--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: When I was an undergraduate, the censors…" description: "\"“When I was an undergraduate, the censors attacked the university from without. Now, they are entrenched in the faculties and administrations themselve..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d20/david-horowitz-4695_censors_when-i-was-an-undergraduate-the-censors_2567151.jpg" --- # When I was an undergraduate, the censors attacked the… ![“When I was an undergraduate, the censors attacked the university from without. Now, they are entrenched in the faculties and administrations themselves. Then, the university defined itself as an institution "dedicated to the disinterested pursuit of knowledge." Now, every term of that definition…” quote by David Horowitz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d20/david-horowitz-4695_censors_when-i-was-an-undergraduate-the-censors_2567151.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d20/david-horowitz-4695_censors_when-i-was-an-undergraduate-the-censors_2567151.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d20/david-horowitz-4695_censors_when-i-was-an-undergraduate-the-censors_2567151.jpg) > ““When I was an undergraduate, the censors attacked the university from without. Now, they are entrenched in the faculties and administrations themselves. Then, the university defined itself as an institution "dedicated to the disinterested pursuit of knowledge." Now, every term of that definition is under siege by postmodernists and deconstructionists who have become the new academic establishment and have redefined the university as "an institution dedicated to social change." That is one reason why the academy, once perceived as a redoubt of intellectual freedom and cutting-edge discourse, has become the butt of snickering jokes about political correctness and the font of Kafkaesque tales about bureaucratic censorship and administrative obtuseness.”” [David Horowitz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-horowitz/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The quote critiques how universities shifted from defending pure inquiry to embracing activist agendas, leading to perceived censorship and bureaucratic absurdity. **In simple terms:** Universities moved from neutral scholarship to political activism, causing censorship concerns. Key Takeaway Recognize and protect genuine academic freedom. Themes academic freedom political activism censorship bureaucracy culture wars Mood critical concerned reflective Type analytical commentary When to use this quote - faculty meetings - policy debates - student activism - media commentary Key Concepts postmodernism deconstruction institutional change intellectual autonomy Questions to Reflect On - How does political activism affect scholarly rigor? - Can universities balance freedom with social responsibility? A Different Perspective Some argue that activism can enrich scholarship, not just restrict it. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Censors](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/censors/) [Education](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/education/) [Intellectual freedom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/intellectual-freedom/) [Management](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/management/) [Political correctness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/political-correctness/) [Pursuit of knowledge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pursuit-of-knowledge/) [Social change](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/social-change/) ## Related quotes > [there are lots of would-be censors out there, and although they may have different agendas, they all want basically the same thing: for you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-king/there-are-lots-of-would-be-censors-out-there-and-although-they-may/) [Stephen King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-king/) > [Religion grants its adherents malign, intoxicating and morally corrosive sensations. Destroying intellectual freedom is always evil, but only religion makes doing evil feel quite…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-pullman/religion-grants-its-adherents-malign-intoxicating-and-morally/) [Philip Pullman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-pullman/) > [The social model of the Bolsheviks failed, as will any model that denies individual rights, intellectual freedom, and freedom of competing political parties. Without…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mikhail-gorbachev/the-social-model-of-the-bolsheviks-failed-as-will-any-model-that/) [Mikhail Gorbachev](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mikhail-gorbachev/) > [In 2009, the American Library Association recorded 460 challenges reported to the Office of Intellectual Freedom.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-shaffer/in-2009-the-american-library-association-recorded-460-challenges/) [Andrew Shaffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-shaffer/) > [“Intellectual freedom depends upon material things. Poetry depends upon intellectual freedom.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/virginia-woolf/intellectual-freedom-depends-upon-material-things-poetry-depends-upon/) [Virginia Woolf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/virginia-woolf/) > [“Intellectual freedom depends upon material things. (...) Women have had less intellectual freedom than the sons of Athenian slaves. Women, then, have not had…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/virginia-woolf/intellectual-freedom-depends-upon-material-things-women-have-had-less/) [Virginia Woolf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/virginia-woolf/) > [The forefathers of the United States were children of religious bigotry and persecution, and, as a result, fled Britain to create a new approach…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-medavoy/the-forefathers-of-the-united-states-were-children-of-religious/) [Mike Medavoy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-medavoy/) > [“Therefore I would ask you to write all kinds of books, hesitating at no subject however trivial or however vast. By hook or by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/virginia-woolf/therefore-i-would-ask-you-to-write-all-kinds-of-books-hesitating-at-2/) [Virginia Woolf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/virginia-woolf/) > [“Muslims in the West and those in other intellectually free societies will be in a position to contribute to Islamic thought more so than…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abdullah-saeed/muslims-in-the-west-and-those-in-other-intellectually-free-societies/) Abdullah Saeed > [Intellectual freedom is essential -- freedom to obtain and distribute information, freedom for open-minded and unfearing debate and freedom from pressure by officialdom and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrei-sakharov/intellectual-freedom-is-essential-freedom-to-obtain-and-distribute/) [Andrei Sakharov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrei-sakharov/) > [“If you do not want to stop the wheels of progress; if you do not want to go back to the Dark Ages; if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-lewis/if-you-do-not-want-to-stop-the-wheels-of-progress-if-you-do-not-want/) [Joseph Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-lewis/) > [Growing up in Britain as a rather loose Jew, the two things that didn't belong together were freedom and religious intensity. In America, they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simon-schama/growing-up-in-britain-as-a-rather-loose-jew-the-two-things-that-didn/) [Simon Schama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simon-schama/) > [“Well, the man who first translated the bible into English was burned at the stake, and they've been at it ever since. Must be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phyllis-reynolds-naylor/well-the-man-who-first-translated-the-bible-into-english-was-burned/) [Phyllis Reynolds Naylor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/phyllis-reynolds-naylor/) > [To curtail free expression strikes twice at intellectual freedom, for whoever deprives another of the right to state unpopular views necessarily deprives others of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-vann-woodward/to-curtail-free-expression-strikes-twice-at-intellectual-freedom-for/) [C. Vann Woodward](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-vann-woodward/) > [“I hate it that Americans are taught to fear some books and some ideas as though they were diseases.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-vonnegut/i-hate-it-that-americans-are-taught-to-fear-some-books-and-some-ideas/) [Kurt Vonnegut](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-vonnegut/) ## More by David Horowitz > [In entirely unrelated news, there's a new proposal to mandate coverage for gay infertility. The problem is that gay infertility is just biology. Two…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-horowitz/in-entirely-unrelated-news-there-s-a-new-proposal-to-mandate-coverage/) [David Horowitz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-horowitz/) > [“The utility of "structural" racism for demagogues like Jackson is that even while acknowledging that the vast majority of whites are no longer overtly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-horowitz/the-utility-of-structural-racism-for-demagogues-like-jackson-is-that/) [David Horowitz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-horowitz/) > [Sanctimony is the most inexpensive form of morality. It costs us nothing to make much of small matters in others.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-horowitz/sanctimony-is-the-most-inexpensive-form-of-morality-it-costs-us/) [David Horowitz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-horowitz/) > [“If Republicans care about the Constitution, they have to find the courage to say no or lose their constituencies and ultimately their cause. They…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-horowitz/if-republicans-care-about-the-constitution-they-have-to-find-the/) [David Horowitz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-horowitz/) > [Instead of educating students, these professors are trying to indoctrinate them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-horowitz/instead-of-educating-students-these-professors-are-trying-to/) [David Horowitz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-horowitz/) > [In politics intentions count for nothing; actions are what matter.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-horowitz/in-politics-intentions-count-for-nothing-actions-are-what-matter/) [David Horowitz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-horowitz/) > [“It was this rallying of the Republican troops, who turned out in record crowds during the campaign, that led Trump to call what he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-horowitz/it-was-this-rallying-of-the-republican-troops-who-turned-out-in/) [David Horowitz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-horowitz/) > [No one is responsible under liberalism.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-horowitz/no-one-is-responsible-under-liberalism/) [David Horowitz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-horowitz/) > [“This is not a small matter. According to a recent poll conducted by the Freedom Forum, a liberal foundation in Tennessee, 89 percent of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-horowitz/this-is-not-a-small-matter-according-to-a-recent-poll-conducted-by/) [David Horowitz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-horowitz/) > [“Conservatism does not have a party line. It is possible for conservatives to question virtually any position held by other conservatives including, evidently, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-horowitz/conservatism-does-not-have-a-party-line-it-is-possible-for/) [David Horowitz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-horowitz/) > [“The remedy is to terminate them after the founding generation dies out. Older foundations like Ford should be sunset immediately and its funds distributed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-horowitz/the-remedy-is-to-terminate-them-after-the-founding-generation-dies/) [David Horowitz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-horowitz/) > [“… I do not feel that life is a downhill run. Nor do I think of it as an arc that rises steadily until…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-horowitz/i-do-not-feel-that-life-is-a-downhill-run-nor-do-i-think-of-it-as-an/) [David Horowitz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-horowitz/) > [“But Hayek is also one of the handful of social scientists who (along with his teacher Ludwig von Mises) demonstrated more than sixty years…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-horowitz/but-hayek-is-also-one-of-the-handful-of-social-scientists-who-along/) [David Horowitz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-horowitz/) > [The source of the terror in Lebanon as in Iraq is to be found in the Koran and in the despotisms of the Arab…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-horowitz/the-source-of-the-terror-in-lebanon-as-in-iraq-is-to-be-found-in-the/) [David Horowitz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-horowitz/) > [“The doctrine that only whites can be racist is, in fact, itself an instigation to hate crimes. It is a doctrine that has already…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-horowitz/the-doctrine-that-only-whites-can-be-racist-is-in-fact-itself-an/) [David Horowitz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-horowitz/) [Explore all 107 David Horowitz quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-horowitz/) ## More Censors quotes > [I enjoy upsetting the right people. I love poking fun at earnest censors. I want to push the bounds of what can be said…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/milo-yiannopoulos/i-enjoy-upsetting-the-right-people-i-love-poking-fun-at-earnest/) [Milo Yiannopoulos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/milo-yiannopoulos/) > [“Censors don’t want children exposed to ideas different from their own. If every individual with an agenda had his/her way, the shelves in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/judy-blume/censors-don-t-want-children-exposed-to-ideas-different-from-their-own/) [Judy Blume](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/judy-blume/) > [“Mainstream features can turn into ventures when you fender their venders and set off their censors.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/calvin-w-allison/mainstream-features-can-turn-into-ventures-when-you-fender-their/) [Calvin W. Allison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/calvin-w-allison/) > [ \[Censors are\] people with secret attractions to various temptations... They are defending themselves under the pretext of defending others, because at heart they fear… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-jones/censors-are-people-with-secret-attractions-to-various-temptations/) [Ernest Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-jones/) > [In conclusion, you can see that there is a place for censors and we only wish that we could tell you where it is.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pat-paulsen/in-conclusion-you-can-see-that-there-is-a-place-for-censors-and-we/) [Pat Paulsen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pat-paulsen/) > [I turned to historical films because they pass censors more easily.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jiang-wen/i-turned-to-historical-films-because-they-pass-censors-more-easily/) [Jiang Wen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jiang-wen/) > [I'm gonna sing those songs that offend the censors.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nickelback/i-m-gonna-sing-those-songs-that-offend-the-censors/) Nickelback > [“The censors of our age do not yet burn books, they attempt to restrict speech in the name of "offense". The tactics may be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carmine-savastano/the-censors-of-our-age-do-not-yet-burn-books-they-attempt-to-restrict/) [Carmine Savastano](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carmine-savastano/) > [Censorship is not an occupation that attracts intelligent, subtle minds. Censors can and often have been outwitted. But the game of slipping Aesopian messages…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-m-coetzee-2/censorship-is-not-an-occupation-that-attracts-intelligent-subtle/) [J. M. Coetzee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-m-coetzee-2/) > [The worst censors are those prohibiting criticism of the theory of evolution in the classroom.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phyllis-schlafly/the-worst-censors-are-those-prohibiting-criticism-of-the-theory-of/) [Phyllis Schlafly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/phyllis-schlafly/) > [Freedom of the press is essential to the preservation of a democracy; but there is a difference between freedom and license. Editorialists who tell…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/franklin-d-roosevelt/freedom-of-the-press-is-essential-to-the-preservation-of-a-democracy/) [Franklin D. Roosevelt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/franklin-d-roosevelt/) > [there are lots of would-be censors out there, and although they may have different agendas, they all want basically the same thing: for you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-king/there-are-lots-of-would-be-censors-out-there-and-although-they-may/) [Stephen King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-king/) > [I have a very serious censorship office inside my head; it censors things that I could tell you that you would never forget, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-furst/i-have-a-very-serious-censorship-office-inside-my-head-it-censors/) [Alan Furst](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-furst/) > [The people are the only censors of their governors, and even their errors will tend to keep these to the true principles of their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/the-people-are-the-only-censors-of-their-governors-and-even-their/) [Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/) > [Censors are dead men set up to judge between life and death. For no live, sunny man would be a censor, he'd just laugh.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/d-h-lawrence/censors-are-dead-men-set-up-to-judge-between-life-and-death-for-no/) [D. H. Lawrence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/d-h-lawrence/) [Browse all 77 Censors quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/censors/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“When I was an undergraduate, the censors attacked the university from without. Now, they are entrenched in the faculties and administrations themselves. 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