Florida bill aims to control "leftist" profs ... Could let students sue for untolerated beliefs.
Republicans voted 8-to-2 along party lines to pass "The Academic Freedom Bill of Rights" that aims to stamp out "leftist totalitarianism" by "dictator professors" in the classrooms of Florida's universities.
Students who believe their professor is singling them out for "public ridicule" - for instance, when professors use the Socratic method to force students to explain their theories in class - would also be given the right to sue.
Rep. Baxley suggested a student should sue if a professor asserts that "Evolution is a fact."
Rep. Gelber warned of lawsuits from students enrolled in Holocaust history courses who believe the Holocaust never happened.
Suits could be filed by students who don't believe astronauts landed on the moon, who believe teaching birth control is a sin, or by medical students who refuse to perform blood transfusions and believe prayer is the only way to heal the body, Gelber added.
Full article text: http://www.alligator.org/pt2/050323freedom.php
Related article: http://www.thenation.com/doc.mhtml?i=20050404&c=1&s=jacoby
Which in turn gives students the right to sue professors that claim that there's freedom of speech, i guess?
Posted by: Bas van Dam | March 28, 2005 at 06:01 AM
Queue "Dueling Banjos" please...
Posted by: ChairmanTubeAmp | May 03, 2005 at 03:15 PM