First termed in 2014 by Professor of Political Science at Tufts University Jeffery M. Berry and Professor of Sociology at Tufts University Sarah Sobieraj, the term “outrage culture” refers to our “collective tendency to react, often with intense negativity, to developments around us,” specifically on the Internet. The two professors in their novel The Outrage Industry: Political Opinion and Media and the New Incivility attribute its start to the early 2010s with the dawn of Facebook and MySpace and other applications your dad probably used in a now-hilarious way.

Many chalk civil discourse up to the value of debate with respect for human dignity involved. While this is a great goal for discourse, it is not the historical definition. The word “civil” relates to “civic”, the discussion of public life. The end goals of this “civic discourse” is to do two things ultimately: inform and find places of agreement and understanding.

Our campus is under attack. On Friday, February 14, the Department of Education sent a letter to all federally funded institutions, stating that federal law prohibits the use of race in decisions of “admissions, hiring, promotion, compensation, financial aid, scholarships, prizes, administrative support, discipline, housing, graduation ceremonies, and all other aspects of student, academic, and campus life.” If institutions fail to comply within 14 days, they could “face investigation and loss of federal funding,” according to a press release. Acting Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights Craig Trainor, the author of the letter, called it a “victory for justice, civil rights laws, and the Constitution.”

The political landscape is peaking in confusion and misinformation. Executive orders fly in with a lack of cohesion and are immediately blocked by federal judges, leaving them paused or stranded until confirmation. We’re left wondering what to follow or believe due to the polarization on either side. No one can make sense of it all, which I believe is the point of the rapidity and content of the administration’s output. I’m not going to touch on any sort of politics of my own, but just wanted to bring attention to the effect felt here on campus from some of these orders.