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Absolutely not
Aug. 21st, 2003 07:45 pmI will write a letter to the editor. I may also write several congressmen, because this is something that should never, ever come to pass.
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U-M Gay Studies Class Leads Lawmakers to Seek Controls
Ann Arbor News, August 21, 2003
A University of Michigan class that studies gay culture is helping to prompt some Michigan legislators to propose new controls on academic freedom at public universities.
The class, English 317, titled "How to be Gay: Male Homosexuality and Initiation," is cited by Rep. Jack Hoogendyk, R-Kalamazoo, as one of a number of questionable courses spurring him and several other state lawmakers to propose a bill giving legislators the power to prohibit certain classes.
"The majority of taxpayers would not favor use of public dollars for a class like that," Hoogendyk said Wednesday. "State residents expect--and should receive--accountability from publicly funded institutions."
The legislation, which Hoogendyk said he would introduce this fall, would amend the state constitution to:
* Require public universities each year to submit class lists to the Legislature with detailed descriptions.
* Allow the Legislature, with a two-thirds vote, to prohibit the teaching of any class at a publicly funded university.
* Allow the Legislature, with a majority vote, to withhold funding from a public university that doesn't comply with the review structure.
[...] Hoogendyk, who says he has not attended English 317, says the course is clearly promoting a gay agenda and does not relate to preparing students to be successful in a global economy.
"It's a question of: What is the function of the university?" he said. "What are we preparing young people for? Is this of academic value? I think not. You say, 'Wait a minute; there needs to be more accountability.'"
[...] In a previous story on the course [which originally was taught in 2002], Halperin [the professor] explained that the "initiation" in the course title refers to the social practice of becoming gay, and that the class does not encourage gay behavior as it examines topics ranging from gay playwright Oscar Wilde to movies, music and drag shows.
U-M officials defended the course Wednesday and said such legislation would greatly damage the state's public universities.
Provost Paul Courant said that academic freedom has been central to the development of the state's public universities. "Each of our institutions has its strengths," he said. "However, we all have one strength in common: the bedrock foundation of the free and open exchange of ideas."
Rep. Chris Kolb, D-Ann Arbor, who represents most of Ann Arbor, said such an amendment would quickly become unmanageable. "It becomes scary if you are going to have political bodies tell universities what they are going to be teaching," he said. "Are they going to dictate the kinds of research? Can they no longer teach evolution?"
***
U-M Gay Studies Class Leads Lawmakers to Seek Controls
Ann Arbor News, August 21, 2003
A University of Michigan class that studies gay culture is helping to prompt some Michigan legislators to propose new controls on academic freedom at public universities.
The class, English 317, titled "How to be Gay: Male Homosexuality and Initiation," is cited by Rep. Jack Hoogendyk, R-Kalamazoo, as one of a number of questionable courses spurring him and several other state lawmakers to propose a bill giving legislators the power to prohibit certain classes.
"The majority of taxpayers would not favor use of public dollars for a class like that," Hoogendyk said Wednesday. "State residents expect--and should receive--accountability from publicly funded institutions."
The legislation, which Hoogendyk said he would introduce this fall, would amend the state constitution to:
* Require public universities each year to submit class lists to the Legislature with detailed descriptions.
* Allow the Legislature, with a two-thirds vote, to prohibit the teaching of any class at a publicly funded university.
* Allow the Legislature, with a majority vote, to withhold funding from a public university that doesn't comply with the review structure.
[...] Hoogendyk, who says he has not attended English 317, says the course is clearly promoting a gay agenda and does not relate to preparing students to be successful in a global economy.
"It's a question of: What is the function of the university?" he said. "What are we preparing young people for? Is this of academic value? I think not. You say, 'Wait a minute; there needs to be more accountability.'"
[...] In a previous story on the course [which originally was taught in 2002], Halperin [the professor] explained that the "initiation" in the course title refers to the social practice of becoming gay, and that the class does not encourage gay behavior as it examines topics ranging from gay playwright Oscar Wilde to movies, music and drag shows.
U-M officials defended the course Wednesday and said such legislation would greatly damage the state's public universities.
Provost Paul Courant said that academic freedom has been central to the development of the state's public universities. "Each of our institutions has its strengths," he said. "However, we all have one strength in common: the bedrock foundation of the free and open exchange of ideas."
Rep. Chris Kolb, D-Ann Arbor, who represents most of Ann Arbor, said such an amendment would quickly become unmanageable. "It becomes scary if you are going to have political bodies tell universities what they are going to be teaching," he said. "Are they going to dictate the kinds of research? Can they no longer teach evolution?"