Free Republic

I must admit that I left the Millersville hearings on academic freedom angry, because I had the nagging feeling that the Pennsylvania House Select Committee was missing the point. I felt like I’d been had. It has been my responsibility to report on the hearings at Temple University and Millersville University for The Campus Report, and I will be attending the final hearings on May 31 and June 1, as well as reading the committee’s report when it comes out. When I learned of the committee several months ago, I had high hopes for Pennsylvania students that the investigation by...

Millersville University’s History Department chair, Francis J. Bremer, testified before the state House Select Committee on Academic Freedom saying that schools have grievance procedures in place and these are sufficient for students’ protection. Bremer shared his belief that university education has the goal of “creating young men and women who are self-reflective and critically engaged with all aspects of the world in which they live.” He stated that faculty and students express themselves openly on controversial issues and that sometimes a professor’s view may anger or surprise students, but this is good because challenges help critical thinking and leads to...

Arriving at the Bolger Conference Center on Millersville University’s campus to listen to Pennsylvania state House committee hearings on academic freedom, I spotted yellow papers on windshields across the parking lot. When I picked one up it read, “Stop the Academic Bill of Restrictions. Free Exchange on Campus. Do you want free speech? Make sure the legislature hears your opposition to the Academic Bill of Restrictions.” During the hearings, Free Exchange on Campus had a couple of people lined up to testify as well as several people to speak during the public comment portion. My question however was, “what is...

The only student who testified, other than a few who came forward during public comment, at Millersville University before the Pennsylvania State House Committee on academic freedom was Terry Christopher. Christopher, a Millersville University junior in Speech Communication, told the state legislators that Millersville does not have an academic freedom problem. “I have taken courses with professors on both ends of the political spectrum, and I’ve found that their political affiliations are not what have made me learn or not learn. I have learned best in classes that are open to free debate,” said Christopher. Christopher urged committee members not...