--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Colleges are supposed to be the calm…" description: "\"“Colleges are supposed to be the calm environment in which educated men and women determine what’s true and what’s false, and where they learn to follo..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bc9/thomas-m-nichols-8933_colleges_colleges-are-supposed-to-be-the-calm-env_2453743.jpg" --- # Colleges are supposed to be the calm environment in which… ![“Colleges are supposed to be the calm environment in which educated men and women determine what’s true and what’s false, and where they learn to follow a model of scholarly inquiry no matter where it takes them. Instead, many colleges have become hostages to students who demand that their feelings…” quote by Thomas M. Nichols](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bc9/thomas-m-nichols-8933_colleges_colleges-are-supposed-to-be-the-calm-env_2453743.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bc9/thomas-m-nichols-8933_colleges_colleges-are-supposed-to-be-the-calm-env_2453743.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bc9/thomas-m-nichols-8933_colleges_colleges-are-supposed-to-be-the-calm-env_2453743.jpg) > ““Colleges are supposed to be the calm environment in which educated men and women determine what’s true and what’s false, and where they learn to follow a model of scholarly inquiry no matter where it takes them. Instead, many colleges have become hostages to students who demand that their feelings override every other consideration.”” [Thomas M. Nichols](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-m-nichols/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Colleges should prioritize objective inquiry, but increasingly prioritize student emotions over truth, turning academia into a hostage to feelings. **In simple terms:** Schools are shifting from truth to feelings. Key Takeaway Balance emotional sensitivity with rigorous scholarship. Themes education truth emotions academic freedom Mood concerned thoughtful Type critical inspirational When to use this quote - classroom discussions - policy making - curriculum design Key Concepts critical thinking free speech student activism Questions to Reflect On - What is the role of emotion in scholarship? - How can institutions protect truth while being inclusive? A Different Perspective Overemphasis on feelings can suppress dissenting ideas. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Calm Environment](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/calm-environment/) [Colleges](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/colleges/) [Education](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/education/) [Men and women](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/men-and-women/) ## Related quotes > [Instead, most colleges are studies in obsolescence.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kent-mccord/instead-most-colleges-are-studies-in-obsolescence/) [Kent McCord](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kent-mccord/) > [“(1) A Quiet Environment Ideally, you should choose a quiet, calm environment with as few distractions as possible. A quiet room is suitable, as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herbert-benson/1-a-quiet-environment-ideally-you-should-choose-a-quiet-calm-2/) [Herbert Benson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herbert-benson/) > [“The Eating Guidelines 1. Eat when you are hungry. 2. Eat sitting down in a calm environment. This does not include the car. 3.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/geneen-roth/the-eating-guidelines-1-eat-when-you-are-hungry-2-eat-sitting-down-in/) [Geneen Roth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/geneen-roth/) > [A calm environment is for after I finish work.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lee-child/a-calm-environment-is-for-after-i-finish-work/) [Lee Child](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lee-child/) > [“(1) A Quiet Environment Ideally, you should choose a quiet, calm environment with as few distractions as possible. A quiet room is suitable, as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herbert-benson/1-a-quiet-environment-ideally-you-should-choose-a-quiet-calm/) [Herbert Benson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herbert-benson/) > [You arrive at a village, and in this calm environment, one starts to hear echo.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yannick-noah/you-arrive-at-a-village-and-in-this-calm-environment-one-starts-to/) [Yannick Noah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yannick-noah/) > [“Sometimes we try to calm but our environment will force us to speak.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lord-uzih/sometimes-we-try-to-calm-but-our-environment-will-force-us-to-speak/) [Lord Uzih](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lord-uzih/) > [“Two ingredients most valuable in the concocting of a ghost story are the atmosphere and the nicely managed crescendo …Let us, then, be introduced…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/m-r-james/two-ingredients-most-valuable-in-the-concocting-of-a-ghost-story-are/) [M. R. James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/m-r-james/) > [Years ago, I was always serious, and now I chuckle and make jokes to create a calm environment because 'WrestleMania' can be a high-pressure…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shawn-michaels/years-ago-i-was-always-serious-and-now-i-chuckle-and-make-jokes-to/) [Shawn Michaels](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shawn-michaels/) > [These days, more than any other time, we are worried about our personal life, our private life. When we talk about our private life,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/asghar-farhadi/these-days-more-than-any-other-time-we-are-worried-about-our-personal/) [Asghar Farhadi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/asghar-farhadi/) > [Educated men are so impressive.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/educated-men-are-so-impressive/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [“I'm not trying to tell you," he said "that only educated men are able to contribute something valuable to the world. It's not so.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-d-salinger/i-m-not-trying-to-tell-you-he-said-that-only-educated-men-are-able-to/) [J.D. Salinger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-d-salinger/) > [“For this is the great secret, which was known to all educated men in our day: that by what men think, we create the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marion-zimmer-bradley/for-this-is-the-great-secret-which-was-known-to-all-educated-men-in/) [Marion Zimmer Bradley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marion-zimmer-bradley/) > [“Where any one body of educated men, of whatever denomination, are condemned indiscriminately, there must be a deficiency of information, (or smiling) of something…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-austen/where-any-one-body-of-educated-men-of-whatever-denomination-are/) [Jane Austen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-austen/) > [“this is the great secret, which was known to all educated men in our day: that by what men think, we create the world…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marion-zimmer-bradley/this-is-the-great-secret-which-was-known-to-all-educated-men-in-our/) [Marion Zimmer Bradley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marion-zimmer-bradley/) ## More by Thomas M. Nichols > [“Conspiracy theorists manipulate all tangible evidence to fit their explanation, but worse, they will also point to the absence of evidence as even stronger…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-m-nichols/conspiracy-theorists-manipulate-all-tangible-evidence-to-fit-their/) [Thomas M. Nichols](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-m-nichols/) > [“Today, by contrast, students explode over imagined slights that are not even remotely in the same category as fighting for civil rights or being…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-m-nichols/today-by-contrast-students-explode-over-imagined-slights-that-are-not/) [Thomas M. Nichols](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-m-nichols/) > [“And when voters lose control of these important decisions, they risk the hijacking of their democracy by ignorant demagogues, or the more quiet and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-m-nichols/and-when-voters-lose-control-of-these-important-decisions-they-risk/) [Thomas M. Nichols](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-m-nichols/) > [“As the economic writer Ben Casselman pointed out in 2016, most college applicants “never have to write a college entrance essay, pad a résumé…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-m-nichols/as-the-economic-writer-ben-casselman-pointed-out-in-2016-most-college/) [Thomas M. Nichols](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-m-nichols/) > [“People do not come to the Internet so that their bad information can be corrected or their cherished theories disproven. Rather, they ask the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-m-nichols/people-do-not-come-to-the-internet-so-that-their-bad-information-can/) [Thomas M. Nichols](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-m-nichols/) > [“If the public has no idea about the substance of an issue, and will vote based on who they like rather than what they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-m-nichols/if-the-public-has-no-idea-about-the-substance-of-an-issue-and-will/) [Thomas M. Nichols](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-m-nichols/) > [“The issue is not indifference to established knowledge; it’s the emergence of a positive hostility to such knowledge. This is new in American culture,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-m-nichols/the-issue-is-not-indifference-to-established-knowledge-it-s-the/) [Thomas M. Nichols](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-m-nichols/) > [“At the root of all this is an inability among laypeople to understand that experts being wrong on occasion about certain issues is not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-m-nichols/at-the-root-of-all-this-is-an-inability-among-laypeople-to-understand/) [Thomas M. Nichols](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-m-nichols/) > [“The requirements of a degree in a STEM field (science, technology, engineering, mathematics), a demanding foreign language, or a rigorous degree in the humanities…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-m-nichols/the-requirements-of-a-degree-in-a-stem-field-science-technology/) [Thomas M. Nichols](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-m-nichols/) > [“In 2015, a Massachusetts accountant named Stephen Pasceri lost his seventy-eight-year-old mother to cardiovascular disease. Mrs. Pasceri had a long history of health trouble,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-m-nichols/in-2015-a-massachusetts-accountant-named-stephen-pasceri-lost-his/) [Thomas M. Nichols](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-m-nichols/) > [“There is a cult of ignorance in the United States, and there always has been. The strain of anti-intellectualism has been a constant thread…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-m-nichols/there-is-a-cult-of-ignorance-in-the-united-states-and-there-always/) [Thomas M. Nichols](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-m-nichols/) > [“The modern media, with so many options tailored to particular views, is a huge exercise in confirmation bias. This means that Americans are not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-m-nichols/the-modern-media-with-so-many-options-tailored-to-particular-views-is/) [Thomas M. Nichols](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-m-nichols/) > [“Americans no longer distinguish the phrase “you’re wrong” from the phrase “you’re stupid.” To disagree is to disrespect. To correct another is to insult.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-m-nichols/americans-no-longer-distinguish-the-phrase-you-re-wrong-from-the/) [Thomas M. Nichols](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-m-nichols/) > [“There aren’t enough pages in this or any other book to catalog the amount of bad information on the Internet. Miracle cures, conspiracy theories,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-m-nichols/there-aren-t-enough-pages-in-this-or-any-other-book-to-catalog-the/) [Thomas M. Nichols](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-m-nichols/) > [“Populism actually reinforces this elitism, because the celebration of ignorance cannot launch communications satellites, negotiate the rights of US citizens overseas, or provide for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-m-nichols/populism-actually-reinforces-this-elitism-because-the-celebration-of/) [Thomas M. Nichols](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-m-nichols/) [Explore all 76 Thomas M. Nichols quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-m-nichols/) ## More Colleges quotes > [When comics came along in the 1930s there was a talent pool waiting. And one reason is so many areas were closed to Jews.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jerry-robinson/when-comics-came-along-in-the-1930s-there-was-a-talent-pool-waiting/) [Jerry Robinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jerry-robinson/) > [Community colleges provide higher education where people live, helping to build strong ladders of opportunity that allow people to secure a foothold in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-perez/community-colleges-provide-higher-education-where-people-live-helping/) [Thomas Perez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-perez/) > [There were male colleges, and there were very few female colleges.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maggie-smith/there-were-male-colleges-and-there-were-very-few-female-colleges/) [Maggie Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maggie-smith/) > [Community colleges are the way of the future.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jill-biden/community-colleges-are-the-way-of-the-future/) [Jill Biden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jill-biden/) > [I came from a Hindi medium school... the principal felt that I would not fit into an English medium college. Though I was top…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lakshmi-mittal/i-came-from-a-hindi-medium-school-the-principal-felt-that-i-would-not/) [Lakshmi Mittal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lakshmi-mittal/) > [Community colleges are great bargains. They avoid the fancy amenities four-year liberal arts colleges need in order to lure the children of the middle…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-reich/community-colleges-are-great-bargains-they-avoid-the-fancy-amenities/) [Robert Reich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-reich/) > [Colleges must do their part to keep costs down, and its our job to make sure they do.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barack-obama/colleges-must-do-their-part-to-keep-costs-down-and-its-our-job-to/) [Barack Obama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barack-obama/) > [All the colleges I played, most of the colleges, they were white.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jimmy-smith/all-the-colleges-i-played-most-of-the-colleges-they-were-white/) [Jimmy Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jimmy-smith/) > [Young adults enrolled in universities and colleges or other postsecondary training should avail themselves of the opportunity to take institute of religion courses or,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ezra-taft-benson/young-adults-enrolled-in-universities-and-colleges-or-other/) [Ezra Taft Benson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ezra-taft-benson/) > [We are looking for targets that have a tremendous strategic fit for the company. The colleges must have complementary education programs, have an excellent…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-larson/we-are-looking-for-targets-that-have-a-tremendous-strategic-fit-for/) John Larson > [By making all my materials freely available through 'Giving 2.0' ProjectU, I am on a mission to extend philanthropy education to colleges globally and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laura-arrillaga-andreessen/by-making-all-my-materials-freely-available-through-giving-2-0/) [Laura Arrillaga-Andreessen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laura-arrillaga-andreessen/) > [Instead, most colleges are studies in obsolescence.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kent-mccord/instead-most-colleges-are-studies-in-obsolescence/) [Kent McCord](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kent-mccord/) > [Colleges would compete by adding professors, enhancing programmes or building nicer facilities. So they competed by making institutions better.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clayton-m-christensen/colleges-would-compete-by-adding-professors-enhancing-programmes-or/) [Clayton M. Christensen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clayton-m-christensen/) > [All schools, all colleges have two great functions: to confer, and to conceal valuable knowledge.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/all-schools-all-colleges-have-two-great-functions-to-confer-and-to/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [Student loan debt is the reason I don't advise students who want to become entrepreneurs to apply to elite, expensive colleges. They can be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vivek-wadhwa/student-loan-debt-is-the-reason-i-don-t-advise-students-who-want-to/) [Vivek Wadhwa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vivek-wadhwa/) [Browse all 78 Colleges quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/colleges/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Colleges are supposed to be the calm environment in which educated men and women determine what’s true and what’s false, and where they learn to follow a model of scholarly inquiry no matter where it takes them. Instead, many colleges have become hostages to students who demand that their feelings override every other consideration.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Thomas M. 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