If you’re in business and you’ve ever tried to have a conversation with a tenured professor, you’ve quickly realized there’s a vast difference in their thought processes. While successful business folks are pragmatic in their approach to problem solving, most educators at the university level are more idealistic. There’s also an entitlement mentality not found in the business world and is prevalent on campuses throughout our nation.

Yet, when you consider how much the business community contributes to higher education, it’s clear they value higher learning. However, this latest move by universities to incorporate “cry rooms” and sanctuary campuses should give business folks pause. After all, we’re depending on the universities to produce our next generation of leaders.

It seems to me, the cry rooms are coddling our students and sheltering them from the real world. If students can’t deal with an election that didn’t go their way, how can we expect them to deal with contracts and real business issues? I’m pretty sure they won’t find a cry room at their place of work once they get out of college.

Not only are we wimpifying the next generation, many universities across the country are partnering with students to break the law by creating sanctuary campuses. By declaring the sanctuary status, supposedly they will not allow Immigration and Custom Enforcement (ICE) officers onto the campus without a warrant, refuse to allow campus police to enforce immigration law, withhold student immigration status from ICE, provide financial aid and confidential legal support to students with immigration law issues … and the list goes on.

They can grandstand all they want, but the sanctuary status has no basis in law, as the universities have no authority to break the nation’s immigration laws. But, the real point is, a number of professors are either leading, encouraging or tolerating the move to make universities sanctuary campuses. It seems that universities throughout the nation have lost their way and purpose, which is to prepare students for life beyond the classroom.

Business leaders throughout our state have supported our universities for decades and we should have a voice in whether or not our universities become sanctuary campuses. Not only do we contribute our taxes to the universities, the private donations from business leaders throughout the state are beyond significant. Because of these donations, our universities have been able to make capital improvements and fund and expand a number of their programs.

So, let’s not think we don’t have a voice in this. Let’s let our voices be heard. It’s time our universities focus on education … not nurturing a culture of wimps and lawbreakers. We need to take steps to bridge the great divide between the academic and business world. And the first step is communication.

Call to Action: I urge the business community to get involved. There is a conservative group of UNLV students that have sent a petition to President Jessup asking the university to comply with federal law and not become a sanctuary campus. They need our support. In addition, we need to contact the Board of Regents as well as Presidents Len Jessup at UNLV and Marc Johnson at UNR and the foundations that support these universities, to let our voices be heard.

2 Chronicles 7:14 (NKJV) “If my people who are called by My name will humble themselves, and pray and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land.”

By Whose Authority?

For more information on my Commentary and to see some of my backup research, or if you wonder why I take the position I take, go to www.LyleBrennan.com