A professor emeritus at the University of California, Santa Cruz is speaking out against the culture of hatred overtaking America’s campuses. In a Wall Street Journal column, he argued that the radical campus left is not driven by honest debate or a search for truth but by an ideology built on resentment and division. His remarks challenge a dominant narrative in higher education that increasingly labels political opponents as inherently immoral.
The professor cited a recent WSJ essay titled “America’s Campus Left Is Hateful to Its Core.” The piece explained that far-left activists divide society into two categories: oppressors and oppressed. Those labeled “oppressors”—often conservatives, traditional Christians, heterosexuals, or others outside progressive orthodoxy—are portrayed as fundamentally evil. Meanwhile, those placed in the “oppressed” group are seen as beyond criticism, regardless of individual conduct.
This framework leaves no room for dialogue, compromise, or even basic civility. The column stressed that hatred is not just an unfortunate byproduct of campus activism; it is central to the ideology itself. To ask activists to abandon hate would be to ask them to abandon their entire political identity. On many campuses, this worldview has become dominant, creating a hostile climate for students who hold moderate or conservative views.
