The Stanford University campus (David Butow/Corbis via Getty Images)
Defending Education, an education transparency advocate organization, told Fox News Digital the listed coursework shows changes must be made in higher education.
"It seems Stanford is joining many of its sister Ivies in taking the dumb way out: swapping rigorous pedagogy for social experimentation and a misplaced emphasis on identity politics and progressive pandering," Sarah Parshall Perry, vice president of Defending Education, told Fox News Digital.
"The Stanford program in writing and rhetoric oversees a number of courses that are designed to fulfill a 'writing and rhetoric requirement at Stanford,' something required for graduation. But by including among its offerings, classes on ‘language identity and power,’ and another examining an all-male drag ballet troupe, Stanford has made the argument that the core competencies in higher education across the country must — for the sake of America's students — be revisited and revised."
A map is posted on the Stanford University campus March 28, 2025, in Stanford, Calif. (Getty)
"Stanford’s insistence on prioritizing race, sexuality and other nonsense over the nuts and bolts of communication in their writing and rhetoric requirements only serves to harm their students," Reagan Dugan, project manager for higher education at Defending Education, told Fox News Digital.
"Instead of teaching their students how to write and speak well in an era where these skills are becoming more and more rare, Stanford prefers to focus on topics like male drag ballet. Stanford students deserve better from their school."
Andrew Mark Miller is a reporter at Fox News. Find him on Twitter @andymarkmiller and email tips to AndrewMark.Miller@Fox.com.
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/stanford-writing-program-accused-of-prioritizing-ideology-over-core-skills-nonsense