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Posted on 10/09/2003 8:40:09 PM PDT by webber
What has happened to our colleges and universities when a person who decides to serve his country can be, in essence, blacklisted?
Sadly, there are hundreds of examples like this on campuses around our nation. That's because the most successful and pervasive blacklist in American history is the blacklist of conservatives on American college campuses, their marginalization in undergraduate life, and their virtual exclusion from liberal arts faculties, particularly those that deal with the study of society itself.
Over the last two years, I've spoken at more than 30 colleges and universities, and I've come to this powerful conclusion:
Our institutions of higher learning must have an "Academic Bill of Rights" that stresses intellectual diversity, that demands balance in reading lists, that recognizes that political partisanship by professors in the classroom is an abuse of students' academic freedom, that the inequity in funding of student organizations and visiting speakers is unacceptable, and that a learning environment hostile to conservatives is unacceptable.
A student at Bowling Green University in Ohio had enrolled in the ROTC program and was planning on getting a commission in the Army upon graduation. In his last term, when he had completed all the credits he needed for graduation, he decided to take a lecture course on the Viet Nam War -- purely out of his interest in the subject.
The professor turned out to be a '60s leftist who regarded America as an imperialist monster and the Viet Nam War an expression of America's inherent racism and capitalist greed. Unfortunately for the student the course was on Tuesdays and Thursdays, and Thursday was also the day he attended his ROTC training class and was required to wear his military uniform.
Of course, a professor who regards his classroom as a political platform for indoctrination is not likely to respect the rights of students who disagree with his point of view and this professor was no exception. Having discovered a member of the military he hated sitting in his classroom, he could not resist the temptation to single out the uniform-clad student as a symbol of the imperialist enemy he was lecturing about. Naturally the student became very uncomfortable.
The student went to the professor and asked for permission to withdraw from the course. Remember, he had completed all the courses required for his graduation; he didn't need the Viet Nam course credits. Permission was denied.
He stayed in the course but could not overcome the professor's hatred for someone who was defending this country and the freedoms we all enjoy. At the end of the term, the professor gave the student a failing grade.
Making our schools operate under the umbrella of the "Academic Bill of Rights" will change that. Every word in the "Academic Bill of Rights" goes the heart of ending the current crisis on our campuses. Here are some of the basic rights we're demanding:
* Hiring, firing, promoting or granting tenure shall be on the basis of performance -- not on the basis of political or religious beliefs. An absolute must to protect academic freedom!
* Tenure, search and hiring committee meetings will be recorded and available to duly authorized authorities empowered to inquire into the integrity of the process. Once again, political philosophy or religious beliefs may not enter into the picture.
* Students will be graded on their work... not their political beliefs or religion.
* Course content and reading lists in humanities and social sciences will reflect diverse concepts and viewpoints -- not just the overwhelmingly leftist content that is being fed to our college students today.
* Selection of speakers, allocation of funds for speaker activities and other student activities will observe the principles of academic freedom and promote intellectual balance. A Center for the Study of Popular Culture (CSPC) review of major university commencement speakers revealed that 99 percent were self-identified Democrats or liberals.
* Academic institutions and professional societies should maintain a posture of organizational neutrality.
I am working right now to get legislatures and university boards to ratify the "Academic Bill of Rights", and already I can report that Colorado, Georgia and Missouri lawmakers are on the verge of doing just that. Now I'm asking you to join me in this important work. Work that will change the learning atmosphere on our campuses, and make our schools more reflective of the citizens funding those colleges -- people like you and your friends and neighbors.
If you agree with this goal please take these steps with me now:
Sign the Academic Bill of Rights Endorsement. Our goal is to get more than 500,000 signatures -- 10,000 per state -- to present to lawmakers, alumni, regents and administrations across the nation! When they learn that Americans are angry about what has happened to our colleges they will take notice, I assure you:
* Run ads detailing the "Academic Bill of Rights" in student newspapers across the nation.
* Alert alumni and state legislators to precisely what is happening on our campuses. Alumni associations hold the purse strings to the largest private funds colleges receive, while state legislators hold the biggest financial bag -- your tax dollars.
* Publish and distribute 250,000 more copies of our new booklet, Unpatriotic University. The booklet gives a wealth of information about the bias in hiring, the anti-American rhetoric, and the shutting out of conservative points of view both in classrooms and on speakers' platforms.
Unpatriotic University is a powerful weapon in our fight to get the truth out to education leaders, alumni, and legislators. I'm going to send it to the same legislators, community leaders, alumni and faculty and staff who will get the "Academic Bill of Rights" Endorsement.
* And I must deliver the truth about America, about the conservative principles this country was founded upon and the remarkable society shaped by those principles. Our campaign is steadily gathering momentum... and we don't want to lose it.
I know this is ambitious, but ask yourself: what options do we have? Do we just give up on our colleges and accept that the radical, anti-American left is in charge of teaching our nation's future leaders? No. We cannot do that.
Take that step now. Endorse the "Academic Bill of Rights".
Thank you.
Sincerely,
David Horowitz
P.S. A CSPC survey found that 99% of graduation day speakers called themselves liberals, Democrats, or Green Party Members.
This is unacceptable. Please endorse our "Academic Bill of Rights". Thanks again.
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Wow. Amazing. The LEFT pushes diversity unless it's not part of THEIR agenda. Then they show their true colors ...
Thanks for the heads up ...
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