Empowering Student Voices - Mary Kate Cary

Join Mary Kate Today heterodoxacade...
Mary Kate Cary is the 2024 HxA Leadership Award winner.
Cary is receiving the 2024 Leadership award from Heterodox Academy for her tireless efforts to promote open inquiry, free speech, and viewpoint diversity on the grounds of UVA and beyond. Among her numerous efforts, she was instrumental in the effort to draft UVA’s Statement on Free Expression and Free Inquiry that was adopted in 2022, and tirelessly promotes it to students on campus. She is the founding director of Think Again at UVA which helps students thrive through such events as Disagree with a Professor, Free Speech Fridays, Braver Angels Debates, and the annual UVA Student Oratory Contest, to name only a few. And, finally, she is the co-chair for the Heterodox Academy Campus Community at UVA - one of the largest in the country.
Mary Kate Cary is an Instructor in the Department of Politics at the University of Virginia and the founding Director of Think Again at UVA. She is also a professional speaker and panelist on the American presidency, political rhetoric, and current politics.

[@damon-burton]

A powerful message about the erosion of academic freedom. Professor Cary's insights into the challenges facing higher education are spot on. We need to equip students with the tools to engage in respectful debate. Creating a culture of open inquiry is essential for intellectual growth. Social media's impact on campus discourse is a complex issue to navigate. I appreciate her emphasis on the importance of viewpoint diversity.

[@nuqwestr]

"Empower" curiosity and inquiry, not the voices of ignorant children.

[@nuqwestr]

"Empowering" is a not a useful adjective in this context. We've seen the consequences of "self-possession" as a priority in academia. Careful what you "empower", said the snake.

[@gregoryrollins59]

Yeah, that's what the snake said? I guess you forget, but the snake lied. Plus, the snake only has 1/3 of the brain 🧠 🦎🐍
Peace and Ahev

[@nuqwestr]

@@gregoryrollins59 Snake reference was to Oscar Brown Jr lyric.
On her way to work one morning
Down the path 'longside the lake
A tender-hearted woman saw a poor half-frozen snake
His pretty colored skin had been all frosted with the dew
"Oh well," she cried, "I’ll take you in and I'll take care of you"
"Take me in, tender woman
Take me in, for heaven's sake
Take me in, tender woman," sighed the snake
She wrapped him up all cozy in a comforter of silk
And laid him by thе fireside with some honеy and some milk
She hurried home from work that night, and soon as she arrived
She found that pretty snake she’d taken in had been revived
"Take me in, tender woman
Take me in, for heaven's sake
Take me in, tender woman," sighed the snake
She clutched him to her bosom, "You're so beautiful," she cried
"But if I hadn't brought you in, by now you might have died"
She stroked his pretty skin again and kissed and held him tight
Instead of saying thanks, that snake gave her a vicious bite
"Take me in, tender woman
Take me in, for heaven's sake
Take me in, tender woman," sighed the snake
"I saved you," cried the woman
"And you've bitten me, but why?
And you know your bite is poisonous and now I'm gonna die"
"Oh shut up, silly woman," said the reptile with a grin
"You knew damn well I was a snake before you took me in"
"Take me in, tender woman
Take me in, for heaven's sake
Take me in, tender woman," sighed the snake