Jeb Bush is facing social media backlash from psychology majors over comments he made in a recent town hall meeting in which he criticized colleges for not discouraging students from majoring in psychology and other liberal arts fields. The Washington Examiner reported that he said, "Universities ought to have skin in the game. When a student shows up, they ought to say, 'Hey, that psych major deal, that philosophy major thing, that's great, it's important to have liberal arts … but realize, you're going to be working a Chick-fil-A.'"
Bush is continuing a tradition in which Florida Republican politicians question various liberal arts degrees. Governor Rick Scott took on anthropology majors. And Senator Marco Rubio, one of Bush's rivals for the presidential nomination, has criticized philosophy majors.
Psychology majors are answering Bush's swipe. On Twitter, with the hashtag #thispsychmajor, they are talking about why they are psych majors and why they are frustrated by Bush's comments.
Some examples:
#ThisPsychMajor worked at McDonald's. Before my psych degree. Today, I work in higher ed to help students achieve their goals.
— Craig W. Beebe (@craigbeebe) October 28, 2015
@JebBush Not all psychologists listen to probs, but those are important too. #PsyClueless #ThisPsychMajor @AliMattu pic.twitter.com/kJNp5TTBzG
— Jessica Cail (@jess_cail) October 24, 2015
Hey @JebBush #ThisPsychMajor... Support the jobs/educations that support others. pic.twitter.com/W7E7iXvvF2
— Wendy Lady (@NerdRage42) October 24, 2015
For those curious, Bush's undergraduate degree is in Latin American studies.
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