A panel of UCLA faculty members alleged by a conservative group
to be politically radical spoke at a teach-in Tuesday night to
combat what they perceive as attacks on academic freedom.
Sponsored by the University Council of the American Federation
of Teachers, the event was a response to recent controversy sparked
by the Bruin Alumni Association, an independent group dedicated to
exposing political bias in the classroom.
Founded by 2003 UCLA alumnus Andrew Jones, the association
recently garnered national media attention for its offer to pay
students who submitted course materials and recorded proof of
radical teachings in the classroom.
Though he retracted his pay offer last week, Jones still alleges
a strong leftist bias exists at UCLA and seeks to uncover the
prejudice by raising donations and profiling professors on his Web
site, www.uclaprofs.com.
A panel of five faculty speakers, all of whom were named on the
site’s list of the “Dirty Thirty” most radical
faculty at UCLA, denounced what they termed a “witch hunt by
the ultra-conservative right wing.”
The teach-in was meant to spark a discussion not only about this
particular incident, but also about the larger
“assault” on academic freedom, especially in
legislation proposals, said Vinay Lal, a Southeast Asian studies
professor accused on Jones’ site of holding “views
similar or identical to those of Hitler.”
“This site isn’t that threatening, but the larger
attack is,” Lal said. “The worst part is that this has
ties to legislation that would erode the autonomy of the
university. Academic freedom wasn’t always the case. It came
only after a long struggle, so it’s important to keep this
(freedom) alive.”
The panelists said they are concerned about legislation
currently proposed in the state senate to guarantee a balanced
academic environment. A similar Academic Bill of Rights Resolution
passed in Georgia in March 2004.
Speakers dismissed accusations of a liberal bias in classroom
teachings, drawing parallels to the era of McCarthyism in the
1950s.
Several professors said most of the profiles detailed private
outside political activities, which have no bearing on classroom
behavior.
Despite being profiled on the site as “irrepressible on
current political matters,” history professor Ellen DuBois
said she encourages dissenting opinion in the classroom.
Lal also said teaching students the critical thinking skills
necessary to make connections between bodies of knowledge is an
essential method in the classroom. He said those connections could
be misinterpreted as bias.
“There’s a feeling that liberal professors are using
the classroom inappropriately,” Lal said. “For example,
I make a connection between colonial history in India in the past
and the current situation with oil in the Middle East. It’s
important for the professor to speak from where the students are by
making connections to current events.”
Described as a “Palestinian radical” by the site,
English professor Saree Makdisi said that in most cases curricula
cannot be presented from a partisan viewpoint.
“It’s absurd to try to reduce complexities of
academic studies to left-wing versus right-wing,” Makdisi
said. “There’s no democratic perspective on (writer
William) Wordsworth.”
The audience was overwhelmingly receptive to the panel’s
message, and most students offered support for the professors.
Second-year international development studies student Chloe
Constant, who attended the teach-in, said it is important to allow
professors to give their opinions in class.
“I haven’t seen anything inappropriate in the
classroom,” Constant said. “I came to UCLA to get a
wide variety of perspectives, so I don’t want that to be
restricted.”
The real importance of the teach-in was to educate students, so
they can protect their own academic freedom, DuBois said.
“Students must speak for themselves and stand up for their
right to learn,” DuBois said.