Episode 32 Show Notes- Academic Freedom and Ideological Intolerance
Episode Description
Today’s polarized politics have thrust themselves on college campuses, and there is a movement to silence and censor those with opposing political viewpoints. Colleges were once at the forefront of free speech, debate, and an exchange of ideas. Today, many campuses have become radicalized institutions of indoctrination and safe spaces. Academic freedom is an important component of higher education. It allows faculty to teach and express controversial ideas without the risk of retaliation and higher officials interfering in the classroom. However, shouldn’t academic freedom apply to students as well? Many of today’s college campuses have become harbingers of ideological intolerance based on political viewpoints.
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Intro
Welcome everyone to another episode of The PAS Report Weekly Roundup Podcast. This is your host Nick Giordano.
Happy New Year and welcome to 2020. This is a year of promise for The PAS Report as we continue to expand our content. Keep an eye out for some enlightening interviews coming up, and I will continue to provide a fair and honest analysis of the critical issues that impact your life.
The PAS Report will discuss and explain relevant issues unlike the advocacy news media that continues to focus on gossip and their obsession with President Trump. If we look back on 2019 and we take out the endless bombshells from the advocacy news media. If we take out the mindless political gossip that the advocacy news media constantly focused on. If we tuned out social media, you would see that 2019 was a pretty successful year for the United States as a whole.
The economy is firing on all cylinders. Median household income is rising at its fastest rate in nearly 3 decades. More people are self-sufficient, and fewer people are using social welfare programs like food stamps and disability. We have secured new trade agreements, and while they are not perfect, they are certainly better than the old agreements. We destroyed the ISIS caliphate and killed the leader al-Baghdadi. We killed Hamza bin Laden from al-Qaeda. It doesn’t mean that these radical Islamist organizations have been eradicated, but it is certainly a major blow. We saw criminal justice reform, which has been debated for decades. There were some major scientific advancements.
So, for all the noise, 2019 was actually a pretty good year overall.
Now we need to turn our attention to 2020, and for this episode, I want to focus on what’s happening on college campuses throughout the country. I’m giving a speech on the concept of Academic Freedom, and how college campuses, once considered the defenders of free speech, expression and the sharing of ideas, have morphed into places where ideological intolerance runs rampant. Silencing and censoring those that bring up alternative ideas is becoming a dangerous norm, and the increase in the concept of safe spaces is dangerous as it validates the idea that disagreement on issues can be considered offensive.
As always, if you want to see the show notes go to thepasreport.com. Also, don’t forget to sign up for our newsletter.
Last Week’s Episode
So, before I start talking about Academic Freedom and get into this week’s episode, I have to call out Mayor DeBlasio. Last week, I talked about the omnibus bill and the massive debt we are in. I talked about how States are addicted to federal money, and how the federal government uses grant money to usurp state authority. Well, DeBlasio proved my point on how reliant state and local governments are on federal tax dollars.
Take a listen- Play DeBlasio Clip
This moron, possibly the worst mayor in New York City history, just proves my point. The homeless crisis is a result of the failed policies of the City and the State. Yet, the knee-jerk reaction is to call on the feds to assist. How about the City begins to change its failed policies? Why should taxpayers in other States be responsible for the stupidity of this mayor and our governor?
Instead of tackling homelessness in New York, the State legislature decided to do away with the bail system which is going to have catastrophic consequences in already struggling neighborhoods. I spoke with a few friends I have in law enforcement, and they estimate that over 700 people, charged with crimes in Nassau and Suffolk Counties, have been released as a result of this bill. I can only imagine what the numbers are for NYC.
In any event, I don’t want to harp on it, I just wanted to point out that these failed politicians, who continually get reelected, prove my point, and as I said, sooner or later, We the People have to start taking accountability.
Current State of Political Speech on Campus
Moving on to this week’s topic, I’ve been teaching at the Higher Education level for 14-years. It is a very rewarding career, and my campus is pretty good. I think because I teach at the Community College level, our student body and faculty are more reflective of real life. We don’t exist in the leftist vacuum that is a stranglehold on other campuses, especially 4-year universities where ideological intolerance is the norm.
Our student body consists of people from all demographics and ethnic backgrounds. We have adults and kids. We have single parents and married parents. Many of the students work and go to school and so it’s a different environment. It’s not to say that my College is perfect, but it’s nowhere near colleges throughout the country.
I’m going to break down the ideological intolerance into four different categories- Academic Freedom, liberal indoctrination, censorship, and safe spaces.
Academic Freedom
Academic freedom is a critical component of the higher education system. Academic freedom allows faculty to teach controversial topics and issues without any fear of retribution from the administration, or any outside influences.
As professors, it is our job to question the norms. We have a responsibility to push boundaries. One of the most important parts of college is to question everything and foster the student’s abilities to think critically. I want my students to move away from their preconceived biases, and to open their minds to other ideas that may be controversial.
David Barnard, President of the University of Manitoba, gave a great example when explaining the importance of Academic Freedom. He uses Galileo and explains how Galileo was forced to renounce his commitment to the Copernican Theory that the Earth revolves around the sun. An idea that was considered heresy in those days. Galileo suffered because he questioned the preconceived beliefs of his time, and history is replete with similar examples. Had academic freedom been granted to Galileo, he would have been able to stick by his theory without fear of punishment, which included jail, death, and torture.
While we have certainly moved away from those types of harsh penalties, there is a real fear that if controversial viewpoints are brought up in the classroom, the faculty member will be targeted.
So academic freedom is essential and should continue to be reinforced and supported. I don’t care what side of the political spectrum you fall on.
However, while professors enjoy Academic Freedom, why isn’t the same academic freedom granted to students. Students should have the ability to express their viewpoints without the fear of being targeted in the classroom or on the campus. If a student offers a different viewpoint than the professor, that student should not be berated by the professor, nor should the student’s grade suffer. If a student wants to promote a cause on campus, that student should not be bullied or assaulted because leftists may disagree with the issue.
Unfortunately, for the last several years we have been witnessing the increasing ideological intolerance on campus. Where students have to remain quiet and suppress their thoughts out of fear of reprisal from faculty, administrators or other students.
Sadly, college campuses, particularly 4-year universities, have become some of the most narrow-minded places one can imagine. These campuses are bubbles that epitomize the Groupthink mentality where those that disagree are pressured to conform. When any member of the campus community expresses an argument that goes against the group’s stereotypes or illusions, they are savagely attacked.
It wasn’t always this way. In fact, higher education used to be the exact opposite where students were encouraged to ask questions and push back. Where conformity and groupthink were seen as negatives. Making others have to listen to various viewpoints creates an environment of debate and dialogue which ultimately leads to respect and open-mindedness.
Students should be provided with academic freedom as well. That doesn’t mean that students can say whatever they want without the ability to back up their arguments with evidence and facts. I push my students to think critically. I will question their viewpoints or where they stand on the issues. It is my job to make sure they know how to defend their arguments with evidence and facts, it doesn’t matter what side of the political fence they belong to.
I explain to my students that everyone is entitled to their opinions. And when I give my opinion in the classroom, I tell them it’s my opinion and they don’t have to agree with me. I don’t want my students to be mindless bots that just go along with everything I say. I encourage them to challenge me and push back. That’s one of the reasons I give them the Russian Constitution to read and pretend it’s the United States Constitution.
For those of you that don’t know, on the first day of class, I give them the Russian Constitution and replace the Russian Federation with the United States everywhere. I then make them write a paragraph or two on their thoughts about the document and we then discuss it. After exhausting the discussion, I tell them the truth. There are several reasons I like this assignment. The first is to shame them. To show them how little they know about the United States. Shaming works and get’s them more interested in the Course. But the main reason I do this exercise is to get them to begin questioning everything.
I know that while some of the students were reading the document, some red flags went up, but they didn’t question it. They didn’t feel a need to reach out to me and say something seemed unusual. They didn’t conduct a quick Google search to make sure the document was accurate. And they didn’t do these things because they trusted me as their professor. They believed their professor wouldn’t lie or mislead them. They believed that the professor knows more than they do. So, the whole purpose of the exercise is to show them that you don’t just believe everything you see, read or hear. You don’t just regurgitate what someone tells you. That you ask questions no matter who it is.
Indoctrination
While many professors work hard and encourage debate and dialogue, unfortunately, there are those professors who teach as if they are a God, and everything they say is true. They berate those who disagree and penalize students on papers and exams which leads us to the next category of indoctrination.
Trying to indoctrinate students is wrong on any level. I don’t care if its from the right or left. Even worse, is when teachers, who teach subjects having nothing to do with government or politics, go on political rants in their classroom. I’m not teaching calculus in my classes and they shouldn’t be teaching biased political viewpoints in a math class.
It’s no secret that the majority of academia is overwhelmingly left of the political spectrum. In my college, the numbers are a little better when it comes to the ideological diversity of faculty, but we have some problems as well.
Over the last several decades, leftists are pushing their biased political ideology on their students as if they are fact. Every semester, several students will come to me and tell me how the professor spends over an hour on how bad President Trump is. How the second a person will present an ulterior viewpoint, they are attacked and belittled. They worry that if they don’t do what the professor wants, they worry about their grades.
This puts me in an uncomfortable position and should be unacceptable on any level. I have to explain to the student how unfortunately their options may be limited. They can talk to the professor after class or during office hours and explain how they feel. Some professors lack self-awareness, and when confronted, they will try to be more open-minded and improve the classroom environment. Other professors could care less. It’s about power. They believe that because they went through schooling and many have a Ph.D., they are the smartest and know everything. It’s an arrogance that exists, and many academics never served outside an educational institution and have no clue about the real world.
When it comes to those professors, students’ options remain limited. They could drop the course, but why should they have to do that? They are paying good money to go to school. They could stand on pride and principle and push-back which may result in a lower grade. Again, it should never have to be like that. If a student is bringing up relevant points, and backing their arguments up with evidence and facts, the professor should reward the student. We should be encouraging that.
The last option is for the student to completely disengage from the class, which happens most of the time. They just keep their heads down and conform to whatever the professor’s political beliefs are so that they can get a good grade. This should be unacceptable as well. Why should any human being have to silence and censor themselves out of fear of retribution?
This amounts as an attempt to indoctrinate students. All you have to do is a quick internet search on biased college assignments, and you would be astonished. For example, a professor from the University of Arizona gave her students a project. They could attend an anti-Trump rally, or if they supported the President and chose not to attend the rally, they would have to write a research paper. Essentially, students were being punished simply because they had a different political viewpoint.
How is that fair. This professor should have been removed from the classroom immediately because that is not what higher education is about. Professors do not exist to indoctrinate their biased politics on the students. They are there to give them knowledge and teach them the ability to think critically.
Since the majority of faculty are overwhelmingly leftists, they are trying to indoctrinate leftist points-of-view on the student body. When a 4-year university has become nothing more than an indoctrination camp, that university has failed in its mission. Unfortunately, this has been tolerated for to long.
I know a professor who told their students that they are not allowed to ask questions. That the topic they were talking about was “settled science,” and if any of their friends or families bring up the topic, that the student needs to tell them that its fact. Once again, this is not supposed to be academia. In fact, it is the antithesis to academia.
Nothing is ever settled. There may be more evidence on one side or the other. There may be more compelling evidence, but to say you can’t raise questions is ignorant and shows a lack of critical thought. For God’s sake, there are now questions about Isaac Newton and Albert Einstein and whether their theories of motion, relativity, and gravity, are being challenged. If we accept the idea that something is settled and there are no alternative views, where would we be in science? The whole point of Science is that it is never settled. We constantly push the boundaries because pushing the boundaries leads to new discoveries.
These are people that want to brainwash rather than teach. The only difference between them and the reeducation camps in China is that you will be tortured and killed at the reeducation camps in China. Now there are professors that would call it outrageous that I even make that comparison, but is it really that far off?
Yes, the professors in the United States won’t engage in torture and murder, but isn’t the end goal the same- to get people to conform to a specific belief? “But as professors, we are dealing with facts and evidence. The Chinese government is engaging in propaganda.” And it’s that thought that proves my point. They say they are using evidence and facts, yet they put aside any evidence or argument that goes against their preconceived biases. They present their selective facts and evidence in order to get the students to conform. This is one of the hallmark consequences of Groupthink. They believe their viewpoint is inherently moral. When you believe you are making the moral argument, then anything that goes against that narrative must be considered immoral.
Many of these elitists probably view me as a Neanderthal, and to me, that’s a badge of honor. I explain to my students, take morality and emotions out of the issue because only then can you begin to have a rational discussion and consider all points of view.
My students are able to take any position they want. For almost every issue, I have the ability to argue any side and present evidence from all sides. Let’s face it, Democrats don’t have all the right answers, and Republicans don’t either. At one point or another, each party has been in power, laws have been passed, and the problems remain. If one-side was right over the other, then the problems would have been solved long ago. So, I can push a student regardless if I agree with their viewpoint.
College campuses should not be places of indoctrination and ideological intolerance.
Censorship
Because of this indoctrination and ideological intolerance, we have now seen the idea of censorship infect college campuses throughout the country. College campuses throughout the country are now instituting speech codes and banning words they deem offensive. Well, who are the ones that get to deem something offensive?
As I said previously, the overwhelming majority of academia is to the left of the political spectrum, so they are the ones in power. Since they are the ones developing the speech codes, they will include anything that doesn’t fit with their biased political viewpoints.
Who the hell thinks it’s a good idea to ban words and phrases? Isn’t this akin to banning books that give us knowledge and power? The idea of Free Speech and Censorship is critical to the success of the United States. More importantly, it nurtures the human soul.
I am someone who believes free speech is absolute. I am smart enough to recognize that free speech has been the main driver behind our social and cultural evolution to right the wrongs of the past. I always tell my students that Woman’s Suffrage and the Civil Rights Movement occurred because of free speech, not in spite of. Imagine if the powers that be controlled free speech during these movements? Would these movements have survived? Would the people have been able to organize and assemble to express their desires?
Sadly, college campuses are much to quick to shut down those expressing just normal conservative ideas. Students have a right to take policy positions and to speak up on the issues that concern them, and these morons should not be the moral arbiters of right and wrong positions.
And what the left has done, and quite successfully, on college campuses, is to label anyone who dissents from their point-of-view. They will label those who oppose them as bigots, racists, misogynists, xenophobes, etc. They now this is the way to silence you. And once you are silenced, you relinquish control.
Those brave enough to whether the criticism are routinely attacked, and an increasing number of cases, these attacks go far beyond the verbal assault and turn into physical assaults.
We have seen major mainstream prominent figures in the United States being banned from speaking at college campuses including people like Condoleezza Rice. Why? All because some academics don’t like their policies, and they have indoctrinated their students to believe this BS. I listen to a lot of speakers I don’t like, I would never stop listening to them. I would never protest them to prevent them from speaking. I would never shout them down. They have a right to be heard as do I.
I don’t need to censor anyone because I believe as human beings, we have self-worth and dignity. We are free to believe what we want. That’s the difference between me and many of them. I am confident in my abilities to explain and articulate my position, they are not.
Censorship of any form should be unacceptable on college campuses, or anywhere for that matter which brings us to the concept of safe spaces.
Safe Spaces
Safe spaces are one of the dumbest concepts I have ever heard. A “Safe Space” is a place “where a person can feel confident, they will not be exposed to discrimination, criticism, harassment, or any other emotional or physical harm.”
There are several problems with the concept of safe spaces. First, they go directly against the core mission of higher education to expose individuals to a variety of points-of-view, including those they disagree with, to foster the ability to think critically.
Secondly, part of the point of college is to prepare the student body for the real world. Safe spaces do the opposite. Life is difficult and challenging. There will be good times and bad times, but you cannot be shielded from criticism. You can’t be shielded from those that disagree with you. You cannot be shielded from emotional harm. When you enter the real world, and your boss tears you apart because they may be unhappy with a work product you developed, tell your boss you want to go to your safe space. See how long you have a job.
Finally, safe spaces teach students they don’t have to listen to those that disagree. That there is no need to foster debate and dialogue on the issues. That if someone offends you for simply disagreeing on an issue, you can say your offended to end debate, which basically, tells the person they are right on the issue where everyone that disagrees is wrong. This reinforces the factionalization of our society, and as I stated before, this will not end well.
Closing
I want to remind everyone what James Madison once said, “For the people to rule wisely, they must be free to think and speak without fear of reprisal.”
I also want to leave off with a quote by George Washington. Washington said, “A primary object should be the education of our youth in the science of government. In a republic, what species of knowledge can be equally important? And what duty more pressing… than … communicating it to those who are to be the future guardians of the liberties of the country?”
It’s with that quote that we have to start engaging and listening to each other. College campuses need to explore all ideological viewpoints, and not try to censor and ban ones they disagree with. We need to teach students the importance of Freedom of Speech, Freedom of Expression, and the exchanging of ideas. We need to cherish these concepts that the founding fathers felt were the most important to the survival of the Republic.
As always if there is a topic or issue you would like me to focus on, send an email to podcast@pasreport.com, and take a moment and share this episode with others. Post it on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram. Post it in any groups your in.
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