The war on Iraq, like all wars ever fought, is bound to generate
strong emotions. Strong emotions are inevitable because war puts
lives at risk, and are necessary to appropriately confront the
gravity of war. People in the United States have varying views on
the war, and so do members of the UCLA community. However, simply
because the war is a prominent issue with far-reaching consequences
does not mean professors should deviate from their syllabi and
discuss the war during their lectures.
All students are in a given class to master a particular field
of study. When students sign up for a particular course, they are
assuming that they will receive the full instructional benefits
intended by the professor, provided they do the necessary work. One
way in which professors convey their intentions concerning a course
is through their syllabi.
Professors do sometimes deviate from the syllabus, excluding
material that they deem unnecessary and adding in more pertinent
information. However, these revisions continue to address the basic
subject of the course. When a professor decides to neglect course
materials in favor of another topic, students do not get the
benefit of learning the material they thought the class would
provide and thus are cheated out of the learning experience.
Furthermore, it will be harder for students to handle upper
division courses in the given area of study because students will
not have mastered the requisite courses as well as they should
have. Instead of having knowledge of a subject, they will have
knowledge of a professor’s political ruminations about the
war.
Another danger of having professors discuss these issues in a
class is that it imposes views on students rather than promoting
dialogue. When a professor speaks, he or she holds a certain amount
of authority due to educational background and also his or her
power and status within the university. Since a professor
traditionally lectures students, and assigns their grades, this
also puts professors on a higher footing than students. Thus, when
a professor speaks, students are compelled to listen.
The fear that a professor’s feelings about a student will
play a role in grading is not irrational or unfounded, and it stops
students from speaking out. Because of the professor’s power
over students in a classroom, it is very difficult for students to
truly debate or have a meaningful discussion about the war.
There is ample evidence that professors’ views are
generally so extremely leftist that students would not be exposed
to valuable political thinking. According to surveys conducted by
Republican pollster Frank Luntz at Ivy League schools, just 6% of
professors identified themselves as conservatives. There is little
to suggest the results would be any different at UCLA. As a result,
most professors will be pushing an anti-war agenda. And although I
agree with their anti-war stance, reasoned and balanced debate is
crucial. Since so many professors hold a strong leftist bias, there
are not enough conservative voices to balance them out. This
one-sidedness leads to an imbalanced, partial understanding of the
war, which harms all students.
The only situation where war should be specifically discussed by
professors is in a class where the war was explicitly made part of
the syllabus and course requirements before students enrolled. Such
a class might be a history or political science class. If students
choose to take the course, fully aware of the content, that is
their decision. What is not acceptable is when professors deviate
from their syllabi or decide to discuss the war in a class where
that is not part of the explicit agenda.
Besides, there are other avenues through which professors can
express their feelings concerning the war. They can hold teach-ins
outside of class, where student attendance is not mandatory, or
write articles in journals or newspapers. Professors can even
participate in demonstrations, provided they do not take place
during class time or are made mandatory for students. All of these
are legitimate ways to preserve academic freedom and let professors
express their views.
Everyone knows war is a painful, difficult issue for everyone,
especially students, who watch members of their generation fight
and possibly die in a foreign country. However, professors must
refrain from discussing the war in class unless that is the
explicit purpose of the course. Otherwise, professors will rob
students of the information they need to maximize their education.
That danger outweighs the potential benefits of any discussions of
war in non-war-related classes.
Bhaskar is a second-year political science student.
E-mail him at sbhaskar@media.ucla.edu.