By Mike Adams
Wednesday, February 20, 2013
Last week, after returning from an interview on a network
that makes liberals cringe, I came home to an inbox full of emails. Usually,
when I come home to a full inbox, it’s because a professor has done something
stupid and people want me to write about it. This was no exception. A professor
at West Liberty University had banned Fox News as a source and told her
students that the "biased" station makes her "cringe." That
kind of thinking is common among professors. But few professors are stupid
enough to reveal it in a syllabus.
Stephanie Wolfe, a visiting assistant professor at West
Liberty, made her own bias clear when she told her students orally that they
could not cite the news station in any of their work for the semester. The
problem was that she also put the following in her syllabus: "The tagline
'Fox News' makes me cringe. Please do not subject me to this biased news
station. I would almost rather you print off an article from the Onion
(sic)."
For those who did not miss the irony, "bias"
occurs when someone allows an emotional inclination to interfere with the
ability to process information. So the good professor banned Fox for being
"biased" one sentence after she admitted that her emotional
inclination impedes her ability to process information presented by Fox. Why
not ban herself as a biased source of information?
Of course, putting this in her syllabus was stupid. But
it brought about a good result. Students were able to share the information
with others, including Fox News. That resulted in a rare national television
appearance by a university president willing to express his concerns about
academic freedom. In fact, President Capehart handled the situation perfectly
by registering a concern that Wolfe's exercise of academic freedom was infringing
on the academic freedom of her students to "gather information and look at
as many different sources as possible on any side, before you reach your
opinion."
Shortly after these remarks were made, Professor Wolfe
reversed the ban and recognized her students' legitimate interest in examining
different points of view - even those that do not comport with those of the
professor. For this reason, I plan to contact the university using this link.
It will be a rare opportunity to thank a university administration for doing
the right thing. Even if you don't have time to write West Liberty, you've
learned two things by taking the time to read this column:
1. Administrative support is needed to enable rogue
faculty members. For years, leftist faculty members have relied on
administrative support from Deans, Provosts, and Presidents. Whenever these
administrators intervene with vague statements about "academic
freedom" a signal is sent to the rogue faculty member. That signal is that
they may do whatever they want without suffering repercussions in the
workplace. But as soon as an administrator speaks about his concerns over
balancing the freedom of different parties, the professor knows she is in
trouble. Anything less than full administrative support will cause the
professor to capitulate.
2. Justice often follows when we obtain written
admissions. One reason the president responded in such a positive way was
evidentiary. This was no mere accusation. Wolfe carelessly put her remarks in
writing. So there could be no denying that a problem existed. The evidence
forced Capehart to make a decision. And he made the right one.
Most professors spew their bias in the classroom without
recording it on the syllabus. Therefore, students have to be vigilant. When,
for example, your professor tells the class (in class) to refrain from using
Fox as a source, you should seek clarification via email. Something like the
following will suffice:
"Dear Professor Doe: I light of your ban on using
Fox News as a source, I was wondering whether using MSNBC or Al Jazeera would
also be unacceptable?"
Professors are often so arrogant that they will use the
classroom to pressure students into accepting their beliefs. And they are often
so careless that they will repeat their errors in writing when pressed.
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