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MN CR Chair Dorobiala speaks out against academic discrimination
By punch bowl | October 25, 2007
Minnesota College Republican Chair Bethany Dorobiala was interviewed by the Minneapolis Star-Tribune in a story that ran yesterday about academic freedom:
Bethany Dorobiala, a senior political science major at the U of M, knows just what Doyle is talking about. Dorobiala was one of the few students who agreed to speak on the record about the problem.
In many courses, Dorobiala says, professors load up reading lists with books that reflect their ideological agenda. “If you speak up in class and present an alternative view, you may risk being ridiculed by a professor twice your age with a PhD.,” she said. “Students who agree with the professor’s politics are regularly praised and encouraged.”
Dorobiala has encountered this disregard for intellectual diversity in classes outside of political science. “In geology class, I had a teacher who made side comments bashing President Bush,” she said. A rigid orthodoxy prevails on issues as disparate as the death penalty and global warming, she says, and some professors regularly pontificate on topics outside their discipline.
“I definitely know of students whose grades have suffered because they became identified as a conservative in class,” said Dorobiala. If this happens, it’s “very difficult to defend yourself. The authorities — your adviser, department chairs — think you’re complaining because you didn’t do your work.”…
Dorobiala’s only solace is her work with College Republicans, where she can trade war stories without having to look over her shoulder.
Every College Republican has similar “war stories.” Kudos to Ms. Dorobiala for going on the record to expose the liberal bias in classrooms.
Topics: CR gossip, education |
