"Students" for Academic Freedom? Right.
| By MattSinger - Feb 16th, 2005 at 5:57 pm EST |
| Also listed in: Campus Progress Blog |
It is pretty ironic that David Horowitz's front group that has been getting a nice bit of attention here is even called "Student" for Academic Freedom. The organization is actually just a wing of Horowitz's Center for the Study of Popular Culture and it is staffed by a recent graduate. From what I can tell, current students have virtually no input into how it operates.
Granted, CampusProgress is simply a wing of CAP, but I will say that so far I've been given free access to the frontpage of posting and no one is editing my writing.
That said, in addition to being a front for Horowitz's own project, it is worth knowing that SAF is working closely with the American Legislative Exchange Council to pass legislation. SAF's website has a list of existing legislation. Look out California, Colorado, Georgia, Indiana, Ohio, and Tennessee, legislation is already introduced.
Down at the bottom, though, you'll notice "ALEC Model Resolution" and "ALEC Model Bill." Who is ALEC and why is ALEC writing legislation?
The American Legislative Exchange Council is a corporate front group, founded by Paul Weyrich, the Godfather of the far-right, and funded by Coors, Phillip Morris, Exxon, and other right-wing corporations. It serves as a national clearinghouse where corporations and representatives come together to do the work of special interests in the name of people. That's who SAF is working through, largely because their grassroots support is next to non-existant.
For more information, check out MediaTransparency.org's webpage on ALEC.
Granted, CampusProgress is simply a wing of CAP, but I will say that so far I've been given free access to the frontpage of posting and no one is editing my writing.
That said, in addition to being a front for Horowitz's own project, it is worth knowing that SAF is working closely with the American Legislative Exchange Council to pass legislation. SAF's website has a list of existing legislation. Look out California, Colorado, Georgia, Indiana, Ohio, and Tennessee, legislation is already introduced.
Down at the bottom, though, you'll notice "ALEC Model Resolution" and "ALEC Model Bill." Who is ALEC and why is ALEC writing legislation?
The American Legislative Exchange Council is a corporate front group, founded by Paul Weyrich, the Godfather of the far-right, and funded by Coors, Phillip Morris, Exxon, and other right-wing corporations. It serves as a national clearinghouse where corporations and representatives come together to do the work of special interests in the name of people. That's who SAF is working through, largely because their grassroots support is next to non-existant.
For more information, check out MediaTransparency.org's webpage on ALEC.
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person, and quite possibly the worst public
speaker I have ever seen, David Horrowitz is
trying to do something extremely stupid to our
schools. His interest is in rooting out the
academy's bias and "fix" it as he sees fit, or in
other words he wants a conservative-hire quota
system. Moreover, the "Academic Bill of Rights,"
which SAF is peddling wants to remove all of the
professor's power in theclassroom. I may be
old-fashioned, but I like the system in which I am
in class to learn from Masters in their field. I
don't like the idea of having a professor bound to
require that all opposite view points be treated
equally. For example, in an english class, when a
professor offers "1984" as an example of great
writing, it does not make sense to show the
opposite side of his political views, since those
views are not the question under discussion.
democratic. We're based on listening to each
other, interacting, dialogue, debate, and a
willingness to discard first thoughts for more
rational, more thought-out proposals. They're
dictating from the top-down, an oligarchy of
conservative "thinkers" telling students at
campuses all around the country what to say, what
to write, and what to do.
Let's make sure we continue to be the former.
once(http://www.emorywheel.com/vnews/display.v/ART
/2002/10/22/3db4
b434168b1?in_archive=1)but twice
http://www.emorywheel.com/vnews/display.v/AR
T/2004/04/20/40845c9dc6f13?in_archive=1), and
while the Young Dems at Emory have enjoyed the
recruitment Horowitz has provided us, it's
clear
this guy is an opportunist of the largest
degree.
But if you haven't caught it,
Atrios(http://atrios.blogspot.com/2005_02_13_atrio
s_archive.html#110858858167110052) has what
amounts to, perhaps, the most laughable part
of
Horowitz's silliness: a link to a number of
the
"complaints". One to wet your whistle: