CNN/AP: Legislatures consider potential political bias in colleges

[DeepModem Mom]

Legislatures consider potential political bias in colleges
Thursday, January 19, 2006


PHILADELPHIA, Pennsylvania (AP) -- Christian DeJohn returned from a National Guard tour in Bosnia only to fight his own war with academics at Temple University who he says have held up his master's thesis because of political conflicts in the classroom.

To some conservatives, the case represents a national trend by some liberal professors to infringe on conservative students' right to free speech at public colleges and universities.

The debate has reached more than a dozen state legislatures, which dole out the taxpayer funds to those schools, but so far there's been more talk than action.

Legislation modeled after an "academic bill of rights" advocated by conservative activist David Horowitz, founder of Students for Academic Freedom, was introduced in at least 15 states last year, but none has passed it, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures.

Among other things, the document exhorts professors to present a wide spectrum of intellectual views in the classroom and discourages them from basing students' grades on their religious or political beliefs....


http://www.cnn.com/2006/EDUCATION/01/19/academic.freedom.ap/index.html

[Erika]

1. Yet another war against Christianity & Christmas bogus article.

Republicans love the victim role. They search for it, embellish it, and treasure the role.

No one, except the right fanatic fringe group, buys into their phoniness.

They are not being persecuted. They are trying to put theocracy into government, and the country isn't buying it. They need to get in touch with reality.

[DianeG5385]

2. Don't the Pukes have enough without stamping out free throught??

I think they won't be happy until they dominate and control evrything! That's what this B.S. is all about!

[Mithras61]

3. Sounds to me...

DeJohn, who entered graduate school four years ago, said he suspects that approval of his thesis is being delayed partly because of conflicts he had with a military history professor who, DeJohn said, often criticized the Iraq war and the Bush administration during class. DeJohn contends the delay is also retaliation for a critical response he sent to a professor after he received an e-mail invitation to a campus war protest while he was serving six months in Bosnia.

"These are people who are sitting in judgment on whether I graduate," DeJohn told the lawmakers.

The student's professors both said their decision was based on academic reasons and not on DeJohn's military status, according to Rep. Lawrence Curry, a committee member who said both testified during the public-comment portion of the hearing.

Sounds to me like DeJohn's thesis isn't quite up to snuff, and in DeJohn's opinion, it's because he doesn't agree with the professor. In my experience, if you can make a compelling argument, professor's don't care about your political orientation. They generally are far more interested in mastery of the subject matter, critical thinking and your ability to express yourself fluently.

Of course, it's far easier to claim that they don't like you because of your ideology than to take an honest, critical look at your work and admit that it could be improved, since that requires acceptance of responsibility...

[Journeyman]

4. Odd...my professors were a mix of socialists, Marxists, conservatives...

and quite a few not easily classified. None ever expected me to regurgitate their beliefs by rote but all expected me to master the class material. If Thorstein Veblen was the topic, Milton Friedman wasn't the answer. However, as they expected me to know the topic, I wasn't required to believe the topic -- but it was my responsibility to intelligently defend any contrary belief I held.

Many times, I feel those who protest the most about a professor's "slant" are the one's least able to support their own. They're not protesting a professor's restriction of their academic freedom so much as they're reacting to their own academic frustration.

[eppur_se_muova]

5. "National trend" my ass! Whining by conservatives is the only trend here.