Students' rights versus academe's leftward tilt

0 Comments | Insight on the News, March 25, 2002 | by Marc Levin

If professors were the only Americans eligible to vote, we might have avoided the Florida presidential-election debacle. A new survey commissioned by the Center for the Study of Popular Culture found that, among Ivy League faculty, some 84 percent voted for Al Gore, while only 9 percent voted for George W. Bush. This is surprising, but only because Ralph Nader did not capture more support.

This poll also revealed that the overwhelming percentage of faculty (unlike the majority of Americans) oppose tax cuts, missile defense and school vouchers. A prior survey by North-western University law professor Jim Lindgren found that some 80 percent of law professors describe themselves as being "Democrat" or "leaning Democrat."

However, attempts to demonize or terminate radical professors usually are unproductive. A far more constructive approach, and one which cannot so easily be dismissed as interfering with academic freedom, is to focus not on professors' views but on students' rights.

As Congress considers a "patients' bill of rights," state legislatures should enact a "students' bill of rights." These would (at least at public universities) ensure that students, like professors, enjoy academic freedom. Private universities should be encouraged to adopt a similar declaration, particularly if they accept government funds.

The students' bill of rights would consist of five provisions. First, all students should have the opportunity to fill out confidential end-of-class evaluations. Furthermore, these evaluations should ask not only whether the professor is effective, but also whether he uses his position as a soapbox for a political agenda.

Second, students should be informed at the beginning of every class that they can file a grievance with the ombudsman if they feel they are marked down solely because they do not share the professor's viewpoint on a controversial issue. Students should be assured that such complaints will be treated confidentially and will not be held against them.

Third, students have the right to balanced curricula. Thus, professors should be encouraged, where practical, to present different viewpoints and include readings fairly reflecting these viewpoints.

This applies to issues where there is a substantial disagreement among reputable authorities. For example, a professor teaching about segregation need not assign David Duke's book, but a professor teaching global warming would be remiss not to include the work of skeptics. Indeed, it must be recognized that, as the captive audience of professors, students are denied a fully enlightened education if they receive only one side of an issue.

Fourth, students should have a right to ask questions and engage in discussion following a professor's statement of his ideological own views. Some classes are too large for such interaction and there may not always be time, but it should be encouraged when practical.

Finally, students should know that whatever causes faculties to be overwhelmingly liberal, it is not bias in faculty hiring. Thus, each university should review its hiring process to ensure that faculty members on hiring committees do not discriminate against applicants on the basis of their political views.

It is critical that this students' bill of rights specify that professors' performance in these areas will be considered as part of the tenure process and periodic reviews that hopefully occur even after tenure is granted. Too often, the tenure process is nothing more than a weigh-in. A professor's publications are dropped on a scale and, if they are sufficiently hefty, tenure is granted. Scarce attention is paid in many universities' tenure processes to teaching ability, let alone to a professor's respect for students' academic freedom.

With a students' bill of rights, the ideological imbalance of faculty members would be of far less concern, as students could be assured of obtaining a quality education. At the same time, nothing in this proposal would stifle or even chill a professor's right to his own views and even his right to share them with students.

Of course, this proposal would not address the imbalance in academic scholarship. However, this is of less import, as think thanks generate much conservative scholarship. Moreover, most academic writings have little influence on politics. And economics, a field that frequently influences policy, tends to be ideologically balanced. For example, polls indicate most economics professors recognize that increasing the minimum wage will increase unemployment.

By shifting the debate to students' rights and acknowledging that professors who respect those rights are entitled to hold even the most radical views, conservatives can do more than wring their hands over liberal academia. Instead, they can advocate a system that ensures students receive a balanced education regardless of the ideological makeup of college faculties.

MARC LEVIN IS PRESIDENT OF THE AMERICAN FREEDOM CENTER AND VICE CHAIRMAN OF THE YOUNG CONSERVATIVES OF TEXAS.