Tribune ran a story noting that African-American Studies programs were facing defunding in Illinois state schools due to low enrollments. But colleges have little incentive in the post-George Floyd Revolution days to linger over questions of enrollment or even to report on the situation.

It figures that the media wouldn’t have any interest in the low enrollments in the courses meant to save the world. People might start thinking that such courses are a waste of time and money. Can’t have that, now can we?

At Bucknell, Riley has noticed emails lamenting the low enrollments in preachy courses:

The English department, for example, recently sent out a campus note that listed “a number of courses with space available.” All of the courses were, by their titles alone (“Latinx Theater,” “Sex, Sexuality, and Rape Culture in the 18th Century,” “Affrilachia: Regional Literature, Race, and Power”), identifiable as classes focusing on the obsession with identity politics that is presented by DEI offices as the new raison d’être of higher education.

If students don’t want to squander time on woke courses, that’s good news. And if higher ed’s money woes persist, maybe officials will dump them to save money for actual education.