North Carolina Governor and education critic Pat McCrory recently reiterated his dislike of journalists, adding psychologists, sociologists, lawyers and political scientists to the list.
In a statement to a room full of transportation gurus, McCrory said, “We’ve frankly got enough psychologists and sociologists and political science majors and journalists,” according to the Charlotte Business Journal. To be sure his point was made, he added, “And journalists, did I say journalists?”
Unfortunately, he was able to single out the disciplines and professions that are most likely to take his words and diagnose, theorize, analyze, research, publish or use them against him in a court of law.
Imagine the list of repercussions if McCrory had called out biologists, chemists and physicists.
In his speech, McCrory added, “People who can fix things and operate things and repair things, I’m envious of. That is a talent that is so valuable at this point in time. And there’s a shortage of people in those fields right now.”
He has a point here. These are all respected skills that can make life a lot easier. They are, however, of no greater or lesser importance.
McCrory’s dislike for journalists isn’t new, neither is their return-fire to the governor. For a man as education-minded as he makes himself to be, he has yet to prove himself to be a responsible caretaker for North Carolina’s brightest young minds.
The governor’s poor choice of words represents one of the biggest downfalls of intertwining legislation and education. Is all education policy bad? No, we rely on these legislators and policies to pay educators, keep institutions open and supplement the cost of opportunity.
While it is good to have rules in place, they can sometimes disrupt institutions that rely on creativity, diversity and an ever-expanding world that spins in many directions.
Colleges and universities are places for exploration, knowledge, discovery and application into the questions, interests and desires possessed by all who enroll.
It is not the role of the governor to indicate which academic fields of study are overcrowded or of importance to both the individual and the profession. Every major, minor, and concentration is full of adventure and significance.
Mullis, a senior criminal justice major from Wallburg, is an opinion writer.