It was once understood that the university was a place where one was encouraged to explore not only new ideas but to engage in healthy debate concerning one's views on a variety of issues, politics included.
But as we have seen so often in modern times, higher education has become a vehicle by which to indoctrinate young minds. Independent thinking is discouraged if it runs afoul of the accepted dogma.
However, a serious new effort has been launched to examine just what is taking place on college campuses across America and to explore methods of addressing the tendency of academia to bury independent thought.
This study (and film) should raise some eyebrows.
Showing posts with label liberalism in academia. Show all posts
Showing posts with label liberalism in academia. Show all posts
Thursday, March 19, 2009
Wednesday, May 14, 2008
Furman University's Shame: The Gang of 200
In an act reminiscent of students who heckle and shout into silence conservative speakers such as David Horowitz, former Muslim Jihadist Nonie Darwish, Ann Coulter, and many others, 200 students and faculty at South Carolina's Furman University have signed a petition protesting the school's scheduling of President George W. Bush to deliver the graduation address.
The prestigious Baptist university, located in the scenic foothills of upstate South Carolina, prides itself on the fact that its students average roughly 1350-1400 on their SAT scores.
Through the years, however, the school has gradually fallen into the hands of liberal extremists.
Furman severed its centuries-old relationship with the South Carolina Baptist Convention several years ago in an attempt to prevent conservatives from gaining a controlling majority of its Board of Trustees. Since that time the school has continued its gradual descent into the abyss of liberal politics and religion.
One would think that having a U.S. President speak at one's college graduation ceremony would be a rare and high honor. Normally that would be true, with the exception of the 200 Furman students and professors who signed a letter objecting to the President's visit, and placing on the school's website a post entitled, 'We Object.'
Granted, out of the 2,625 students on campus, a mere 200 protesters is a tiny minority. However, given the Furman faculty's penchant for leaning Left in matters political and religious, the protests point to a much deeper and broader problem at the school.
Claiming that Bush had engaged in 'obstructing progress toward reducing greenhouse gases while favoring billions in tax breaks and subsidies to oil companies that are earning record profits,' the gang of 200 stated, 'We are ashamed of this administration.'
Perhaps the Baptists who gave of their hard-earned dollars to establish Furman would be ashamed to know that these so-called 'brightest of the bright' would buy into the debunked garbage of the 'global warming' nutcases.
Or perhaps these geniuses didn't do their economics homework, given that the percentage profit margin of Microsoft and Google surpasses that of the oil companies. The oil companies do not set the price of a barrel of crude, either.
Further, the 'gang of 200' wrote that they are ashamed of the administration's engagement in the War in Iraq, which 'has cost the lives of over 4000 brave and honorable U.S. military personnel.'
True, Bush has not always handled Iraq prudently. But the War has been an absolutely necessary component of the War on Terror, the central fact of which is that Islamic Jihadists around the world want to kill us.
But this has never mattered to anti-war freaks. They would prefer to lay down their weapons and surrender to being beheaded than to send one single soldier into war to defend this country against ANY enemy.
Much to Furman's credit, the 'gang of 200' has been the target of harsh criticism and condemnation on the part of other students (but not the school's faculty or administration, which have remained silent). One student in particular wrote to the group, 'Don't you dare ruin my graduation.'
I hate to break it to you, my friend, but, they already have. By merely initiating this insane, imbecilic 'protest' leading up to a graduation ceremony, the 'gang of 200' has already left a sour taste in the mouths of many students, and most definitely in the mouths of South Carolina Baptists who at one time sent multi-millions of dollars to Furman.
And all we get for the effort is a faculty of Left-wing kooks and a group of students so dumb as to blindly follow in their wake.
Perhaps the school's financial supporters should send a clear signal to Furman that this sort of overt and crude manner of handling a Presidential visit will not be tolerated. They can easily do this by withholding their funding.
The prestigious Baptist university, located in the scenic foothills of upstate South Carolina, prides itself on the fact that its students average roughly 1350-1400 on their SAT scores.
Through the years, however, the school has gradually fallen into the hands of liberal extremists.
Furman severed its centuries-old relationship with the South Carolina Baptist Convention several years ago in an attempt to prevent conservatives from gaining a controlling majority of its Board of Trustees. Since that time the school has continued its gradual descent into the abyss of liberal politics and religion.
One would think that having a U.S. President speak at one's college graduation ceremony would be a rare and high honor. Normally that would be true, with the exception of the 200 Furman students and professors who signed a letter objecting to the President's visit, and placing on the school's website a post entitled, 'We Object.'
Granted, out of the 2,625 students on campus, a mere 200 protesters is a tiny minority. However, given the Furman faculty's penchant for leaning Left in matters political and religious, the protests point to a much deeper and broader problem at the school.
Claiming that Bush had engaged in 'obstructing progress toward reducing greenhouse gases while favoring billions in tax breaks and subsidies to oil companies that are earning record profits,' the gang of 200 stated, 'We are ashamed of this administration.'
Perhaps the Baptists who gave of their hard-earned dollars to establish Furman would be ashamed to know that these so-called 'brightest of the bright' would buy into the debunked garbage of the 'global warming' nutcases.
Or perhaps these geniuses didn't do their economics homework, given that the percentage profit margin of Microsoft and Google surpasses that of the oil companies. The oil companies do not set the price of a barrel of crude, either.
Further, the 'gang of 200' wrote that they are ashamed of the administration's engagement in the War in Iraq, which 'has cost the lives of over 4000 brave and honorable U.S. military personnel.'
True, Bush has not always handled Iraq prudently. But the War has been an absolutely necessary component of the War on Terror, the central fact of which is that Islamic Jihadists around the world want to kill us.
But this has never mattered to anti-war freaks. They would prefer to lay down their weapons and surrender to being beheaded than to send one single soldier into war to defend this country against ANY enemy.
Much to Furman's credit, the 'gang of 200' has been the target of harsh criticism and condemnation on the part of other students (but not the school's faculty or administration, which have remained silent). One student in particular wrote to the group, 'Don't you dare ruin my graduation.'
I hate to break it to you, my friend, but, they already have. By merely initiating this insane, imbecilic 'protest' leading up to a graduation ceremony, the 'gang of 200' has already left a sour taste in the mouths of many students, and most definitely in the mouths of South Carolina Baptists who at one time sent multi-millions of dollars to Furman.
And all we get for the effort is a faculty of Left-wing kooks and a group of students so dumb as to blindly follow in their wake.
Perhaps the school's financial supporters should send a clear signal to Furman that this sort of overt and crude manner of handling a Presidential visit will not be tolerated. They can easily do this by withholding their funding.
Tuesday, May 06, 2008
Second Amendment News Roundup for 5/6/08
Focusing on guns and politics, here is today's Second Amendment News Roundup:
Dustin takes strong exception to a man in Chattanooga who believes that it is impractical to take a handgun on the hiking trail:
http://dustinsgunblog.blogspot.com/2008/05/10-lb-handgun.html
Of Arms and the Law reports that at ground zero of gun bans--London, England--a gun fight broke out that resulted in a police siege. I didn't think these things happened in such a 'safe' place!:
http://armsandthelaw.com/archives/2008/05/gunfight_and_po.php
Tam blogs about the Indy gunbloggers meeting recently:
http://booksbikesboomsticks.blogspot.com/2008/05/my-head-feels-vacuumed-out.html
The Ninth Stage opines on prosecutors and other government officials who violate the law and the civil rights of the citizens...and I FULLY agree!:
http://ninthstage.com/index.php/2008/05/05/id-say-hell-yes/
The MUST-read of the day is by Pamela Geller at Atlas Shrugs, and it shows us why Zogby's polls cannot be trusted:
http://atlasshrugs2000.typepad.com/atlas_shrugs/2008/05/obama-zogbys-ug.html
David Codrea has a neat story about a family that is proud to be a shooting family, where children are taught to respect and properly handle firearms:
http://waronguns.blogspot.com/2008/05/proud-to-be-shooting-family.html
We know that the government has fallen into the hands of tyrants and despots when the ones making the laws for the masses believe that they themselves are exempt from those laws. Take smoking indoors, for example, as Uncle points out:
http://www.saysuncle.com/archives/2008/05/06/step-1-find-book-step-2-throw-it/
Sebastian gives us some facts about the size, scope, and power of the gun rights movement:
http://www.snowflakesinhell.com/2008/05/06/more-gun-rights-facts/
Nicki comments on suspending the gas tax, drilling for more oil in North America, and building more refineries:
http://libertyzone.blogspot.com/2008/05/gas-tax-ignorami.html
As Bill Buckley discovered in the early 1950s, American academia is a cesspool of liberal propaganda and brainwashing. Mike McCarville gives us an example of this in the state of Oklahoma:
http://wwwtmrcom.blogspot.com/2008/05/study-93-of-ou-employees-back-dems.html
Dustin takes strong exception to a man in Chattanooga who believes that it is impractical to take a handgun on the hiking trail:
http://dustinsgunblog.blogspot.com/2008/05/10-lb-handgun.html
Of Arms and the Law reports that at ground zero of gun bans--London, England--a gun fight broke out that resulted in a police siege. I didn't think these things happened in such a 'safe' place!:
http://armsandthelaw.com/archives/2008/05/gunfight_and_po.php
Tam blogs about the Indy gunbloggers meeting recently:
http://booksbikesboomsticks.blogspot.com/2008/05/my-head-feels-vacuumed-out.html
The Ninth Stage opines on prosecutors and other government officials who violate the law and the civil rights of the citizens...and I FULLY agree!:
http://ninthstage.com/index.php/2008/05/05/id-say-hell-yes/
The MUST-read of the day is by Pamela Geller at Atlas Shrugs, and it shows us why Zogby's polls cannot be trusted:
http://atlasshrugs2000.typepad.com/atlas_shrugs/2008/05/obama-zogbys-ug.html
David Codrea has a neat story about a family that is proud to be a shooting family, where children are taught to respect and properly handle firearms:
http://waronguns.blogspot.com/2008/05/proud-to-be-shooting-family.html
We know that the government has fallen into the hands of tyrants and despots when the ones making the laws for the masses believe that they themselves are exempt from those laws. Take smoking indoors, for example, as Uncle points out:
http://www.saysuncle.com/archives/2008/05/06/step-1-find-book-step-2-throw-it/
Sebastian gives us some facts about the size, scope, and power of the gun rights movement:
http://www.snowflakesinhell.com/2008/05/06/more-gun-rights-facts/
Nicki comments on suspending the gas tax, drilling for more oil in North America, and building more refineries:
http://libertyzone.blogspot.com/2008/05/gas-tax-ignorami.html
As Bill Buckley discovered in the early 1950s, American academia is a cesspool of liberal propaganda and brainwashing. Mike McCarville gives us an example of this in the state of Oklahoma:
http://wwwtmrcom.blogspot.com/2008/05/study-93-of-ou-employees-back-dems.html
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