Our Constitution and culture presume that every adult in this country can think independently and act independently. A corollary to this basic principle is that the government does not act in loco parentis for its citizens. Mothers and fathers act in loco parentis for their children and when their children reach adulthood, they learn to take responsibility for themselves. And that is the way we treat them. They have the right to vote, the most precious right our society has to offer, as well as the obligation to go to war, the most solenm and grave undertaking our society can require.
Most parents dream for their children to go to college.
But many young adults learn those values on college and university campuses. In those cases, college is the formative experience responsible for opening the student to new and different ideas, new and different people, new and different points of view. For all these reasons, tolerance and diversity are core values in higher education, necessary to preserve the democratic fabric of our society. While the Task Force should pursue its mandate thoroughly, it should exercise great care to ensure that these democratic staples and religious freedoms are not imperilled. Examples of Legal and Constitutional Dangers Aside from the need to preserve democratic principles, there are a number of legal and constitutional pitfalls which we believe the Task Force should also be alerted to.