Performative virtue-signaling has become a threat to higher ed

Forest Romm and Kevin Waldman  August 12, 2025 1 min read

1 Comment

Forest Romm and Kevin Waldman 
The Hill 

Excerpt: On today’s college campuses, students are not maturing — they’re managing. Beneath a facade of progressive slogans and institutional virtue-signaling lies a quiet psychological crisis, driven by the demands of ideological conformity.

Between 2023 and 2025, we conducted 1,452 confidential interviews with undergraduates at Northwestern University and the University of Michigan. We were not studying politics — we were studying development. Our question was clinical, not political: “What happens to identity formation when belief is replaced by adherence to orthodoxy?” We asked: Have you ever pretended to hold more progressive views than you truly endorse to succeed socially or academically? An astounding 88 percent said yes.

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1 Response

James Connelly
James Connelly

June 11, 2026

Is the study available? I am very interested and would like to see it.
Thank you.

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