Masked Marxism? The effects of political affiliation of professors on campus (Jones)
The leftist bias of prefessors is hypocritical
By: Jasyn Jones
Issue date: 9/10/03 Section: Opinion
It cannot be disputed that the vast majority of college professors are adherents of left-wing politics. Yet, since this is the kind of self evident statement so commonly disputed by left-wingers, let us investigate further.
The recent "Almanac Issue" of The Chronicle of Higher Education revealed that 47.6 percent of professors describe themselves as "far left" or "liberal." Only 17.7 percent self identify as "conservative" and 0.3 percent as "far right." In a country which is 15 percent liberal, 45 percent moderate and 40 percent conservative, the disparity is shocking.
A recent report (see www.frontpagemag.com) released by the Center for the Study of Popular Culture surveyed the faculty at 32 elite colleges and universities, including Amherst, Cal-Berkeley and some Ivy League schools. At these universities, the "ratio of Democrats to Republicans...was more than 10-to 1." At some universities, it was an astonishing 30-to-1. For the country as a whole, the Democrat/Republican split is very nearly 50/50.
The Foundation for Individual Rights in Education released a study (available at www.speechcodes.org) confirming that more than 90 percent of college campuses have speech codes intended to ban and punish politically incorrect (which is to say, conservative) speech. (Fortunately, the University of Utah isn't one of them.)
It is obvious that college campuses are dominated by left wing ideologies. Having established the case, let us proceed to the particulars.
At one time, universities were supposed to be centers of learning, of debate, of the rigorous search for truth. Sometime during the 1960s, that mission changed. Instead of championing truth, college professors began championing "social justice" (a code word for Marxism). American college campuses became little more than "progressive" preserves: one-party states where the official left-wing line dominated classroom discussions, symposiums, academic journals and the curriculum. Voices of dissent were frequently silenced, marginalized or suppressed through social pressure, like the withholding of tenure or the lowering of grades.
The recent "Almanac Issue" of The Chronicle of Higher Education revealed that 47.6 percent of professors describe themselves as "far left" or "liberal." Only 17.7 percent self identify as "conservative" and 0.3 percent as "far right." In a country which is 15 percent liberal, 45 percent moderate and 40 percent conservative, the disparity is shocking.
A recent report (see www.frontpagemag.com) released by the Center for the Study of Popular Culture surveyed the faculty at 32 elite colleges and universities, including Amherst, Cal-Berkeley and some Ivy League schools. At these universities, the "ratio of Democrats to Republicans...was more than 10-to 1." At some universities, it was an astonishing 30-to-1. For the country as a whole, the Democrat/Republican split is very nearly 50/50.
The Foundation for Individual Rights in Education released a study (available at www.speechcodes.org) confirming that more than 90 percent of college campuses have speech codes intended to ban and punish politically incorrect (which is to say, conservative) speech. (Fortunately, the University of Utah isn't one of them.)
It is obvious that college campuses are dominated by left wing ideologies. Having established the case, let us proceed to the particulars.
At one time, universities were supposed to be centers of learning, of debate, of the rigorous search for truth. Sometime during the 1960s, that mission changed. Instead of championing truth, college professors began championing "social justice" (a code word for Marxism). American college campuses became little more than "progressive" preserves: one-party states where the official left-wing line dominated classroom discussions, symposiums, academic journals and the curriculum. Voices of dissent were frequently silenced, marginalized or suppressed through social pressure, like the withholding of tenure or the lowering of grades.