The imbalance is worst in the very departments where political diversity matters most. Cornell's government department has only one registered Republican. At Ithaca College, faced with the evidence that there was not a single Republican in the politics department she chaired, Prof. Asma Barlas boasted "we have a range of progressive views in our department (emphasis added)." -Whats even more disturbing is the willingness of educational institutions (especially public ones) to affirmatively discourage expression of disfavored conservative ideas through censorship, disciplinary action, intimidation and discrimination. For many examples please browse the website for the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education.
The most recent example is detailed by Maxim Lott on FOXNews.com. Three students at Central Connecticut State University gave a presentation in communications class advocating for concealed handgun carrying on College campuses. The Professor, Paula Anderson, responded by calling the police and reporting the students as safety risks. The campus police in turn hauled one of the students, John Wahlberg, down to the police station for questioning! So much for the first amendment at Central Connecticut State University. Minorities joke about the crime of "Driving While Black," well apparently there is a new crime developing at liberal educational institutions, "Speaking While Conservative." Although, when a United States Senator seriously and unashemedly compares conservate ideas to pornography, maybe this liberal movement should not be such a surprise. Just a few months ago, Sen. Chuck Schumer said that conservative opinions need to be censored by the FCC on tv and radio, because they just like pornography should be. What a scary world this becoming, for those who value the freedom of speech.
Unfortunate, but probably true. US public universities have traditionally been reasonably liberal, but they also tend to exaggerate the political climate of the country. While there is a great deal of tension between the left and right in the country, things get even dicier on campuses.
ReplyDeleteThey're also terribly hypocritical about the whole "question authority" bull. Don't you DARE question their AUTHORITY. I don't really see much hope for things changing anytime in the near future.