Thought Police in the Lecture Hall

[Toots]

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/20...


Universities are the bulwark of democratic societies -- places where individuals with diverse viewpoints come together to learn and to produce new knowledge for addressing social concerns, free of ideological interference. But these centers of freedom are under attack from people who want to inject partisan politics into our classrooms.

Led by activist David Horowitz, some conservatives are pushing for the adoption of an "Academic Bill of Rights" (ABOR) across America. The bill takes the form of student resolutions or legislative proposals claiming to protect the academic freedom of college students from ideological indoctrination by professors.
<snip>
The College Access and Opportunity Act, passed by the House in March and under consideration in the Senate, aims to deny federal funding to institutions -- even private ones -- that refuse to comply with ABOR's limitations on speech.
<snip>
How can I learn about the modern Middle East in my political science classes if my professor isn't allowed to discuss the "controversial" topic of the Iraq war and its regional effects? Should my biology instructor be prevented from teaching evolution out of fear of offending a creationist classmate? And why should schools allow some left-wing campus agitator in Economics 101 to file a complaint because a lecturer discusses market efficiency rather than Marxist theories of labor?
<snip>
My classmates and I want our elected leaders to focus on addressing our real concerns when it comes to getting an education -- student loans, skyrocketing tuition and the post-graduation job market. We don't want them making it harder for us to learn by restricting the free exchange of ideas on campus.

[Clark2008]

1. And it will pass and then be challeneged and it will win in the

stacked courts and finally, we'll become The Great Facists States of America.

[Generic Other]

3. It won't win in the classroom

Trust me.

Students across the country will wonder why their profs put duct tape over their mouths in the middle of lectures.

No one is forced to listen to what we say. But many will want to hear.

[Armstead]

2. That was passed by the House???!!!!!

Gee yhat one slipped under the radar.

We're in worse shape than I thought.

[Doctor_J]

4. Who still thinks we're not fascist yet?