Senate Bill Seeks to Limit Debate in Ohio's Colleges and Universities
Update 03/14/05:Akron Beacon-Journal Editorial - A Bill of Wrongs
Update 02/22/05:Cleveland Plain Dealer Editorial - Too Much "Cure"
Read the editorial here:Cleveland Plain Dealer Editorial
David Horowitz has launched a new website: www.discoverthenetwork.com.
Update 02/04/05:Dan Williamson's Other Paper Article - a few bits I pulled from the article...
He said he's heard about numerous examples of leftist indoctrination, though the best example he offered up was from Ball State University, which is located in Indiana...
You really can't blame the Ohio Senate's conservative culture warriors for talking aim at liberal academics. They've got to do something with their time, after all, and SpongeBob SquarePants doesn't live in Ohio...
Legislation that would restrict what university professors could say in their classrooms was introduced last week. Marion Sen. Larry Mumper's so-called "Academic Bill of Rights" would prohibit professors at both public and private universities from discussing controversial issues in class.
Mumper was quoted in a Jan. 27th Columbus Dispatch interview as saying "80 percent or so of them (professors) are Democrats, liberals or socialists or card-carrying Communists." Mumper continued sticking his foot in his mouth by saying, "These are young minds that haven't had a chance to form their own opinions. Our colleges and universities are still filled with some of the '60s and '70s profs that were the anti-American group. They've gotten control of how to give people tenure and so the colleges continue to move in this direction."
The most alarming text of Mumper's bill (which appears to be a cut-and-paste job from a booklet published in 2003 by conservative commentator David Horowitz) reads, Faculty and instructors shall not infringe the academic freedom and quality of education of their students by persistently introducing controversial matter into the classroom or coursework that has no relation to their subject of study and that serves no legitamate pedagogical purpose.
Who is to decide what constitues controversial matter? Sen. Mumper himself? The Ohio Senate? How will they monitor what Ohio's thousands of professors say on a day-to-day basis?
The bill goes on to read, Faculty...shall make their students aware of serious scholarly viewpoints other than their own through classroom discussion or dissemination of written materials. Under this proposed legislation, would a professor teaching a course on Darwin be required to make their students aware of Creationism and bring it in for a "serious" discussion. Would a professor teaching a course on WWII have to mention that a select few believe the Holocaust did not exist?
Thankfully, Sen. Teresa Fedor (D-Toledo), a former school teacher herself, is taking the lead in the fight against this dangerous bill to make sure power stays in the hands of Ohio's educators and not in the hands of right-wing reactionaries. Sen. Fedor's goal is to create a dialogue between faculty and students concerning S.B. 24. Please contact Sen. Fedor and her Democratic colleagues and let them know you stand united in opposition. Make no mistake - with a 22-11 advantage in the Ohio Senate, Republicans can and will pass this bill. Only with a susatained and aggressive effort can Ohoian's fight this absurd bill.
Sen. Fedor can be reachedhere or toll-free 1-800-282-0253. In addition to contacting your fellow educators or students, please write to your student or community newspaper with your views on Sen. Mumper's bill.
The text of the bill can be read here: http://www.legislature.state.oh.us/bills.cfm?ID=126_SB_24
The fight against S.B. 24 is growing! Read the latest Dayton Daily News article.
Professors and University officals are speaking out on their concerns about S.B. 24: Paulette Olson, Wright State University professor of economics and president of the WSU chapter of the American Association of University Professors said the bill "threatens the fundamental principles of intellectual freedom by putting restrictions on teaching and academic inquiry." She added, "it is based on the weak premise that faculty members are out there indoctrinating their students with left-wing ideology."
Sinclair Community College President Steven Lee Johnson has commented, "(the bill) is at the very bottom of the list of real problems that we have within our colleges across our society," and that the legislation "could very easily be used against good and skillful professors."
Ohio Wesleyan University professor Joan McLean said in a Jan. 27th Columbus Dispatch article, "This is not the kind of democracy we think we're spreading when we hear President Bush's words. What we're celebrating is our ability to not control information."