Students Confront Classroom Indoctrination · 28 October 2004
Concerned that the presentation of these partisan films was inappropriate, and aware that her friends did not feel they could speak up to object for fear of grading ramifications, Noelle wrote to Dr. Elizabeth Nelson directly to firmly but politely voice her objection to showing these one-sided films without also including a counter-balancing perspective.
She wrote:
"Dr. Nelson,
I know that you teach a class on psychology in the media in which the students have been required to watch Michael Moore's F911, and Outfoxed. I don't really think that this is fair, if only one side is being presented, especially in such a tumultuous election year. While I respect your opinions and viewpoints, I think it should be left up to the students to make decisions based on an adequate representation of both sides….I hope that you would be open to sharing an alternate side with your students - to show them, too that just as there shouldn't be bias in the media, there also shouldn't be bias in the classroom. I respect your points of view and I have heard many enjoy your classes. I cannot stress how much I respect the views of those other than my own, but in the interest of being fair to all students regardless of creed, color, religion, or political affiliation, I feel that I must bring this to your attention. Thank you so much for reading this and taking this into consideration."
The full text of Noelle's letter can be read on our website here .
Noelle was pleased to receive a brief reply from Dr. Nelson, and after the exchange of several emails, Dr. Nelson agreed to forward the website www.bowlingfortruth.com, which is highly critical of Michael Moore and his films, to her students, to help them make up their own minds about whether Moore's accusations are accurate.
Noelle's example illustrates that the actions of one student can have a profound effect on the climate of intellectual diversity and academic freedom in their college or university. We commend Noelle for exercising the initiative to take a stand on behalf of her classmates and we are pleased that Dr. Nelson saw the logic of her arguments and took one small step toward allowing for greater intellectual diversity in her classroom.
This case also illustrates the benefits of having a Students for Academic Freedom chapter on campus. Individual students who feel they are being abused in the classroom are often legitimately concerned that speaking up will damage their academic futures, but an independent advocate can voice their concerns for them without fearing repercussions.
California State University-Long Beach student Marissa Freimanis, who you may recall from last week's update , has also displayed great initiative and courage in confronting violations of academic freedom on her campus. Marissa is enrolled this semester in an English 100 Composition class taught by Professor Clifton Snider. Dr. Snider regularly launches into political diatribes in the classroom, lambasting President Bush and his administration, and his class syllabus outlines for students exactly which views are considered acceptable for them to discuss in an argument paper. Among the views deemed unacceptable because there is "no other side apart from chauvinistic, religious, or bigoted opinions and pseudo-science" were abortion, religion, same sex marriage, and prayer in public schools.
Unwilling to let Dr. Snider continue to indoctrinate his students without challenge, Marissa agreed to write up an account of her experience in Dr. Snider's class, which was published on Frontpage Magazine and the SAF website. She courageously decided to sign her name to it, even though she remains a student in Dr. Snider's class. Marissa's full article can be read here .
The battle for academic freedom is being waged on America's campuses every day, and it is students like Noelle and Marissa who are helping us to win it. If you have faced a situation of classroom indoctrination or discrimination for your political, religious or intellectual views, please contact me in our national office at 202-969-2467 or at Sara@studentsforacademicfreedom.org. We can help you to launch the academic freedom movement on your campus and improve the quality of education for yourself and your classmates.
Yours in Freedom,
Sara Dogan
National Campus Director
Students for Academic Freedom
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Telling Students What to Think at CSU-Long Beach Enriching Diversity on Campus by Presenting An Alternative Viewpoint
