University of Delaware: Students Required to Undergo Ideological Reeducation
Cases
University of Delaware
Case Overview
Following an intense campaign led by ²ÝÝ®ÊÓƵAPP¹ÙÍø and national media attention, the University of Delaware dropped an ideological reeducation program that was referred to in the university's own materials as a "treatment" for students' incorrect attitudes and beliefs. The program's stated goal was for the approximately 7,000 students in Delaware's residence halls to adopt highly specific university-approved views on politics, race, sexuality, sociology, moral philosophy, and environmentalism. The residence life education program made mandatory, among other things, one-on-one meetings between students and their Resident Assistants (RAs) where students were asked intrusive questions, such as "When did you discover your sexual identity?" ²ÝÝ®ÊÓƵAPP¹ÙÍø informed the school that forcing university views on students through this comprehensive manipulation of the residence hall environment was morally repugnant as well as unconstitutional, a clear assault on individuals' freedom of conscience. With the assistance of the Delaware Association of Scholars, ²ÝÝ®ÊÓƵAPP¹ÙÍø quickly persuaded former President Harker to eliminate the program. Since that initial victory, however, there have been continued attempts to reinstate the coercive elements of the ResLife program.