Professor Sam Adams, who teaches politics at Sarah Lawrence College, is the type of person who would generally be considered politically moderate. However, his stance that college students should listen to diverse viewpoints coupled with a recent op-ed pointing out the fact that liberal college faculty members far outnumber conservative ones has generated a great deal of outrage.
Professor Adams’ op-ed touts the importance of what he calls “viewpoint diversity”. He points out that the point of an education is to learn how to think, debate and find the truth. He then goes on to note his concern about the fact that students are not getting a well-rounded experience at university because they are not given the opportunity to hear opposing points of view.
Using survey data, he notes that liberal faculty members in New England now outnumber conservative ones by an astounding 28 to 1 margin, which means that there are more than five times as many liberal faculty members than there were about thirty years ago. The op-ed also drew attention to the fact that Professor Adams doesn’t just talk about viewpoint diversity but also does something about it. In fact, he even drove some of his students to a rally organized by President Donald Trump on Long Island. He then explained to his class that he was not asking them to embrace the president’s viewpoints; in fact, he disagreed with them himself. However, he did want them to see how President Trump spoke to his audience, what his audience was like and what the audience reacted to.
To his surprise, Professor Adams discovered that the concept of embracing various viewpoints in an effort to find the truth was not well received at his college. The very same day the op-ed was published, students plastered his door with signs calling him foul names, demanding that he quit and suggesting that perhaps he should move to Charlottesville — the site of a white supremacist demonstration that ended in the death of a counter-protester in 2017. A photo of his newborn son was stolen, and the college’s Student Senate demanded that the college administrators not only forcefully condemn the op-ed, but also give additional funding to the college’s Office of Diversity and Inclusion in order to affirm students who had been triggered by the article.
Sarah Lawrence College President Cristle Judd responded by sending an email to the campus community to let them know that the college was committed to diversity and inclusive excellence. In a follow up email, she affirmed the college’s stance that Black Lives Matter, LGBTQ+ lives matter and Women’s Justice matter. Neither email mentioned the fact that Professor Adams’ office had been vandalized. It also did not mention the professor’s grief that the photo of his son had not been recovered.
After weeks of harassment, college leadership came to his rescue and told students that academic freedom was permitted, and that Professor Adams was allowed to pursue and publish his work even if students did not agree with it. The final email also made it clear to students that there would be repercussions for those who had vandalized the professor’s office and posted anonymous accusations about him.
Thankfully, the recent backlash over Professor Adams’ desire to expose students to diverse viewpoints has not diminished his commitment to provide young people with diverse experiences to help them shape a well-rounded, truly inclusive worldview. He notes that while some of his students think he is an extremist, he still believes that young people who are shielded from issues that they don’t agree with are being done a disservice. He notes that failure to listen to others and try to understand where they are coming from frays the country’s civic bonds.
This professor is lucky that his employer finally came to his rescue and underscored his right to free speech — many other educators are not as fortunate. Educational universities are indeed leaning further left that they ever did before, and not because the left is winning the academic argument.
~ Conservative Zone
Even a Liberal Professor can put his finger in his mouth for saying appositive thing about Free Speech! Protesters go after a species that does not obey their norms.
These maggots who vandalized and harassed Sam Adams should be thrown in jail!
One would think a professor should have enough smarts to see the direction the left is taking the country isn’t the direction the country should be going looks like thier parents wasted their money too
You know, maybe WHEN a few of these liberal pieces of garbage’s obituaries are in the paper normal people can get back to being nice to each other. I can listen to diverse opinions. I cannot tolerate people getting in each others’ faces. Fortunately I am rather large. So, I have not had a physical confrontation since high school. If these liberal anal sphincters continue…..
Yes, I have the same advantage plus, maybe one more. I am a grizzlied older fellow that looks intimidating too. haha
I also of “small’ stature,(6’4”, 300 lbs) and spent 6 years as an active duty MARINE. Somehow they never seem to say anything to me. 😉
Unfortunately we are all not that lucky…but had fast hands and fast feet…could handle three or four before they knew I was doing so or get the hell out if there was an opening…lol
Eventually, the playing field will level and the whiny snowflakes will be forced to hear two sides and accept that we are not all bots who are programmed with hate. When one if filled with hate, they live a miserable life. When these hate filled little bots come to realize they cannot succeed in life believing they are the arbiters of all things true when they have bosses that hold power over them. A job is not a constitutional right and the boss is smarter then you.
Au, … poor widdle snowflakes, got a wedgie and their ‘feelings’ hurt. Did they have a ‘cry room’ to go to and have them feel better ???
Hey cupcakes, college is for you to learn about life, not create grief for those that have a different opinion. Remember this as one of our classic actors once said; “Opinions are like a** h***s, every one has one”, so get over your selves and do the US of A, a favor and SHUT UP AND GET A REAL LIFE. And tell your handlers to go do something to themselves.
Retired engineer, physicist, astronomer and petroleum geologist (a REAL scientist)
Leftists must HANG. And screw your captcha crap.
One thing that you can be certain of, is that leftists eventually eat their own. This is one fact (of many) that leftists don’t understand. In their minds, there are good guys and bad guys, and they are one of the good guys, so all those things that happen to the bad guys will never happen to them. Until it does. This proffessor has the problem of being one of the more reasonable type of liberals, the one’s that have not yet figured out that their ideology is being taken over by leftists and he’s looking more and more right wing in the leftists view.
I have to point out an error in the article however. It states “…he should move to Charlottesville — the site of a white supremacist demonstration…” This is fake news. The Charlotsville protest was not organised by white supremists; the white supremists heard about the protest and than inserted themselves into it. And then ANTIFA heard about the white supremists and inserted themselves into it. Donald Trump was absolutely correct when he stated that “there were many sides” in the protest. The media wants us to believe that there were two sides, white supremists and ANTIFA, the purpose of which is to give LEGITIMACY TO ANTIFA.
The “victims” who oppose free speech would sound the loudest if they were truly forced into silence. They have no idea what true oppression is nor do they care. They are privileged upper class and wealthy Americans who take for granted the Rights others have fought and sacrificed for. It’s the old “down with the Establishment, hey, nice Beemer! You get that for Christmas?”
The institutions are at fault. There is NO EXCUSE for this type of imbalance in teaching or in academic viewpoints, especially since the leftist side has been TOTALLY DISCREDITED as a viable explanation for economic issues.
I agree. IMO, anyone who sends their kids to colleges/universities that have a complete imbalance of academic view points are going to get kids with NO education whatsoever despite what they pay for for such education — no matter how prestigious the institute.
First, I’ll say that’s just fascists being fascists then I’ll say this country wasn’t built on diversity but on assimilation and I’m tired of the abuse of that system. Grow up and join up or get out. We want people who will strengthen the country, not weaken it.
I would like to say I am astounded that it took a few more weeks of harassment of Professor Adams for the college to issue a statement in support of diversity of thought, but I’m not. This is Sarah Lawrence, and when I was in school 40 years ago it was considered far left ( think of the women’s school in Animal House that the guys from Delta House went to on a road trip.) It is a school with self-flagellating white lefties, mostly women. Imagine, an academic Nero fiddled while Rome burned passage of time before their gastric ruminations could settle enough to make a modestly sane statement.