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Originally Posted by Lebell
Gents,
I counter that it WILL work, simply because it will serve as a very real reminder that academics are there to TEACH students how to think, not to make them little Republicans, Democrats, Communists or whatever..
This is not a matter of disagreeing with your biology teacher of the ATP cycle or with your math teacher over how to do a Fourrier transform. It is about expressing your views in a politics class that Nixon wasn't such a bad president and not having the gal wearing Birkinstocks give your paper a "D" for it. It is about expressing your view in a law class that the 10 commandments has no place in modern jurisprudence and not having the old guy at the front who listens to Rush on the way to work mark you as "unsatisfactory".
While it would be great if all academics could separate their personal feelings regarding social issues from teaching, the fact is that some can't.
A school I'm very familiar with, CU, is a good example of such a place. I've had friends attend there that say it is better to keep your opinions to yourself in certain classes than risk retribution.
That is WRONG, plain and simple, and I would welcome legislation to remind academacians of the fact, especially ones like Ward Churchill.
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Lebell, I find your advocacy for legislating these issues misses the point that
the students pass through the school and the professors are the school's
personality. As a moderator of a political forum, I am disappointed that
you seem so eager to take up the side of those who have an agenda of
control by what seems so far to be predominately conservative state legislatures. An advocacy that circumvents, or intimidates the faculty and
administration of our public colleges should be a last resort.
The following appears on the website that is the catalyst for this political
movement
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<a href="http://www.studentsforacademicfreedom.org/">http://www.studentsforacademicfreedom.org/</a>
Students for Academic Freedom
Mission and Strategy:
I. Mission Statement p.
II. The Principles Explained p.
III. Campaign Themes p.
IV. How to Implement These Goals p.
V. How to Research Campus Abuses p.
VI. Frequently Asked Questions p.
VII. Academic Bill of Rights p.................
.......V. Suggestions For Researching Campus Abuses
1. Research the party registration of faculty members in the social sciences and humanities, and in other fields that deal with social, political and economic issues. A “how to” guide is provided in the booklet Political Bias In American Universities, available from the Students for Academic Freedom Information Center (www.studentsforacademicfreedom.org) Not all disparities are the result of discrimination, but the effects of political litmus tests in hiring and promotion can be dramatic. .................
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It would be less troubling if the advice was to "Research the party registration of faculty members" before enrolling in the school, and then
adding the results of that research to the other factors an applicant
would use in deciding what school to enroll in. The agenda here seems
to be about stifling the opinion of the existing personality of the school
by gathering intelligence for the potential targeting of faculty members.
The "problem" that this solution is aimed at remedying seems much less
objectionable in a supposedly free society than what this legislative solution
could cause. Revulsion is my predominate reaction....sheesh !!!!!