Bill of Rights?

[SuperScout]

Pluralism Manifesto?
By Valerie Richardson
THE WASHINGTON TIMES

DENVER ? A Republican proposal to boost pluralism in academia in Colorado has enraged the left, prompting cries of McCarthyism and calls for an investigation.
The flap erupted last week after word surfaced that Colorado Republican leaders are throwing their support behind the "Academic Bill of Rights," a document drawn up over the summer by Los Angeles-based conservative activist David Horowitz.
The eight-point manifesto calls for increasing intellectual diversity in academia by urging universities to seek more conservative professors, include more classics in the curriculum, invite conservative speakers to campus, and protect students who disagree with liberal professors from academic harassment.
A research survey released by the Center for the Study of Popular Culture last year found that liberal professors vastly outnumber conservatives on major university campuses. In a survey of 150 departments at 32 colleges, including the Ivy League, Democrats outnumbered Republicans by a 10-1 margin.
A study commissioned by the center at the University of Colorado at Boulder last year found that 94 percent of the faculty were Democrats. At the University of Denver, it was 98 percent.
"Scholarship is not politics," said Mr. Horowitz, the center's founder. The issue cropped up in Colorado in January, when Gov. Bill Owens, a Republican, complained during a radio interview about the lack of ideological balance at state universities. In June, Mr. Horowitz met over breakfast with Mr. Owens and Republican legislative leaders to discuss his plan.
When word of the meeting appeared in the Rocky Mountain News last week, however, liberals exploded, accusing conservatives of holding a "secret meeting" to curb free speech and mandate university quotas for registered Republicans. [Notice how quickly the leftists' paranoia kicks in!]
"When is a quota not a quota? When it benefits Republicans, it seems," said the Denver Post in a Saturday editorial. "The same party that's been squawking over race-based college admissions now apparently wants universities to check voter-registration rolls when hiring faculty to ensure more conservatives are added to the ranks."
Former Lt. Gov. Gail Schoettler, a Democrat, called supporters of the document "mind police" with a hidden agenda. "We aren't seeing an interest in encouraging real diversity of ideas; it is an interest in promoting a conservative political agenda," she said in a column in yesterday's Denver Post. [See examples of "Mind Police" at the end of the article.]
The Faculty Senate at Metropolitan State College of Denver called Friday for a probe into the meeting and "any possible threat to academic freedom and curricular responsibility that might flow from such meetings."
But proponents say they adamantly have rejected quotas from the start. The Academic Bill of Rights wouldn't force universities to hire a fixed number of Republicans, but it would provide a remedy for students and job applicants seeking redress for discrimination, State Senate President John Andrews said.
The document also would offer support to students of any political stripe who want to push for a more diversified curriculum. The campaign reinforces that idea with the slogan, "You can't get a good education if they're only telling you half the story."
Mr. Horowitz hasn't confined his efforts to Colorado. He said he has spoken to Republican leaders in about 20 states, and that some also are planning action during the next legislative session, although he wouldn't name the states.
He has also taken the idea to campus, discussing it with the University of California Board of Regents, the University of Oregon administration and students at the University of South Dakota. The document's primary lobbying body is the student-run Students for Academic Freedom, which has representatives on 70 campuses.
The group's Web site includes a host of examples of discrimination against conservatives, including the following:
?An ROTC student at Bowling Green University in Ohio who was repeatedly singled out and harassed by a professor during an elective course on the Vietnam War. The professor refused to let the student drop the class, and gave him a failing grade.
?In May, a review committee at Smith College found that conservative economics professor James D. Miller's academic freedom was violated when he was turned down for tenure. It turned out that professors who had voted against him disapproved of his writing for a conservative publication.
?A highly qualified applicant for an Asian studies teaching position was rejected because he mentioned during his interview that he was in favor of school vouchers.
Supporters of the Academic Bill of Rights stress its political neutrality. "At first, it's going to operate more often to protect conservatives just because American universities have been dominated by the liberal-left for 40 years," Mr. Andrews said. "But the pendulum will swing, and this will protect people across the spectrum from being treated unfairly."

[Once again, we have an example of the hypocrisy of the left, as they embrace, demand and protest for "diversity" except as it applies to allowing different ideas. Notice also how any attempt to bring in ideas others than their own is immediately demonized.]

[BLUEHAWK]

I vote "Yes"... and have noticed how Slick Willy is out there advocating against a Recall... except he'd be out there advocating FOR Recall if it were to be against the other guys, eh?

[Gimpy]

But, it ain't working!

Have you EVER thought that there may be ANOTHER reason there aren't that many "conservatives" in academia??

And I quote YOUR article , "In a survey of 150 departments at 32 colleges, including the Ivy League, Democrats outnumbered Republicans by a 10-1 margin.
A study commissioned by the center at the University of Colorado at Boulder last year found that 94 percent of the faculty were Democrats. At the University of Denver, it was 98 percent. "

The apparent absence of "conservatives" or "republicans" in professorships & teaching positions in our system of "higher" education can evidently be traced to the inadequacies of their abilities to gain the qualificatioins of "higher" intelligence to properly "pass" the entrance examinations of these institutions! NOT their political beliefs!

[BLUEHAWK]

Gimpy -

Maybe also it can be traced to the fact that not everybody declares their political leanings?

I've always thought that was a fairly significant sized group too, no?

[SuperScout]

Go back and read the bottom portion of the original article, and maybe your eyes will be opened, although I have little hope that reason, common sense or basic decency would ever prevail in your case! The blacklisting that the leftists all wrung their collectivists hands over in the 40's and 50's when Communists were being exposed, has now become their liturgy and creed.

[exlrrp]

david horowitz has well proven himself to be a liar of the first water many many times a dirty trickster whose iconoclastic views gave disrupted many academic gatherings.
Its no wonder that people don't like him or those people like him and don't want to work with him or his ilk. Like Ann Coulter, his views are obnoxious and repugnant and decent conservatives--the ones with integrity-- don't quote him or her and usually refer to him with embarasment.
As The writer of thisarticle never offers any actual proof of her charges, just subjective judgements, I think we can safely assume that Horowitz's attempt to portray conservatives as victims is once again laughable and baserless
I think the better way to explain the disparity is that conservative oriented people tend to go into business rather than social improvement--there's more money in it so social improvement is mainly a liberal thing--thats why the conservatives hate us

James

happy just to be alive

[MORTARDUDE]

Due to the fact the Vietnam War was fought exactly opposite of all other conflicts ( Reserves and National Guard not sent, deferments were for education and various and sundry other reasons, ) the institutes of "higher learning" were populated to a dispropotionate extent by those who were of the, shall we say, "left of center agenda". Their assent thru the miracle of "tenure" has resulted in several generations of "brainwashed" youth. Contrast this to the influx of veterans from WW2 and Korea taking advantage of the GI Bill after those wars and lending a true variety of experience to academia. No big mystery here...


Larry

[MORTARDUDE]

Gimpy :

Nice is always better. Try it for awhile.

exlrrp : Nice to have you back in the fray. Have missed you.

Larry

[BLUEHAWK]

Damn, I'm gettin' old...

exlrrp -
Is it "hate", or is it intolerance. Americans tolerate, and accept the results, I hope.... and yer right on about Horowitz.

Scout -
ya shouldn't tell Gimpy ya have "little hope" when ya know ya have nothing but extreme hope. Yer basic decency is the heart of America... as we can get this thing in balance, and I DO believe we are.

Larry -
Ya hit it Bud (if I may so designate ye). If'n they'd let us in a foxhole agin', it'd be an honor to serve next to ya.

[Seascamp]

And here we go again. Point in fact is that I did teach at the college level night school; physics and mathematics as a matter of fact, and anyone who thinks that I?m incompetent at either topic can stand a lesson or so, try it out Gimpy, just try. I?m also a Registered Professional Engineer in the State of Nevada. So you be goddamn careful who you choose to insult Gimpy and why you choose to do so.
And yes, I?m considered a political conservative but choose to be understated on the issue. And if anyone thinks that liberal political tyranny does not exist at the University level is either totally stupid or has their head so far up their political ass that they cant see anything but shit. Been there, done that and won?t go back for seconds, nope. I have better things to do with my life than be insulted and harassed by Liberals. My method of teaching is via participation, conversation and convincing people I?m just telling them things they already know by a different name. But that?s not the Liberal way as a proper prof is supposed to be an arrogant aloof asshole that looks at students as the unwashed masses, talks down to them and pretends to be an oracle of all known things, etc. I refused to be that way, refused to compromise a student?s sexuality, political or religious beliefs and was known to give a passing grade to anyone who tried to do the work. So that made me the oddball. I?m real old fashioned in that I believe that ya have to give respect to get some. What I learned form Liberal academia is that the word ?respect ? was edited from their personal behavior dictionary ages ago and anyone who doesn?t comply with his or her disrespectful life-style is a ?ditto head?. I resigned and those Liberial Profs and supposed administrators can go stick it up their butt. Maybe one day they will do something real and see how the world actually is, but I?ll not hold my breath waiting for that monumental day. I?m glad you reinforced my convictions Gimpy; you?re real good at that ya know. Maybe you and James should learn to know a person before ya get about insulting them. But then that?s the liberal way isn?t it; open mouth, insert foot, externalize all your fuck-ups and expect someone else to pay the bill.

Scamp

And P.S. James
I was paid a whopping $1500 a semester to teach two night classes. I would hardly call that a money grubbing conservative. And these days I mentor three middle school kiddos and get not a dime, just a good feeling about helping out the less mentally able. So I?d say your Liberal theory has a few holes in it and is a gross misrepresentation.