Friday, June 19, 2009

COLLEGES STRIVE TO ENSURE INTELLECTUAL DIVERSITY?

In a USA Today article by Mary Beth Marklein, the Washington-based non-profit American Council of Trustees and Alumni (ACTA) reports that "dozens of public and private colleges have taken steps to ensure their students can freely express their ideas." The report concludes that despite examples such a Tufts lecture series featuring "controversial" speakers such as Salman Rushdie and historian Shelby Steele, "the free exchange of ideas is in peril in today's academy," citing examples such as a Missouri State student who sued the university in 2006 after claiming her grade suffered because she refused to sign a letter supporting gay adoption (the case was settled out of court). Free speech groups contend that ACTA primarily targets liberal faculty; ACTA responds by saying it recently criticized Liberty University (founded by Jerry Falwell) for ceasing to recognize the College Democrats club. (Does this really surprise anyone? Granted, a private institution has the "right" to restrict free speech, but it certainly makes for a less "vibrant" intellectual climate on campus). ACTA has proposed laws to force public universities to report how they act to prevent bias against students because of their political or religious beliefs. None have been enacted, which critics claim is due to the fact that they are a "manufactured controversy" and that independent investigations of a liberal bias on campuses have "turned up nothing." ACTA says it is "simply disingenuous" to deny problems. There may well be problems: both liberal and conservative students may feel they are being punished for their beliefs at an institution here and there, and they should fight to have their views heard and respected, but ACTA clearly has an agenda that seems more dangerous than these isolated instances. It scares me when those who wish to restrict freedom band together and attempt to cloak themselves in respectability to sneak their true agenda under the radar. But as I've said before, they ARE entitled to voice their opinions.
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5 comments:

  1. dbowmanJune 20, 2009 at 2:40 PM

    Hi Tammy!

    Your post made me think about my previous college classroom experiences. How many times have I censored myself in a class because I knew the professor had different opinions than my own? Honestly-- often. As a political science major-- politics was a major part of most of my classes. And while my professors "tried" to hide their political views, everyone always could tell whether the professor was a raging liberal or a die-hard conservative or somewhere in between. I often slanted my papers to match their views, and I have a feeling I wasn't the only student to do this.

    ---
    As this is your last post for class, I just want to say that your posts are my favorite (sorry everyone else). You do an excellent job of finding unique and really thought provoking articles. And I always enjoy having the chance to voice my dislike for Ann Coulter.

    Good luck in the future!

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  2. pamstephanyJune 20, 2009 at 3:14 PM

    While it may be "disingenuous" to deny problems, what is it when you force a "solution"? Donna is right, Tammy, you have found some very interesting stories. Never heard of the ACTA and don't really want to know more about them, but there I go again covering my ears when people (like Pat Buchanan, Rush, Ann, etc.) speak of things with which I vehemently disagree. However, the aforementioned people are more "out there" and you are right, Tammy, it is more dangerous when these views are surreptitious. We had a debate in one of the earlier forum discussions about this; evil (open censorship) vs. dangerous (sneaky censorship).

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  3. teminorJune 21, 2009 at 11:39 AM

    Donna and Pam,
    Thank you: I feel quite flattered because I have always found your posts/comments to be thought-provoking as well. I wish you both the best. Donna, you take Texas by storm!
    Tammy

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  4. El BastardoJune 22, 2009 at 3:20 PM

    Link: http://www.usatoday.com/news/education/2009-06-17-college-free-speech_N.htm

    ACTA really doesn't seem to have a "dangerous agenda," Tammy. It seems to me as if they're more interested in protecting unpopular speech and ideas.

    As for "liberal bias" in academia today, it certainly seems like it's there--perhaps not promoted via the classrooms as much as it is through the administrative offices, though. I would certainly contend that campus speech codes, for instance, restrict those with conservative views far more than those with liberal ones.

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  5. teminorJune 22, 2009 at 9:35 PM

    Rob, I hope ACTA IS interested in protecting unpopular speech and ideas. If campus speech codes do restrict those with conservative views far more than liberal ones that is obviously wrong; everyone has a right to engage in civil discourse about their particular beliefs. When one person does not have that right, everyone suffers, perhaps especially those who disagree: hearing the "other side" might not change the way they think about an issue in any significant way, but it might make them more tolerant of other views.

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