More Campus Victories, but Opposition from the Teachers' Unions · 21 April 2005
Academic Freedom took another step forward at Brooklyn College this week when BC's Student Assembly passed a Defense of Academic Freedom Act based on the Academic Bill of Rights. The passage of this resolution concluded a hard-fought battle. The resolution had originally been introduced in the fall, but was derailed when university administrators took the drastic step of shutting down the student assembly, claiming that its speaker and leadership had been elected under improper procedures. The timing of the shutdown was suspicious, given that the student government had been already been in session for six weeks, and the shutdown occurred the day the academic freedom resolution was introduced. Only after intervention from the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education, did the administration agree to allow the student assembly to reconvene.
"BC-SAF has grown tremendously between the end of last year and now, and at this point there are hardly any students at Brooklyn College who are not aware of this BC student organization's dedication to students rights and intellectual and political diversity," said BC-SAF President Eldad Yaron.
"I am proud to say that Brooklyn College, which is a great school, has just become even greater by joining the family of schools whose student bodies are dedicated to the promotion of students' rights, namely their own academic freedom, by demanding fair - and ultimately better - education," he added.
Academic Freedom was also on the agenda this week at Georgia Tech, where the Student Government Association and the Diversity Forum on campus sponsored a town hall meeting on the topic of academic freedom. Georgia Tech came under much criticism last year, when it was revealed that student Ruth Malhotra was threatened with (and subsequently received) a failing grade from her public policy professor because she attended a conservative political conference in Washington, DC. The same professor told Ruth in class, when she tried to defend the President's agenda, "You don't know what you're talking about. George Bush isn't doing anything for you. He's too busy pimping for the Christian Coalition." Ruth pursued a complaint against her professor for this political abuse in the classroom, raising awareness about academic freedom issues on campus. The Georgia State Senate also passed a resolution based on the Academic Bill of Rights by a vote of 41-5.
Dean of Diversity Issues Stephanie Ray explained the university's reasons for holding the forum, explaining that despite the Senate resolution last year, academic freedom "hadn't been addressed on this campus in any shape, form or fashion." That a non-partisan education forum on academic freedom could be held at Georgia Tech and officially sponsored by the university and attended by high-ranking administrators, demonstrates that significant positive changes have taken place in the short span of one year.
An article about the forum can be read here .
Teachers' Unions Oppose Academic Bill of Rights
In our battle for intellectual diversity and academic freedom on campus, we have met no shortage of opponents who persistently falsify the aims and effects of our Academic Bill of Rights, ignoring the mountain of evidence and arguments which contradict their claims. This week, the nation's two largest teachers' unions-The National Education Association (NEA) and the American Federation of Teachers (AFT)-joined the fray with an inaccurate and misleading attack on our organization .
On Friday, April 15, the NEA and the AFT announced a joint lobbying effort to combat a provision in the Higher Education Reauthorization Act inspired by our Academic Bill of Rights which would promote greater intellectual diversity in our nation's colleges and universities and combat discrimination against students for their political, religious, or ideological beliefs.
These organizations' misrepresentation of the Bill is apparent even from the sub-headline of the release which declares that "Proposed changes in the Higher Education Act would….create an ideological litmus test for faculty." This statement is an outright falsehood and was adopted from an American Association of University Professors statement which has falsely claimed since the introduction of our bill that it would "enforce a kind of diversity that is instead determined by essentially political categories, like the number of Republicans or Democrats on a faculty, or the number of conservatives or liberals." Our response to this misrepresentation of the Bill by the AAUP can be viewed here.
Far from imposing an ideological litmus test on faculty, the Academic Bill of Rights explicitly forbids the consideration of political or ideological views in hiring and tenure processes. The portions of the Higher Education Act which reflect our Academic Bill of Rights are chiefly concerned with the rights of students rather than educators and thus do not contain this exact provision-in fact the section of the Higher Education Act inspired by the Academic Bill of Rights is silent on the topic of hiring educators illustrating the lack of research which went into the NEA/AFT response. But these provisions similarly outlaw the use of political standards to judge or grade students, mandating that students not be "excluded from participation in, denied the benefits of, or subjected to discrimination or official sanction on the basis of their political or ideological beliefs."
The body of the release is equally misleading. It claims that the provisions in the Higher Education Act "impose a litmus test on curriculum, teaching and hiring decisions." It also quotes NEA President Kathy Sproles as stating, "If Congress tries to create a 'balance' of political and religious views and other forms of expression by faculty through this action, they will kill academic freedom," expressly mischaracterizing our aims which neither in the Academic Bill of Rights nor the Higher Education Act make any reference to a "balance" of views which implies a quota system but merely to the promotion of "intellectual diversity."
Our full response to these disingenuous attacks may be found on our website here .
Passing the Torch
As the end of the school year approaches, it is crucial for those SAF leaders who are graduating this spring to name their replacements for the upcoming school year. Please send me an email at Sara@studentsforacademicfreedom.org or give me a call at 202-393-0123 to let me know who the new SAF president or contact on your campus will be next semester. If you are planning to start an SAF chapter next fall, now is the perfect time to gather the information and materials you will need to hit the ground running next September. Contact me in our Washington, DC office and I will gladly get you everything you need to get started.
Yours in Freedom,
Sara Dogan
National Campus Director
Students for Academic Freedom
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