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OT Rant, rant rant
I begin to feel as though we are descending into the Dark Ages again.....
Capitol bill aims to control leftistı profs THE LAW COULD LET STUDENTS SUE FOR UNTOLERATED BELIEFS. By JAMES VANLANDINGHAM Alligator Staff Writer TALLAHASSEE Republicans on the House Choice and Innovation Committee voted along party lines Tuesday to pass a bill that aims to stamp out ³leftist totalitarianism² by ³dictator professors² in the classrooms of Floridaıs universities. The Academic Freedom Bill of Rights, sponsored by Rep. Dennis Baxley, R-Ocala, passed 8-to-2 despite strenuous objections from the only two Democrats on the committee. The bill has two more committees to pass before it can be considered by the full House. While promoting the bill Tuesday, Baxley said a university education should be more than ³one biased view by the professor, who as a dictator controls the classroom,² as part of ³a misuse of their platform to indoctrinate the next generation with their own views.² The bill sets a statewide standard that students cannot be punished for professing beliefs with which their professors disagree. Professors would also be advised to teach alternative ³serious academic theories² that may disagree with their personal views. According to a legislative staff analysis of the bill, the law would give students who think their beliefs are not being respected legal standing to sue professors and universities. Students who believe their professor is singling them out for ³public ridicule² * for instance, when professors use the Socratic method to force students to explain their theories in class * would also be given the right to sue. ³Some professors say, Evolution is a fact. I donıt want to hear about Intelligent Design (a creationist theory), and if you donıt like it, thereıs the door,ı² Baxley said, citing one example when he thought a student should sue. Rep. Dan Gelber, D-Miami Beach, warned of lawsuits from students enrolled in Holocaust history courses who believe the Holocaust never happened. Similar suits could be filed by students who donıt believe astronauts landed on the moon, who believe teaching birth control is a sin or even by Shands medical students who refuse to perform blood transfusions and believe prayer is the only way to heal the body, Gelber added. ³This is a horrible step,² he said. ³Universities will have to hire lawyers so our curricula can be decided by judges in courtrooms. Professors might have to pay court costs even if they win from their own pockets. This is not an innocent piece of legislation.² The staff analysis also warned the bill may shift responsibility for determining whether a studentıs freedom has been infringed from the faculty to the courts. But Baxley brushed off Gelberıs concerns. ³Freedom is a dangerous thing, and you might be exposed to things you donıt want to hear,² he said. ³Being a businessman, I found out you can be sued for anything. Besides, if students are being persecuted and ridiculed for their beliefs, I think they should be given standing to sue.² During the committee hearing, Baxley cast opposition to his bill as ³leftists² struggling against ³mainstream society.² ³The critics ridicule me for daring to stand up for students and faculty,² he said, adding that he was called a McCarthyist. Baxley later said he had a list of students who were discriminated against by professors, but refused to reveal names because he felt they would be persecuted. Rep. Eleanor Sobel, D-Hollywood, argued universities and the state Board of Governors already have policies in place to protect academic freedom. Moreover, a state law outlining how professors are supposed to teach would encroach on the boardıs authority to manage state schools. ³The big hand of state government is going into the universities telling them how to teach,² she said. ³This bill is the antithesis of academic freedom.² But Baxley compared the stateıs universities to children, saying the legislature should not give them money without providing ³guidance² to their behavior. ³Professors are accountable for what they say or do,² he said. ³Theyıre accountable to the rest of us in society All of a sudden the faculty think they can do what they want and shut us out. Why is it so unheard of to say the professor shouldnıt be a dictator and control that room as their totalitarian niche?² In an interview before the meeting, Baxley said ³arrogant, elitist academics are swarming² to oppose the bill, and media reports misrepresented his intentions. ³I expect to be out there on my own pretty far,² he said. ³I donıt expect to be part of a team.² House Bill H-837 can be viewed online at www.flsenate.gov. |
Karen wrote:
I begin to feel as though we are descending into the Dark Ages again..... Capitol bill aims to control leftistı profs THE LAW COULD LET STUDENTS SUE FOR UNTOLERATED BELIEFS. *boggle* -- Marina, Frank, Nikki, and coming soon: Mere! marina (dot) kurten (at) pp (dot) inet (dot) fi Pics at http://uk.pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/frankiennikki/ and http://community.webshots.com/user/frankiennikki |
Karen wrote: I begin to feel as though we are descending into the Dark Ages again..... snip /me whacks head on desk again and again. And yet, people wonder why we refuse to patronize *anything* in the state of Florida... -L. |
Karen wrote in message ... I begin to feel as though we are descending into the Dark Ages again..... That is appalling, truly and utterly appalling. If I was an American student I'd be applying for a European University right now. :( Jeanette |
Jeanette wrote:
Karen wrote in message ... I begin to feel as though we are descending into the Dark Ages again..... That is appalling, truly and utterly appalling. If I was an American student I'd be applying for a European University right now. :( Jeanette Once I would have added "or an Australian one", but I'm afraid that all the signs are that our current govt wishes to push our unis in the same direction as the US ones. I certainly agree that _some_ teachers don't always give differing points of view the respect they might deserve, but this is a nutty way to deal with it. |
"Karen" wrote in message
... I begin to feel as though we are descending into the Dark Ages again..... snipped a whole bunch of dirty litterbox offerings Well, maybe the creationists are right - judging by this it certainly doesn't look like evolution is making the species more intelligent, does it? ; Hugs, CatNipped |
On Thu, 24 Mar 2005 22:59:36 -0600, Karen
yodeled: I begin to feel as though we are descending into the Dark Ages again..... Capitol bill aims to control leftistı profs THE LAW COULD LET STUDENTS SUE FOR UNTOLERATED BELIEFS. By JAMES VANLANDINGHAM Alligator Staff Writer TALLAHASSEE Republicans on the House Choice and Innovation Committee voted along party lines Tuesday to pass a bill that aims to stamp out ³leftist totalitarianism² by ³dictator professors² in the classrooms of Floridaıs universities. The Nation has a whole issue about right-wing backlash towards "liberal" university faculty. I've spent about half my life in academia, and I've still never met a "liberal dictator professor." :P There is a similar bill being introduced in the Ohio legislature too. There is right now a major political battle going on over Columbia University's department of Near Eastern and Asian studies. The real problem is not that the professors are stifling students, but the students simply don't like some things some professors are saying-- even students who have never taken their classes are getting involved over things they have "heard" other people report. One of the problems is that some of these students have simply never been exposed to the Palestinian point of view before, and this discussion is so polarized that they immediately think that the whole treatment of the subject at Columbia is anti-Israel and anti-Semitic. So these students *are* getting exposed to an alternative point of view-- from the one they have heard all their lives. But they don't like it In a way, this is like the evolution debate. Why should knowledgeable, expert people, people who have been long tried in their fields by their peers, who have abided by serious, rigorous methods of study and research, be compelled to give "equal time" to attitudes that they know are b***s***? Next time we have a discussion about world travel, shall we have the Flat Earth Society check in with their views? Did God put the fossil record there just to pull our legs? Bacteria and viruses are developing more resistant strains in matters of a few years, not millions. People are dying of resistant tuberculosis. Anybody can get a bunch of fruit flies, and watch a hundred generations in just a a few months, and you can see the changes. But evolution still needs to be "balanced out" by an "alternative POV. Ridiculous. You know something? The Catholic Church-- yes, the same people who persecuted Galileo 400 years ago-- have openly stated that evolution is *not* in conflict with belief in a Creator God. In a way, the Christian right wing people have a very narrow view of a God they claim is all-powerful. I believe if God is all-powerful, He could have created the world any way He wanted, and that can certainly admit the Big Bang and evolution. They also think that God has some pretty petty concerns, like about who's sleeping with whom. Wow! Thus endeth MY rant. ;) Theresa Stinky Pictures: http://community.webshots.com/album/125591586JWEFwh My Blog: http://www.humanitas.blogspot.com |
On 24 Mar 2005 22:38:39 -0800, "-L."
yodeled: Karen wrote: I begin to feel as though we are descending into the Dark Ages again..... snip /me whacks head on desk again and again. And yet, people wonder why we refuse to patronize *anything* in the state of Florida... -L. My daddy lives there. ;) Of course his head explodes about four times a week. ;) Theresa Stinky Pictures: http://community.webshots.com/album/125591586JWEFwh My Blog: http://www.humanitas.blogspot.com |
On Fri, 25 Mar 2005 08:48:46 -0600, "CatNipped"
yodeled: "Karen" wrote in message ... I begin to feel as though we are descending into the Dark Ages again..... snipped a whole bunch of dirty litterbox offerings Well, maybe the creationists are right - judging by this it certainly doesn't look like evolution is making the species more intelligent, does it? ; BWAHAHAHAHAHAHA! Theresa Stinky Pictures: http://community.webshots.com/album/125591586JWEFwh My Blog: http://www.humanitas.blogspot.com |
"Karen" wrote in message ... I begin to feel as though we are descending into the Dark Ages again..... Capitol bill aims to control Oleftistı profs THE LAW COULD LET STUDENTS SUE FOR UNTOLERATED BELIEFS. By JAMES VANLANDINGHAM Alligator Staff Writer TALLAHASSEE Republicans on the House Choice and Innovation Committee voted along party lines Tuesday to pass a bill that aims to stamp out ³leftist totalitarianism² by ³dictator professors² in the classrooms of Floridaıs universities. The Academic Freedom Bill of Rights, sponsored by Rep. Dennis Baxley, R-Ocala, passed 8-to-2 despite strenuous objections from the only two Democrats on the committee. The bill has two more committees to pass before it can be considered by the full House. While promoting the bill Tuesday, Baxley said a university education should be more than ³one biased view by the professor, who as a dictator controls the classroom,² as part of ³a misuse of their platform to indoctrinate the next generation with their own views.² The bill sets a statewide standard that students cannot be punished for professing beliefs with which their professors disagree. Professors would also be advised to teach alternative ³serious academic theories² that may disagree with their personal views. According to a legislative staff analysis of the bill, the law would give students who think their beliefs are not being respected legal standing to sue professors and universities. Students who believe their professor is singling them out for ³public ridicule² * for instance, when professors use the Socratic method to force students to explain their theories in class * would also be given the right to sue. snip House Bill H-837 can be viewed online at www.flsenate.gov. Hidden within this bill -- and not particularly well hidden -- is an agenda to once again try to insert "creationism" into the classroom. The more I see of attempts like this, the more I think that is just as well that I am not far from retirement. It's *really* a stretch to equate the Socratic method with "dictator professors" in the classroom. MaryL (take out the litter to reply) Photos of Duffy and Holly: 'o' http://tinyurl.com/8y54 (Introducing Duffy to Holly) http://tinyurl.com/8y56 (Duffy and Holly "settle in") |
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