Express Yourself!

<p><font style="BACKGROUND-COLOR: #333333" color="#ffffff">Checking the </font><a href="http://www.studentsforacademicfreedom.org/"><font style="BACKGROUND-COLOR: #333333" color="#0099ff">Students for Academic Freedom</font></a><font style="BACKGROUND-COLOR: #333333" color="#ffffff"> website (run by non-student David Horowitz) I notice that it has been changed, so that </font><a href="http://turing.plymouth.edu/~estiller/blog/archives/20050330.html"><font style="BACKGROUND-COLOR: #333333" color="#0099ff">my allegations</font></a><font style="BACKGROUND-COLOR: #333333" color="#ffffff"> (using political party affiliation of faculty members to indicate classroom bias) are no longer true.  I suppose the overt charges of fascism by me and others rang a little too true.  I suppose David wishes to appear less nutty.  Who wouldn't?  Even the title has been changed from &quot;how to research faculty bias&quot; to </font><a href="http://www.studentsforacademicfreedom.org/essays/research_protocol.html"><font style="BACKGROUND-COLOR: #333333" color="#0099ff">&quot;how to research faculty party affiliations</font></a><font style="BACKGROUND-COLOR: #333333" color="#ffffff">&quot;, and I can no longer find the link on the main web site.   Less nutty, but why should students wish to research faculty party affiliations?  I fear the goal is the same.  I personally liked the nuttier David better.</font></p><p><font style="BACKGROUND-COLOR: #333333" color="#ffffff">This experience emphasizes the impermanence of all electronic media, especially web sites.  When offensiveness is spotted, rather than defending such actions, individuals like David simply change things, and (as my nephew would say about Santa's delivery of Christmas presents) &quot;poof&quot; the culpable words are gone.  I suppose our public critiques are helping edit such pages.</font></p>

<p>(Please note David Horowitz changed his web site shortly after this posting was made)</p><p>Is it me, or is there something particularly hypocritical when those who most vocally oppose affirmative action to help reverse historical (and current) discrimination against racial minorities and women call for affirmative action in political party representation on campuses?  According to David Horowitz''s web site, <a href="http://www.studentsforacademicfreedom.org/">Students for Academic Freedom</a>, one of the primary concerns is that there are too few conservatives on campus.  To further support my contention that the web site overly emphasizes faculty political party affiliation as proof of bias, students are invited to participate in &quot;research&quot; of faculty bias at the link entitled, <a href="http://www.studentsforacademicfreedom.org/essays/research_protocol.html">&quot;How to Research Faculty Bias&quot;.</a>  This link directs students to create a spread sheet of faculty members and their political party from voter registration lists, and to submit these spreadsheets to <a href="mailto:info@sfaf.org">info@sfaf.org</a>.  So, the rabid attack-dog conservatism has progressed to such a level that academics should feel that voting in the democratic party is something that we must defend.   Citizens of the U.S. are proud of their freedom of expression, yet this feels fascist to me!</p><p>One more thing:  The name of the David Horowitz's web site (Students for Academic Freedom) suggests that it is driven by students, when in fact it is not.  The result of this makes David's extensive quoting of himself appear a little less biased (emphasis on little).   </p>

<p>In the April 4th issue of the Nation Russell Jacoby's article, <em><a href="http://www.thenation.com/doc.mhtml?i=20050404&s=jacoby">The New PC, Crybaby Conservatives</a></em>, discusses the latest assault on free speech by conservative groups.  Conservatives are alleging that campuses are not giving equitable representation to conservative ideas and that conservative students are claiming to be harassed by academics because of their conservative perspectives.   People like David Horowitz are transforming the notion of academic freedom to stifle left and liberal points of view through his organization, <a href="http://www.studentsforacademicfreedom.org/">Students for Academic Freedom</a>.  </p><p>The damage that such movements cause is to encourage students to refuse to participate in various elements of courses such as reading requirements or viewing films.  Based on the experience of my colleagues, students have claimed that certain books or films may offend their religious views, and therefore they should be exempt from such material.  Of course, this will serve to water-down the content of classes if we need to exempt students based on their potentially being offended.  The role of academia is not to be comfortable, but to expand students' horizons.  The process of expanding one's thinking can be uncomfortable, so protecting students in this manner is a severe disservice.</p>