Senate Bill 24 should not be necessary. The legislation introduced in the Ohio Senate is meant to protect the rights of students and professors to not be discriminated against based on their political and religious beliefs. The bill is about “academic freedom.”

Legislation and government intrusion in order to right wrongs is never the most desirable course. Unfortunately, historically it was crucial in assisting segments of the population that were discriminated against. Powerful groups in society have been reluctant to give up their privilege for the sake of equality. And, in today’s university climate, it is undeniable that liberal ideology has a stranglehold on higher education. A study of 1,000 professors found that Democrats outnumber Republicans 7 to 1. Liberalism is so entrenched within the system that it blinds the people involved from even recognizing the disparity between them and society.

Universities place high value on diversity and protecting equality based on race, sexual preference, gender–anything and everything but intellectual thought. This University has an entire Office of Equity and Diversity to service those groups whose rights are protected by law. This office’s mission states that “is an essential component of BGSU’s efforts to achieve and support a diverse university community where all are encouraged to succeed and where none are excluded from participation based on any irrelevant characteristics.”

What is the point of a diverse community of participants if a diversity of ideas is not promoted?

A college professor’s job in the classroom is to pass on expert knowledge to students and to facilitate academic inquiry and debate. This is the job that the government and students are paying teachers to perform. Never mind any instructors that pass along blatantly false information in order to promote their ideological agenda, but if professors consistently skew debate and conversation then they are failing the American taxpayers and students.

In the “real world” employees who don’t do their jobs correctly get fired. In the liberal world of academia there is no accountability to diversify thought. Senate Bill 24 is an attempt to hold universities and their faculty responsible to the American people. Some of the bill’s provisions to students include the right to be graded solely on “reasoned answers and appropriate knowledge” without discrimination based on religious, political or ideological beliefs and the right to a broad range of “serious scholarly opinion” that includes “dissenting sources and viewpoints”.

The bill protects professors as well by stating they “shall not be hired, fired, promoted, granted tenure, or denied promotion or tenure on the basis of their political, ideological, or religious beliefs.”

It mandates that universities must set up a grievance procedure for any violations to these policies. Professors’ employment based on performance and contribution and students’ grading based on performance and contribution- sounds reasonable.

That being said, one of the fundamental flaws with Senate Bill 24 is that it would apply to all colleges in Ohio, public and private alike. To hold privately funded schools to state standards could be disastrous. Many private and parochial schools exist because the consumer is unsatisfied with the state funded options for learning. These institutions are accountable to the users that buy their service, not the government. What would become of private religious universities that choose a religious-based curriculum? Would they be forced to incorporate all religious viewpoints? The government has no right to legislate this marketplace that students choose to attend and pay for.

The other major flaw with this bill is the provision that “Faculty and instructors shall not infringe the academic freedom and quality of education of their students by persistently introducing controversial matter into the classroom or coursework that has no relation to their subject of study and that serves no legitimate pedagogical purpose.”

The ambiguity of this section leaves it open to misinterpretation and abuse. Who decides what subject matters do not pertain to the class or serve a purpose? One of the goals of a well rounded education is to find the continuity between classes and make cross discipline connections. Students should learn to apply knowledge to other classes and to life. What is the purpose of education without application?

This bill would inevitably have a slew of unintended consequences. Good intentions don’t always have a positive outcome. Simply look at some of the complications for boys sports that have stemmed from the Title IX legislation. Although on the surface true academic freedom would be refreshing, it is only prudent to examine all of the possibilities for perversion and distortion in this version of Senate Bill 24.

Hopefully these proposals will stimulate conversation and debate on the topic of academic freedom. Ideally, universities would recognize the fundamental rights outlined in Senate Bill 24, evaluate their institutions’ internal deficiencies and adopt the appropriate modifications to school code voluntarily.

Send comments to Amanda at [email protected]