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Tuesday, March 13, 2007
Campus Politics: Show Your ‘Diversity’
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
A little-noticed bill in the Georgia General Assembly would require each public college and university to annually report on the state of “intellectual diversity” on campus. Honestly, when I first read the title — “Intellectual Diversity in Higher Education” — I wondered if this was some way of getting more low-SAT scoring pupils into college.
But apparently intellectual diversity has nothing to do with a student’s intellect. Instead, the term refers to a school’s political atmosphere.
“Teachers should not take unfair advantage of the immaturity of students by indoctrinating them with their own opinions before the students have had an opportunity to examine other opinions,” the bill states. “… Surveys revealing ideological imbalance in the classroom, evidence of politicization, and public concern over this issue continue to mount.”
Now, even though the bill is co-sponsored by the Republican chairman of the House Higher Education Committee, it hasn’t moved since it was introduced two months ago. Still, some professors are concerned about the suspicion such a policy could foster.
“Have we lost the respect our society once had for both students and teachers, when parents sent their children to college to gain knowledge that they themselves could not provide them, from scholars who had devoted their lives to research and instruction?” Betty Jean Craige, a literature professor from the University of Georgia, asked in an guest editorial last month. “Have we arrived at a moment when students no longer feel fortunate to interact with faculty willing to share their views in the classroom? Does the promotion of ‘intellectual diversity’ mean that all ideas are of equal value?”
Pretty deep stuff. But I’m sure you’ll have plenty — or, should I say, a diversity — of responses.
