Response To John Kass The Bell Tolls For Liberty On Campus

John Kass’ “The Bell Tolls for Liberty on Campus” insinuates how college students fail to understand the freedoms and principles granted by the Constitution. Particularly, Berkeley’s students and Antifa groups have been responsible for the increase in violence during events hosted by conservative speakers such as Ben Shapiro. Essentially, I agree with Krass’ argument regarding the influence of social media and new sources because both utilities enable current college students not to face speakers with opposing opinions. Due to misinterpretations of the free speech clause, many college students perceive that the ideas of the left side are more dominant than the ideologies on the right side, which justifies a liberal's incentive to prevent …show more content…
In this case, Verbruggen is partly correct, but I disagree with a few points. First off, I agree that technology is solely responsible for the spike in suicide rates because the majority of teenagers utilize social media to share content with friends. Due to the ability to interact with other users around the globe, social media users are at a higher risk of being cyberbullied. However, social media is not the only issue. Due to easy access and its convenience, many teenagers resort to watching Netflix on their devices. With Netflix original shows such as 13 Reasons Why–known for fantasizing suicide–certain applications from technological devices can be a risk for users who severely suffer from depression. However, Verbruggen’s claim regarding kids who drink less and lose their virginity at an older age is merely an overgeneralization. In this case, Verbruggen is only attempting to point fingers on technology for useless reasons. On the other hand, the Internet would be beneficial to young teenagers because they can reference online sources before pursuing risky activities. For example, if young teens intend to drink alcohol but are curious about its detrimental risks on the human body, the Internet can provide these teenagers an insight on the implications of this activity. Verbruggen fails to acknowledge other factors such as the issue of time management, which may explain why teenagers fail to seek employment. Due to colleges enforcing students to maintain a rigorous curriculum within their high school, juniors and seniors often register for multiple AP classes, which limits these students’ free time. Although Verbruggen wants future college students to stop utilizing technology and “grow thicker skins,” he overgeneralizes the laziness of teenagers without providing any