State committee to investigate bias

Pennsylvania lawmakers passed a resolution this July to investigate political intolerance in… Pennsylvania lawmakers passed a resolution this July to investigate political intolerance in state-funded colleges and universities.

Introduced by Rep. Gibson Armstrong, R-Lancaster, this two-page document grants a seven-member committee the power to examine and report to the House of Representatives about matters concerning the academic atmospheres on campuses.

The committee will also assess the degree of faculty freedom as well as the students’ opportunities to learn in an environment where their pursuit of knowledge and truth go unhindered.

Composed of four Republican and three Democratic representatives, the committee will also investigate faculty hiring practices, student campus life and tolerance for students’ views in the classroom.

“A college/university setting must harbor values rich in diversity not just aimed at color or religion but also towards ideas and beliefs,” said Pitt College Republicans representative Sara Callan.

“We interpret the bill as not stifling ideas but opening opportunities to all students to embrace their collegiate experience without biases imposed upon them,” she added.

The College Democrats did not respond for comment.

To rally support for the bill, Rep. Armstrong presented testimony from nearly 50 students from across the state, citing incidents of political disagreements with faculty that affected their grades and educational opportunities.

These conflicts ranged from disagreements over evolution to a Penn State University biology professor playing Michael Moore’s “Fahrenheit 9/11” during class time. None of these incidents occurred at the University of Pittsburgh.

“Nowhere in our society is free speech more important than universities,” said Armstrong. “It is incumbent on legislators to ensure that the rights of all students are protected. That takes more than a one-hour annual appropriations hearing.”

The bill passed with opposition, both inside and outside of the legislature. The most vocal opposition in the House came from Democratic whip Mike Veon.

“There has always been a right-wing group in the state legislature that rails against what they call the liberal college community,” said Veon.

“This investigation that some in the education advocacy community have begun to refer to as the ‘Armstrong-McCarthy hearings’ resolution is designed to ramp up public sentiment against the very academic atmosphere they seek to examine.”

The American Association of University Professors, fighting similar legislation across the country, joined Veon in protest.

“It threatens to impose administrative and legislative oversight on the professional judgment of faculty,” said the AAUP in a statement responding to government investigations of academic freedom.

In the statement, the AAUP also said that this might prohibit academic institutions from making choices necessary for the pursuit of knowledge.

The House committee is to present its findings and make legislative suggestions to the Pennsylvania House on June 30, 2006. As of this writing, the committee has not yet been appointed or offered any budget estimates. House Resolution 177 can be viewed online at http://www.legis.state.pa.us.