Responsibility of Freedom

Submitted by J. Rivard (United States), Nov 25, 2002 at 20:46

It is my opinion that the American Professors from our Universities should be afforded the same rights every American holds dearly, the freedom to express their opinions. However, it is also my opinion that this freedom comes with certain responsibilities and I do not feel that Professors who abuse their positions as educators by presenting one sided views on American politics in the classroom are actually managing their freedom with an acceptable level of responsibilty.

It's one thing if a Professor were to offer his opinions to a group of people as an American citizen (outside of the classroom), but it's a whole new ball game when they do the same thing while utilizing the power of their official capacity to present these views. If these Professors want to be insistent on being able to present these views in the classroom they should be responsible enough to invite a capable speaker with an opposing view which would afford the students the opportunity to make their own informed decisions.

Let's be honest with ourselves here. What can we really expect from a classroom full of 18 to 21 year old youngsters, fresh out of high school and independent from their parents for the first time in their lives? These youngsters are the future of this country; do we really want these students to be bombarded with a single point of view without ever giving them a chance to think? These young students are told to go to their respective Universities and to listen very carefully to their educators and absorb the most they can. These young students have the notion in their minds that these educators are highly educated people who share their knowledge of facts...can we be sure that they also understand that these Professors are also human and may present seemingly factual information when in reality it is opinionated information? I have to agree with one of the posters on this board; we should be able to have faith in these young students, however, it's rather difficult to have this faith in them when they aren't given two unbiased sides to a story.

This article has made me pause to think about the student protestors against the Vietnam war...hmmm.

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