This paper argues that the "Ivory Tower" stereotype of higher education no longer exists and that this is not only due to increased regulation, litigation, and unionization, but also to greater diversity, both ethnically and racially, within student bodies, faculty, and staff. It states that colleges and universities no longer operate under the principle "in loco parentis", under which colleges and their administrators act in the place of parents for students, making decisions as they see fit. Also discussed are reductions in institutional autonomy due to the charter granting and accreditation powers of states; the issue of tax exemption status; and court litigation regarding such matters as grading, admission into professional schools, tenure for professors, employment, and sexual and racial discrimination or harassment. Despite the premise that the Ivory Tower may by gone, there are still good reasons for colleges and universities to operate, in the intellectual sense, at arms length from society. Among these reasons is the argument that institutions of higher education must have the unobstructed freedom to seek truth and instruct students in an independent, dispassionate manner. (GLR)