Students For Academic Freedom

Confronting Classroom Indoctrination · 27 October 2004

Editor's Note: Noelle Garcia, the leader of Students for Academic Freedom at Christian Brothers University in Tennessee, was upset to learn from some friends that their psychology professor, Dr. Elizabeth Nelson, had required them to watch the films Fahrenheit 9/11 and Outfoxed in her class.

Concerned that the presentation of these partisan films was inappropriate, Noelle wrote to Dr. Nelson directly to firmly but politely voice her objection to showing these one-sided films without also including a counter-balancing perspective. After a series of brief email exchanges, Noelle was able to convince Dr. Nelson to forward the website www.bowlingfortruth.org, which is critical of Michael Moore, to her students, to provide them with an additional perspective on her films. Noelle's initial letter is reprinted below.

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 do not believe this is the case in Michael Moore's movie or in Outfoxed. www.bowlingfortruth.com is a website which debunks almost all of Moore's claims in the movie with research and facts. Maybe your students could analyze that for an alternate view, a "fair and balanced" view. And of all the mainstream news networks, Fox is the only network which makes a deliberate effort to present both views. This is so apparent in watching ABC - Dan Rather's trouble, The View, etc, etc. These other networks lean so far liberal that there has to be a balance somewhere. Fox will openly criticize Bush - conservatives openly criticize him, but the liberal media blatantly protects Kerry. I cannot see how Fox could be accused of bias unless of course all other news networks are analyzed for the same problem.

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.

God bless you and have a great fall break!

Sincerely,
Noelle Garcia

—