Public gets wise to academic baloney

It's hard not to feel sorry for administrators at the University of Missouri — but we'll try.

Two years ago, a massive campus protest erupted out of a several supposed hate incidents, some of which turned out to be real and some of which were hoaxes.

The catalyst for the entire incident was a swastika drawn in excrement on a bathroom wall. Students responded by starting hunger strikes, mobbing the quads and eventually forcing the university president to resign over what, to all appearances, began as some idiot's stupid and unpleasant prank.

It should surprise no one, two years later, that high school seniors turn their noses up old Mizzou. It once drew an abundance of qualified applicants, but has seen freshman enrollment fall by 35 percent. The school has been forced to close seven dormitories and axe 400 jobs, including academic positions.

It is in this context that a new Pew study released Monday finds that there has been a sudden and very pronounced shift of opinion among Republican-leaning voters about how colleges and universities affect American culture. As recently as Pew's 2015 survey, self-identified Republicans still viewed these institutions as having a positive influence. Today, their view has completely reversed.