Friday, March 02, 2007

Syndicated columnist offers views on intellectual diversity

The Emily Brooker Intellectual Diversity Act in Missouri is just one of a number of similar efforts across the United States. The act is named for the former Missouri State University student who sued the university after a professor forced her and other students to write letters to the state legislature promoting gay adoption.
Supposedly, the idea is to allow all ideas, conservative and liberal, to be allowed on colleges and universities, though critics of the proposal claim it is an effort to shut out liberal viewpoints.
Syndicated columnist Jeff Emanuel offers a different take. Referring to a similar proposal in Georgia, Emanuel writes:

On the surface, these seem like admirable enough goals. What measures, though, would actually be put into place should HB 154 pass – and would the passage of this legislation serve as an end in itself, or would it only encourage government to further legislate the thoughts and actions of those on this nation’s college campuses? For, regardless of whether or not this bill would actually provide a temporary respite for conservatives students and faculty who have long had to struggle to get by in an environment which is predisposed toward modern liberalism, there is the worrisome prospect that HB 154 is simply the first step in a process to legislate the actions and, more importantly, the thoughts of those who inhabit America’s "marketplaces of ideas."

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

I think this is an education issue and not worthy of legislation. Not all teachers are like the one that teaches at MSU. In fact, after 8 years of college, I never met 1 professor like that. I hate when so much attention is given to ONE rather than to serve the people. She gets a free education, and never has to talk to that professor again. What is the big deal? I know a freshman at a small college in Kansas, the professor was beating down the President, whom this girl happens to support, so she left class. She was not penalized for her view and she did not have to listen to the teacher. That is a true liberal college.