If I Ran The Zoo:
The National Association of Scholars has a bunch of posts on "If I Ran the Zoo" of the modern university. The take is based on the Dr. Seuss book of the same name, with the idea being what changes each of us would make to the university if we "ran the zoo." My contribution is here. Many of the other contributions are much closer in spirit to the whimsy and cleverness of Seuss than mine. George Leef's contribution is especially Seussian.
Why exactly is sustainability "crap"? Shouldn't responsible use of the Earth's resources be a primary goal of our society? To that end, doesn't it make sense to teach students about the tensions and tradeoffs between ecological preservation and economic development?
Of course, what constitutes "responsible use" and "sustainable" is a matter of debate. But that's no reason to avoid the issue. Teach the controversy!
In which class? "Sustainability" isn't very germane to fluid dynamics, physical chemistry, or Latin.
If you are suggesting that universities also "teach" students things in a general manner - not that students ought to seek knowledge outside the classroom, but that a certain amount of lecturing ought to come from the administration - then there are people who will vigourously disagree with you.
I loved my alma mater, but it was bad enough to live in an echo chamber of leftism. I didn't need it to come from the administration, too.
No.
Latin, however, is even more useless....
The "crap" part is the overuse, misuse and unnecessary use of that word.
Does "running the zoo" include closing it down and letting the animals go free to lead a freer and healthier life?
When I attended university a "speech code" would have been anathema to both the students and faculty. We would have scarcely believed such a thing was even possible on a college campus. Had my school instituted a speech code, I would probably have quit rather than acquiesce even by my mere presence.
My daughter attended an Ivy League college and the contrast with my college experience was striking. Her school is obsessed with money and can't seem to get enough of it. The endowment is now so large that they needn't charge tuition anymore, but of course they do. The president gets to retire on a multi-million dollar per year pension. If these places are going to act just like corporations, we should tax them.
theobromophile, you and I both have training in chemical engineering, which undoubtedly included courses physical chemistry and fluid dynamics, and for good reason. But an old famous professor of chemical engineering once said that "If engineering is the application of science for human benefit, then the engineer must be a student of not only the application of science, but of human benefit as well." To that end, I believe universities should offer specific courses in the study of sustainability, for not only engineers, but also students of public policy etc.
More generally, of course the university should teach students "things in a general manner". For example, universities should teach responsible scholarship and stress academic integrity, outside of the confines of any particular class. I did not previously suspect that this view was controversial. Regarding sustainability specifically, whether a university promotes sustainable practices to its students outside of the classroom is a matter to be decided by its administration. Certainly I don't believe it's fundamentally wrong to do so.
Of course, it is possible to overhype the concept. Certain forms of advocacy will be more effective than others. For example, promising to make your campus zero-emissions could be counterproductive if such a goal is unreasonable. The best way to advance sustainability is probably to quietly adopt sustainable practices without excessive lip service or hype.
Ultimately, the line in the poem was so jarring to me because I don't see a clear difference between "and hear not a word of that sustainability crap" and "and hear not a word of that physical chemistry crap".