The College Liberal Bias

[Tiger Edge]

Let me start off by saying that I'm not a Republican or a Democrat. I am however definitely more Democrat than Republican.
When I started college in 2003, it was great to be surrounded by so many adults that had the same anti-Bush ideals that I had. In high school I had mostly Republican Bush supporters and students that had an interest in politics were hard to come by.
So here's college and come fall 2004 I have perhaps the most biased teacher I've ever encountered. Prior to the election, he played a few Michael Moore videos that were amusing and made snide remarks about Bush at any expense (I had no problem with it). On election day he made sure we all knew who he was supporting by wearing a t-shirt, a cap, a button and writing: VOTE FOR KERRY on the board.
That Thursday he spent the entire class bitching about Bush's second term and had a class discussion about it. Or rather, he just gave us topics and let us rip at each other's throats.
After that it has been pretty quiet. Just a few comments here and then by science professors which I really don't mind.

Now I have two classes where liberal ideals are being pushed down our throats. My professor today recited nearly word for word a diatribe that one of Bill Maher's guests said this week on his show. The class spirals out of it's content and goes into a "this government is giving us so much fear and propaganda!" spiel. I sit in the back of the class drawing cartoons because I've heard it before. I'm not there to hear that. I'm there to be introduced into Journalism. And not biased Journalism. I'm trying to learn how to be unbiased!
The same thing with my online class. All of his written notes are constantly bashing the Bush administration as well as all the videos he makes us watch.

Really, I wouldn't mind if it was me that was going out and seeking this conversations. But I'm in school to learn something new and most of the time I don't feel like I'm getting it. Not to mention I can't even imagine what it's like for any Republican or Pro-Bush students in the classroom. At one point in our theater appreciation class where our professor invited Greenpeace over to talk about their arrest for saving some Brazilian trees (it's a long story), as well as some Bush bashing, the guy sitting next to me says in a whisper, "I don't think I can take any more of this, I'm Republican."

I don't know my point. I'm just upset that I'm going to class and being bored out of my mind by this stuff. I guess it's because I'm used to being in the minority. Like when I've been called a dirty Democrat at family parties, I just know how it feels to be singled out and have your beliefs bashed all over the floor, especially at a place and situation where it's not appropriate.

 

[Harry Vest]

Being someone who, to say the least, does not agree with Bush, Cheney, Rumsfeld and the rest of them - I can relate to what you're saying. There is nothing more irritating than Liberal Fundamentalism (O.K. Right Wing Fundamentalism is worse but only slightly!!!). I am like you and would always lean towards Democrats over Republicans (actually I really wish there were more "Independents" but that's a whole other story). My advice to you is to challenge these professors - play the Devils advocate once in awhile - just to get a rise out of them and to see if they can back up they're beliefs. Get back to us about it - I'd love to hear how it goes.

 

[anitram]

That's the reality of college. Academia has always been left-leaning.

To be honest, it doesn't bother me at all. At the law school, we have professors who are definitely right leaning (especially any in corporate/tax) and we have ones that are definitely leaning towards social justice. I don't really get offended either way, and believe me they rant with the best of them.

 

[yolland]

What are the topics of these two classes supposed to be?

 

[anitram]

I've been thinking about this for a few minutes and honestly, here is a cross section of my profs:

One despises the Monarchy and wishes to hell we could abolish it.

Another holds the medical profession in utter contempt.

Another one rants and raves about Quebec raping the Constitution.

Another one wants to acquit everyone.

Then there's the one who worked in trusts and estates and can't stand the upper classes. Not to be outdone by the one who spends half of his class raving about how poorly we're treating people on welfare and the dozens of moral shortcomings we are guilty of.

I think it's par for the course to be honest.

 

[Tiger Edge]

But it's getting to the point that they aren't even discussing course content.
Today she drew out some charts on the board that she was on the way to discussing before she got sidetracked and spent the entire class discussing Bush and Clinton.
It didn't bother me all that much in my requesite courses because I wasn't really going to use that in my career, but I'm trying to get serious about Journalism. This is really a testing phase for me to see if I'd enjoy a career in it. If I wanted to discuss politics solely, I'd take a politics class.

 

[Tiger Edge]

What are the topics of these two classes supposed to be?

Intro to Journalism and Mass Media and Communication. I suppose the discussion can be looped back through all this stuff, but sometimes there's just not even a connection. Like today we went into a 10 minute discussion about who has been profiled racially in the class. The topic for the day was the War of the Worlds radio broadcast.
And with the VOTE FOR KERRY professor, it was a Myth, Ritual And Mysticism class. That one was by far worst.

 

[melon]

I'm fairly leftist, but I can agree that any kind of condescending political preaching would annoy the hell out of me. It was apparently ripe at the college I went to for my B.A., but I was fortunate enough to be able to avoid all of those kinds of classes as a benefit of being in their Honors College.

Thankfully, my own media courses never devolved into that kind of nonsense. The only class I took that sounded like a mouthpiece for political ideology, actually, was my microeconomics course that I was forced to take, and it sounded like nothing but an infomercial for the Republican Party.

Melon

 

[melon]

I think it's par for the course to be honest.

Reminds me of my high school French teacher who spent half her classes bitching about Mexicans being nothing but illegal immigrants. All the more ironic, considering she was an immigrant herself.

Melon

 

[anitram]

We have plugs for every seat in all my lecture halls and wireless so frankly when they start yammering, Ebay and MSN come on.

 

[80sU2isBest]

We have plugs for every seat in all my lecture halls and wireless so frankly when they start yammering, Ebay and MSN come on.

Really? Wow, that's technology. When I was in college (late 80s), wireless referred to television remote controls.

 

[angelordevil]

Intro to Journalism and Mass Media and Communication.

The course title should say it all: Communication. However, it sounds like the prof could be sabotaging the potential for meaningful discussion, and simply pushing an agenda. That's just sad. Any kind of fundamentalist idea, be it left, right, or whatever, just furthers polarization, and actually leads to a lack of dialogue on the biggest issues of our time.

All profs are obviously free to push personal ideas, but the good ones will always counterpoint themselves to give students an accurate representation of all points of view--not just their own. This should be especially true in any journalism/media course. The ability to have perspective in journalism is paramount.

I'd follow-through on Harry Vest's suggestion to challenge things you're uncomfortable with. It might be very difficult at first, if you fear being vilified or isolated. However, I've found that most profs will actually respect you in the long run if you spark something, and share what you're feeling inside. (Of course, this is probably not true if your prof happens to be truly crazy, or is just really bad.)

As far as the attitude you see being "par for the course" and part of left-leaning academia, aspects of this may be true. However, from my vantage point in Canada, I get the real sense that some in the US are actually overcompensating in their efforts to push back against the perceived right-wing agenda.

That's just as bad as, well, a right-wing agenda.

 

[Tiger Edge]

The ability to have perspective in journalism is paramount.

Bingo!

 

[LPU2]

If a democrat and a republican graduate high school and enroll in college, which one is more likely to enter teaching? Which one is more likely to enter business?

It's pretty obvious. Consequently, academia will always lean left.

Wait till you get into the corporate world. You'll find that most of the people with influence in your company are republicans. But you deal with it.

Political bias among high school teachers is one thing. I think college students are old enough to handle it.

 

[Tiger Edge]

If a democrat and a republican graduate high school and enroll in college, which one is more likely to enter teaching? Which one is more likely to enter business?

It's pretty obvious. Consequently, academia will always lean left.

Wait till you get into the corporate world. You'll find that most of the people with influence in your company are republicans. But you deal with it.

Political bias among high school teachers is one thing. I think college students are old enough to handle it.

I'm not complaining about the fact that there is a bias. I knew there would be one going into college. I knew that I'd have something to look forward to from my high school experience, like I said in my first post.
I'm complaining that it's starting to get in the way of my studies. I'm not paying to sit in on a class that just sits around and bashes the Bush administration.

 

[INDY500]

Try wearing this t-shirt to class.

 

[Tiger Edge]

Try wearing this t-shirt to class.

Okay no, you missed my point. I'm a liberal but I want to keep discussion of this in class away. Far far away. I'd be just as upset if it was a conservative bias creating a lag in the class.

I'd never wear a shirt like that anyways.

 

[INDY500]

Okay no, you missed my point. I'm a liberal but I want to keep discussion of this in class away. Far far away. I'd be just as upset if it was a conservative bias creating a lag in the class.

I'd never wear a shirt like that anyways.

Ah c'mon, you're in college for cryin-out-loud. Be a rebel. Separate yourself from the herd. Piss people off.

It's your duty.

 

[yolland]

Yeah...sounds like plain old bad teaching to me, basically. Different professors have different ideas on how permissible it is to explicitly state one's own political views in class--some see this as a priori unprofessional, others see it as one way of showing your students you're "just a regular guy" with bracing opinions like anyone else--but at the point where you're indulging in extensive rants like those you describe, then in my view you're just abusing your podium privileges, period. I can remember having at least one professor in undergrad who was like that. If you're reluctant to challenge these profs openly, I understand, but at least be sure to provide a detailed critique of their abuses when it comes time to fill out course evals.

 

[verte76]

This reminds me of some of the classes I took when I was a student. Honestly, I think I got an A on one of my final exams because it was left-leaning in content. I couldn't help it; I'm a lefty. So was the professor. I don't know that that essay on that exam was really that great. It was on Frederick Douglass.

 

[ntalwar]

Maybe they are bashing the Bush adminstration in the context that they have manipulated the media and the public like no other administration before has. So that would make these topic relevant to the class. It seems that the number of fake intelligence reports, staged events disguised as real ones, coverups, scare tactics, etc. have reached an unprecedented level under Bush.

 

[U2democrat]

My campus is pretty conservative, some of my professors have been liberals, some have been conservative, so it's pretty balanced in terms of faculty. The student body however is largely conservative. It doesn't help that our president is a former Republican U.S. Senator

 

[AvsGirl41]

Intro to Journalism and Mass media classes are rarely useful--I wouldn't worry about you not getting anything, they seem to always be a free for all because they're taught by journalists who long to be Woodward and Bernstein.

I agree with yolland--confront them directly about the waste of class time. Further problems (it starts to affect your grade) you should go to the chair of the department. And definitely reflect it on the evaluation. I really hate wasted class time as well--although my friends and I have been known to set really liberal professors off in classes we felt like sleeping in.

 

[AEON]

The more a teacher sticks to the subject matter of the class, the better. The best teachers I had in college were the ones that I had NO IDEA what their political views were.

When class discussions veered into current events - the best teachers usually let the students try to "duke it out" as long everyone remained respectful. After a few points were made, these teachers would then bring the discussion back the class material.

It just seems goofy for PhD's in Chaucer to rant on about how much they love/hate a current political leader. I always thought that somehow college teachers should remain above that sort pettiness.

 

[U2democrat]

Let me add to my original post that most of my professors do not inject their beliefs in the classroom, I only found out because they found out about my interest in politics, and they would talk to me outside of class.

 

[shart1780]

I was in a poli-sci class not too long back and would often debate my liberal teacher. I was basically the only person in class who cared enough about politics to challange him.

Long story short, he tried to make me into the class clown. When I challanged him he'd answer me in a snide, sarcastic tone and word things in such a way so that I'd look like an idiot to all of the students. I was known as the guy who the teacher always made fun of.

I hated that course.

 

[mkdominatr]

I take Intellectual Heritage at Temple and this is a class that PA legislature (or at least the conservatives) are trying to ban. Of course being in college the teachers are going to be liberal. So when you throw in liberal teachers into a class that is supposed to teach current culture, literature and happenings: you get biased opinions.

On top of that this is a mandatory core class. I dont have a porblem with this, and students are allowed to disagree and what not. But these teachers dont even ADMIT the other point of view exists. It quite pathetic to witness; in my opinion....even being a conservative democrat.

 

[yolland]

Intellectual Heritage...a class that is supposed to teach current culture, literature and happenings

The course title and the description sound totally contradictory...? Normally a course title like "Intellectual Heritage" would signal a "Great Books"-type curriculum.

ETA: I will say though that a seemingly common problem with these "humanities core"-type programs is that often experienced profs either A) don't want to "waste" their time teaching them, or B) sincerely feel they're not qualified to, or C) they're willing, but their departments won't spare them. So, often many of the sections wound up being taught by inexperienced (and horribly underpaid, but that's a separate issue) adjunct faculty, mostly grad students or recent PhDs who couldn't get a tenure-track position, and since the curriculum and course goals are often worked out by consensus (or just plain poorly defined) the end result may be a pedagogically lazy or murky "program culture." I don't mean to sound condemning here; these folks are generally plenty gifted scholars and of course some of them are fantastic teachers as well, but I do have the impression that these types of programs often suffer from a shortage of experienced curriculum steering and oversight. But I've never taught such a class myself, so my impressions could be off-base.

 

[mkdominatr]

The course title and the description sound totally contradictory...? Normally a course title like "Intellectual Heritage" would signal a "Great Books"-type curriculum.

It is but every class I have had throughout the past 2 years has dedicated a majority of the time to current news and our opinions on social issues. It makes you think and keeps you updated. I just dont like when the teachers press their opinions as though they are the correct ones.