UCSB STUDENTS REDECORATE ECHO CHAMBER WITH *MORE* ECHOES

Your humble Whipping Post has long suspected that Santa Barbara's institutions of 'higher learning' have become little more than taxpayer-funded indoctrination centers, and lo and behold, Noozhawk delivers the proof. Apparently, a group of summer school students at UC Santa Barbara's Political Science Department — a place already bursting with the intellectual diversity of a single hive mind — felt the bare walls just weren't reinforcing the message enough. So, like industrious little worker bees, they've whipped up a 'themed mural.' We assume the theme is 'Socialism Good, Everything Else Bad,' rendered in tasteful shades of 'equity blue' and 'systemic oppression gray.'

One can only imagine the earth-shattering profundity expressed through this paint-splashed masterpiece. Perhaps a depiction of 'the evils of capitalism' or a heartwarming portrait of 'community organizers' bravely fighting 'the patriarchy.' While actual political science departments across the nation might be, you know, *studying* politics, our local intelligentsia are apparently more concerned with ensuring their students' visual surroundings are as ideologically pure as their syllabi. At least this way, there's no chance a dissenting thought might accidentally slip in through a blank space.

This isn't 'art and science' as Noozhawk grandly declares; it's a glorified school project designed to pat themselves on the back for being 'inclusive' while delivering the exact same message on a different medium. One wonders if the university budget for this 'project' could have instead gone to, say, teaching students actual critical thinking, or perhaps even, dare we say, a balanced perspective. But then, where would the mural fit in? Taxpayers, rest assured: your money is hard at work, ensuring no wall goes un-woked.