By Walter E. Williams
Wednesday, September 18, 2013
The new college academic year has begun, and
unfortunately, so has student indoctrination. Let's look at some of it.
William Penn, Michigan State University professor of
creative writing, greeted his first day of class with an anti-Republican rant.
Campus Reform, a project of the Arlington, Va.-based Leadership Institute, has
a video featuring the professor telling his students that Republicans want to
prevent "black people" from voting. He added that "this country
still is full of closet racists" and described Republicans as "a
bunch of dead white people -- or dying white people" (http://tinyurl.com/lve4te7).
To a student who had apparently displayed displeasure with those comments,
Professor Penn barked, "You can frown if you want." He gesticulated
toward the student and added, "You look like you're frowning. Are you
frowning?" When the professor's conduct was brought to the attention of
campus authorities, MSU spokesman Kent Cassella said, "At MSU it is
important the classroom environment is conducive to a free exchange of ideas
and is respectful of the opinions of others."
That mealy-mouthed response is typical of university
administrators. Professor Penn was using his classroom to proselytize students.
That is academic dishonesty and warrants serious disciplinary or dismissal
proceedings. But that's not likely. Professor Penn's vision is probably shared
by his colleagues, seeing as he was the recipient of MSU's Distinguished
Faculty Award in 2003. University of Southern California professor Darry Sragow
shares Penn's opinion. Last fall, he went on a rant telling his students that
Republicans are "stupid and racist" and "the last vestige of
angry old white people" (http://tinyurl.com/185khtk).
UCLA's new academic year saw its undergraduate student
government fighting for constitutional rights by unanimously passing a
resolution calling for the end of the use of the phrase "illegal
immigrant." The resolution states, "The racially derogatory I-word
endangers basic human rights including the presumption of innocence and the
right to due process guaranteed under the U.S. Constitution." No doubt
some UCLA administrators and professors bereft of thinking skills helped them
craft the resolution.
The New York Post (8/25/11) carried a story about a
student in training to become dorm supervisor at DePauw University in Indiana.
She said: "We were told that 'human' was not a suitable identity, but that
instead we were first 'black,' 'white,' or 'Asian'; 'male' or 'female'; ...
'heterosexual' or 'queer.' We were forced to act like bigots and spout off
stereotypes while being told that that was what we were really thinking deep
down." At many universities, part of the freshman orientation includes
what's called the "tunnel of oppression." They are taught the evils
of "white privilege" and how they are part of a "rape
culture." Sometimes they are forced to discuss their sexual identities with
complete strangers. The New York Post story said: "DePauw is no rare case.
At least 96 colleges across the country have run similar 'tunnel of oppression'
programs in the last few years."
University officials are aware of this kind of academic
dishonesty and indoctrination; university trustees are not. For the most part,
trustees are yes men for the president. Legislators and charitable foundations
that pour billions into colleges are unaware, as well. Most tragically, parents
who pay tens of thousands of dollars for tuition and pile up large debt to send
their youngsters off to be educated are unaware of the academic rot, as well.
You ask, "Williams, what can be done?" Students
should record classroom professorial propaganda and give it wide distribution
over the Internet. I've taught for more than 45 years and routinely invited
students to record my lectures so they don't have to be stenographers during
class. I have no idea of where those recordings have wound up, but if you find
them, you'll hear zero proselytization or discussion of my political and
personal preferences. To use a classroom to propagate one's personal beliefs is
academic dishonesty.
Vladimir Lenin said, "Give me four years to teach
the children and the seed I have sown will never be uprooted." That's the
goal of the leftist teaching agenda.
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