Adams1118Once a liberal atheist, Mike Adams is now a Christian who believes “socialism and communism are for losers.” Adams, who has been a professor of criminology at the University of North Carolina Wilmington since 1993, spoke to students of The King’s College in New York City on Sept. 11, 2009, as part of the college’s Distinguished Visitor Series.

Adams’ best-known book, Welcome to The Ivory Tower of Babel, is a scathing critique of higher education. He said the unconditional security of tenure has created campuses “crawling with lunatics” who are not held accountable for what they teach, leading to a higher education environment driven by ideology and politics. According to Adams, the professors and administrators on American college campuses are “the czars of tolerance,” promoting free-speech codes that “give people a constitutional right to not feel uncomfortable.” However, these “czars,” he points out, are not tolerant with Christian, conservative, or Jewish beliefs.

Thanks to a free-speech conflict with a student, Adams rose to national prominence shortly after 9/11. The media attention generated by that controversy eventually led to him writing a weekly column for Townhall.com. Adams said one of the ironies in his situation is that since his conversion to Christianity in 1999, he has been increasingly outspoken and conservative. The tenure system, he acknowledged, probably saved him from being fired when he was being attacked by liberal ideologues.

Despite the challenges Adams faces as a lone conservative on a liberal campus, he can “see the beginning of something that is very, very exciting” for America’s colleges, as Christian students defend conservatism.

Overall, Adams said he “thanks God” he was hired at UNCW while an atheist, as it has enabled him to bring to light the confusion on college campuses. His advice to students today: “Stand up and fight” the rise of liberalism and discrimination against Christianity and conservatism. He implored King’s students to be bold and speak out because “as Christians we always win. The truth is on our side.”

Kristin Rudolph is a student at The King’s College in New York City.

Editor’s Note: Be sure to read Marvin Olasky’s interview with Mike Adams in the current issue of WORLD and listen to podcasts of Marvin’s conversation with Mike at The King’s College in September.