Fear of offense does not good policy make. It is deceitful sentiment masquerading as compassion that capitulates to the dogma of political correctness rather than embracing truth. An example of this compromising mentality was seen at the College of the Holy Cross. The Catholic school has decided to drop its “Crusaders” nickname and “Knight” mascot over concerns that they may be offensive to certain folks, specifically Muslims. The school’s president, Rev. Philip Boroughs, released a statement explaining, “The visual depiction of a knight, in conjunction with the moniker Crusader, inevitably ties us directly to the reality of the religious wars and the violence of the Crusades. This imagery stands in contrast to our stated values. Over the coming months, the College will gradually phase out the use of all knight-related imagery.”

The question now is how long before those “woke” folks at Holy Cross realize that not just the school’s name but its entire reason for existing is “offensive” to Muslims and certainly a few vocal atheists? And the other obvious fact seemingly lost on these academics is the reality that their decision to change the school’s nickname and drop its mascot is itself offensive. By assuming that the term “crusader” is, as Barack Obama once lectured, a pejorative, they have insinuated that anyone who would favor the name is guilty of promoting “Islamophobia.” On the contrary, those offended by the term “crusader” are likely ignorant of history.

Meanwhile, in the annals of political correctness run amok, some sanity re-emerged at the Indiana University of Pennsylvania, where President Michael Driscoll overruled a nutty leftist professor’s controversial decision to ban a white male student from her class, a class he needs to graduate, over his “disruptive behavior.” The student dared to challenge the feminist professor’s instruction that forbade any males from speaking after the class viewed a video lecture TED Talk by a transgender ex-pastor. The male student commented that he rejected the notion of there being more than two genders, and for that he was subsequently banned from the class.

In restoring him, Driscoll asserted, “In a free society, people with opinions you don’t like are allowed to exist, are allowed to speak, and can call you names. People are even allowed to write essays that use violent metaphors to describe their feelings about a challenging situation without fear of punishment.” Hopefully, this kind of commonsense rationality returns to America’s colleges and universities. Concern for protecting the right of free speech should always trump the fear of offense over politically correct hogwash.