Monday, September 11, 2006

Simmons/Rylance on EOO + Academia After 911

Tune in to Eye on Oshkosh on Oshkosh Cable Access Television this week (Monday 7 p.m., Thursday 1 p.m., Saturday 6 p.m.) for a great discussion of local, state, and national politics with UW Oshkosh Political Science Chair Jim Simmons and former North Dakota elected official Dan Rylance. There's an especially good exchange on the show about the Kevin Barrett affair, in which Rylance laments the loss of space for noncomformist thinking on America's campuses.

I think Rylance is correct in stating that our thinking has become more conformist since 911. Back in the day, a student group had to take over a campus building, or at least threaten to take one over, in order to be lambasted as irresponsible or lectured on civics by pompous and self-serving professors and administrators. Today it's enough just to announce the showing of a controversial movie and/or invite a speaker with unpopular views.

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