On Reality Versus Polite Beliefs
Wilfred Reilly challenges convention. Plus: Students describe election season at UATX.
It’s finals season at UATX, and our campus has been uncharacteristically quiet. But it hasn’t been long since students gathered in the agora our atrium has become.
We recently welcomed political scientist Wilfred Reilly for our Wednesday lecture series to discuss the disjunct between commonplace beliefs and what the data shows.
Reilly is Associate Professor of Political Science at Kentucky State University. He holds a Ph.D. in political science from Southern Illinois University and a J.D. from the University of Illinois College of Law. His research focuses on empirical testing of political claims.
“My topic today is the extraordinary disconnect between reality and what it is politely conventional to believe in modern academia and upper-middle-class life,” Reilly told UATX.
For example, “the idea that the United States has a unique history of racial conflict, although it would no doubt be amusing to an Irish man or a Nigerian or many people who arrived here from other places—it’s something you hear constantly,” Reilly said.
“How often have you heard that the two real pillars that the United States is built on are slavery and genocide? This is all very conventional modern content.
“We recently polled the Upper South and found that 41% of all American high school students think that only Americans ever had slaves.
“It’s hard to imagine anything less accurate. Slavery, of course, existed throughout all of human history. One of the first ten or so human words was ‘slave.’
“So again, there’s reality, and then there’s what you’re expected to believe and say.”
Watch the full lecture and Q&A here.
The Day After the Election
On the morning of Wednesday, November 6, Americans nationwide were coming to terms with the results of the 2024 presidential race. Yet life at UATX went on more or less as usual.
I surveyed a range of student perspectives on election season at UATX:
Olivia:
Throughout Election Day, the campus was alive as students like myself encouraged others to get out and vote. By 11 p.m. in the dorms, it was already clear who was the winner. Both left- and right-leaning students professed: "Yep, it's obvious Trump has got it in the bag; we can go to sleep now." Over the next several weeks, students went to class, debated points of contention amongst themselves, and dined together without disruption. Unlike many campuses around the country that broke out the therapy animals and canceled classes to "protect the mental health" of their students, UATX put education over comfort. That was empowering. That was patriotic.
McKenna:
I wasn’t surprised that a spirited handful of my peers celebrated the election. I found it more curious that Tuesday and Wednesday passed without much fanfare or strong reactions from the majority. Our political conversations remained theoretical, meaning that they remained lighthearted. Some other students have asked me why I voted blue and have listened to my objections to mass deportations or national abortion bans. These conversations happen casually on campus and formally in the Austin Union, where we debate any topic we please and do so in high spirits.
Charis:
The UATX student body was buzzing with talk of politics and the election. In conversations with students following the election, I was asked what I thought. I told them I favored the results, and some were surprised that I had different political views from the rest of their female friends. I shared that many don't take the time to understand the policies that each political candidate is planning on implementing. I noted how this marked a distinct difference between the UATX students and those outside the community. Regardless of how they voted, we discussed the election results with civility. Rather than speaking in anger about the controversial topic like some friends, the students were able to have civil conversations regarding the election.
UATX Partners with Wolfram Research
We’re excited to announce our partnership with Wolfram, a global leader in computation and AI technology and solutions. This collaboration will be the first with Wolfram and higher education in partnership to deliver an advanced 21st-century STEM curriculum grounded in real-world applications, interdisciplinary learning, and modern computing.
"This partnership between UATX and Wolfram Research will be a game-changer for university mathematics education," said David Ruth, Dean of our Center for STEM. "Students will study complex problems in relevant context, concentrating more of their thinking on modeling problems and interpreting solutions while employing computers heavily for computationally-intensive tasks. This approach not only equips them as quantitative thinkers but also enhances their learning journey along the way."
Through this groundbreaking partnership, UATX students will employ computers in advanced mathematics to do the grunt work of computation, freeing them up to do the creative work that only humans can do.
Read more here.
Apply to Join the Class of ‘29
At the University of Austin, we strive to build and sustain a community of excellence based on the lively clash of ideas.
APPLY NOW to join the Class of 2029.
Each student in the Class of 2029 will be awarded a Founders Scholarship covering the full cost of undergraduate tuition for four years, subject to terms and conditions.
That’s a value of approximately $130,000.
Schedule a campus visit to sit in on classes, meet the Admissions team, and experience what the fearless pursuit of truth looks like in action.
Our Early Action (non-binding) deadline is December 1.
Join Us for Forbidden Courses
The Office of Admissions invites prospective students to the latest installment of Forbidden Courses, that vintage UATX program through which we brought our academic offerings to students before we recruited our founding freshman class.
On college campuses nationwide, genuine conversations are becoming an endangered species. The simple practice of asking questions honestly and without shame for greater clarity and deeper understanding is increasingly relegated to spaces outside the classroom. At UATX, students experience the joy of unabashed inquiry, nourished by a community where diverse perspectives are united in a common endeavor—the fearless pursuit of truth.
High school seniors and current college freshmen are encouraged to apply for our Forbidden Courses program from January 17-20, 2025. Applications are open until November 30, 2024.
Maggie Kelly is the Communications Manager at the University of Austin. Write to her at mkelly@uaustin.org.
There are two topics that are virtually tied for the presence of the most distorted views in American education: that racism in America is systemic and that businesses, rather than unions, provided the greatest advantages to American workers
Dr Reilly is a jolly good fellow, man of brawn and brains. I follow him on X. In person he seems even more joyous. Good for UATX for hosting him. The students are lucky to have Dr Reilly lay down solid ancient wisdom at the agora.