Professors don’t pull students to the left

New research contradicts the assertion that colleges are hotbeds of liberal indoctrination where professors turn malleable students into soy latte-sipping, Birkenstock-wearing, Jon Stewart-watching lefties. If students become more liberal in college, it is usually because of the influence of their peers, not their professors, according to UCLA’s Higher Education Research Institute.

The impact is also often temporary, with many students, particularly women, moving back to the right after graduation.

Those findings don’t surprise me. In my own experiences teaching college, I had a hard enough time getting students to attend class, never mind talking them into marching on Washington or volunteering for voter registration drives.

In another recent study, political scientists surveyed about 7,000 students at 38 campuses and found that while students could detect their professor’s political leanings through subtle cues, no evidence existed that the instructor’s views caused the students to change theirs.

In fact, the authors of the new book, “Closed Minds? Politics and Ideology in American Universities,” contend that there’s not too much political discourse roiling college classrooms today, but too little.

“Overall, to our surprise, we found that, far from being saturated in politics, the universities generally have all but ignored what used to be called civics,” conclude the authors. “Most professors, like most Americans, have an aversion to politics and find ways to avoid thinking seriously about politics and political issues.”

Most of the complaints about liberal campuses come from state legislators, who allege that conservative students are treated as enemy combatants in the culture wars. Last year, state Rep. Tom Rice of Peachtree Corners introduced a bill to prevent professors from filling the minds of students with liberal dogma.

House Bill 154 stated: “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.”

Among the bill’s provisions: Georgia’s public colleges hire an ombudsmen to investigate complaints of intellectual discrimination and submit reports to the Legislature detailing their efforts toward “intellectual diversity.”

Rice’s goal, he said, was to allow students to speak without fear of reprisal or reprimand.

But is every opinion equal and should teachers honor all viewpoints?

A student once accused me of espousing “dangerous” liberal ideology because I encouraged women in the class to pursue their ambitions to become journalists. Under his belief system, women were supposed to defer to their husbands’ viewpoints and remain at home. Culturally and religiously, he objected to women taking classes and teaching them.

If HB 154 had passed, would I have been required to accept that young man’s opinion in the name of intellectual diversity? As it was, I recommended that he get comfortable with women in his class and workplace or consider a move not only to another college, but to another country. Because I intended to keep on encouraging talented women —- and men —- to chase their dreams.

mdowney@ajc.com