Students For Academic Freedom

A Different Take on Intellectual Diversity · 04 March 2004

By Roger Custer--CNSNews.com, 03/03/04

Last spring the Ithaca College Republicans published a study of political diversity among the college's professors that exposed a striking imbalance. While 93.6 percent were registered Democrat or Green, only 6.4 percent were registered Republican or Conservative. We think it's time to do something about the problem.

Nationwide, many students are establishing groups devoted to academic freedom with the goal of passing the federal Academic Bill of Rights. Although such groups have been successful in Colorado and elsewhere, our group decided to propose a unique solution.

Our 14-page study explores the lack of intellectual diversity in a range of the college's activities. It also makes proposals and defines intellectual diversity as "the idea that students should be free to judge each idea on its merits in the wake of theories and perspectives that cover an entire spectrum."

The proposals include four sections. They first call for the college's long-range institutional plan to include "political ideology" as a type of diversity. Truly diverse coursework is proposed second, after an exploration of the college catalogue that leans to the left. Institution-sponsored speaking events have brought a variety of left-wing ideas to campus recently, and the third proposal asks for a wider spectrum of ideas and debates. Lastly, we propose a Center for the Study of Intellectual Diversity, which would closely parallel an existing center at Ithaca College that studies culture, race and ethnicity.

A true commitment to intellectual diversity would propel Ithaca College, or any university, to the forefront of scholarship. A study of the course catalogue, similar to "Comedy & Tragedy" from Young America's Foundation, found many courses in Marxism, feminism, and racial studies, but none in conservatism. Colleges must break from national trends in scholarship and instead innovate with programs highlighting intellectual diversity. When students learn about ideas that clash with their own, they better understand their perspective and improve critical thinking skills.

Increased awareness and engagement of ideas will decrease campus apathy. Some of the most widely attended and discussed events on our campus have been sponsored by the Ithaca College Republicans.

For example, in 2001 we hosted entrepreneur Reginald Jones with the help of Young America's Foundation. In response to a request for funding, the Department of Politics refused and stated that Jones does not exemplify the "political meanings" of Black History Month.

In 2002 when Bay Buchanan spoke, some students attempted to report her speech to safety officers as a "bias-related incident." Both of these events raised campus awareness and reduced apathy through the dialogue and activism they encouraged. The political mind is most active when it is necessary to defend one's own beliefs in the face of strong intellectual opposition.

Institutions of higher learning are perfect venues for innovative new initiatives that explore the depth and variety of intellectual diversity. Unfortunately, the culture and leadership on campuses has only emphasized certain ideologies and viewpoints when it could expand its horizons.

In a world where such a vast amount of information is readily available, ideas are increasingly important. Whether through an established national coalition or independently, students should stand up for holistic ideological scholarship and programming. Together, we can work toward true intellectual diversity in higher education.

(Roger Custer is chairman of the Ithaca College Republicans. He will be a program officer at the Young America's Foundation starting this May. He can be reached at hafback698@hotmail.com.)

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