Bill Could restrict professors
Bill Rodgers
Issue date: 2/3/05 Section: pageone
A bill being considered in the Ohio senate is currently under fire from state lawmakers, educators and YSU faculty.
Ohio Sen. Larry A. Mumper (R-26), recently introduced senate Bill 24, the "academic bill of rights for higher education." The bill could possibly restrict what professors say in their classrooms as well as regulate the material they present
The bill's language states it would prohibit university faculty and instructors from, "persistently introducing controversial matter into the classroom." Another section of the bill would require professors to "make students aware of serious scholarly viewpoints other than their own." The bill also calls for a grievance procedure to keep universities in check concerning the proposed law.
Mumper said the bill is necessary to prohibit professors from pushing their political ideologies on students. An article published by the Columbus Dispatch quotes Mumper as saying, "80 percent or so of them (professors) are Democrats, liberals or Socialists or card-carrying Communists." Critics say the proposed bill is redundant and a danger to free expression.
In a telephone interview, Mumper said some professors try to indoctrinate students by stifling student opinions or through assigning required reading such as "Fast Food Nation" by Eric Schlosser; a book Mumper said was "an attack on the free market."
David Horowitz, conservative columnist, influenced the bill.
"Our institutions of higher learning must have an Academic Bill of Rights that stresses intellectual diversity," Horowitz wrote in a column. "Universities should not be indoctrination centers for the political left..."
Horowitz created the group "Students for Academic Freedom" as a forum for those who share his ideas. The nationwide group has a Web site for students to trade stories about professors who show political bias.
Similar versions of the bill were considered in other states such as Indiana and Colorado. State universities in Colorado agreed to adopt some of the bill's provisions.
Ohio Sen. Larry A. Mumper (R-26), recently introduced senate Bill 24, the "academic bill of rights for higher education." The bill could possibly restrict what professors say in their classrooms as well as regulate the material they present
The bill's language states it would prohibit university faculty and instructors from, "persistently introducing controversial matter into the classroom." Another section of the bill would require professors to "make students aware of serious scholarly viewpoints other than their own." The bill also calls for a grievance procedure to keep universities in check concerning the proposed law.
Mumper said the bill is necessary to prohibit professors from pushing their political ideologies on students. An article published by the Columbus Dispatch quotes Mumper as saying, "80 percent or so of them (professors) are Democrats, liberals or Socialists or card-carrying Communists." Critics say the proposed bill is redundant and a danger to free expression.
In a telephone interview, Mumper said some professors try to indoctrinate students by stifling student opinions or through assigning required reading such as "Fast Food Nation" by Eric Schlosser; a book Mumper said was "an attack on the free market."
David Horowitz, conservative columnist, influenced the bill.
"Our institutions of higher learning must have an Academic Bill of Rights that stresses intellectual diversity," Horowitz wrote in a column. "Universities should not be indoctrination centers for the political left..."
Horowitz created the group "Students for Academic Freedom" as a forum for those who share his ideas. The nationwide group has a Web site for students to trade stories about professors who show political bias.
Similar versions of the bill were considered in other states such as Indiana and Colorado. State universities in Colorado agreed to adopt some of the bill's provisions.