Anti-ABOR Prof Goes Toe-to-Toe with a Student

or a Harvard Ph.D., Tim Gould acted pretty stupid Wednesday afternoon. The Metropolitan State College philosophy professor got nose-to-nose with a conservative undergraduate in front of a legislative committee considering whether Colorado needs to pass a law to protect college students from liberal bias.

As members of the House education committee watched, Gould gave the Republican-dominated General Assembly the ammunition it needs to impose a legislative gag order on teachers at state colleges and universities.

Gould threatened to sue 21-year-old Ian VanBuskirk after VanBuskirk invited the General Assembly to put "a chilling effect" on professors.

VanBuskirk had just told the committee how his professors at the University of Colorado at Boulder discriminated against him because of his politics.

After VanBuskirk left the microphone, Gould angrily confronted the student in the hearing room. Before 100 witnesses who could see, but not hear what was said, Gould told VanBuskirk he would sue if VanBuskirk tried to limit Gould's free speech.

The professor's childish display took up only a few seconds in more than two hours of testimony. But it was the issue that committee member Keith King and bill sponsor Shawn Mitchell seized on as the proposal to protect conservative students from intimidation by liberal teachers moved to the House floor on a 6-5, party-line vote.

Gould's behavior didn't change any votes. Still, he blew it. He gave the right-wingers their liberal bogeyman.

"If he behaves that way in a hearing room," said Mitchell, "imagine how powerful he feels in his classroom."

Here was the prejudice conservatives say permeates the state's institutions of higher learning.

Here was why a law must be passed to protect political and religious conservatives on campus, even though most schools already have policies that forbid such discrimination.

Gould hurt professors all over the state. He apologized to VanBuskirk outside the hearing. Gould told VanBuskirk he was "much more in-your-face" than he should have been. As they agreed to disagree and shook hands, Gould said what he did "was not nice."

Lots of folks - present company included - disagree with King's assessment. Gould's stupidity notwithstanding, very little evidence exists that aggrieved conservatives have suffered for expressing their political and religious views. The great majority who complain haven't filed grievances. Conservative legislators care little for this lack of proof.

He's the teacher, not the student. To command respect and authority, professors must submit to a higher standard of behavior.

Gould not only fell short, he dragged down thousands of professional colleagues.

"It was not appropriate," said Mark Malone, chairman of the faculty council at the University of Colorado at Colorado Springs.

Minutes before Gould's outburst, Malone made a compelling argument. He told the committee that the proposed law, which, among other things, bans "controversial matter ... unrelated to the subject," combines with ongoing budget cuts to encourage good professors to leave Colorado and discourage good professors from coming to the state.

"Dozens, if not hundreds of times, a day in classrooms, statements are made which shouldn't be," Rep. Al White said with dramatic flair only slightly less absurd than Gould's.

"If professors are afraid to be called on the carpet," said Rep. Lynn Hefley, if they worry that a ban on controversial speech will "bind them, then maybe they're not the right professors to be at these universities."

CU president Betsy Hoffman warned that faculty members consider Mitchell's bill a no-confidence vote.

"Make no mistake," she added, Mitchell's bill will keep Colorado from attracting first-class educators.

Some would argue that hundreds of millions of dollars in budget cuts to colleges and universities already signal the General Assembly's contempt for higher education. In that case, muzzling professors so they don't hurt students' feelings is really just an insult to a critical injury.

On the other hand, it would've been nice if someone had shoved a sock in Gould's gaping maw on Wednesday.

Education committee member Angie Paccione, a college professor herself, vocally opposed Mitchell's law. She voted against it. But she nailed Gould with the disdain he earned.

"There may be a few bad apples in the professoriate," Paccione told her colleagues. "And we may have seen one today."

CU president Betsy Hoffman warned that faculty members consider Mitchell's bill a no-confidence vote.

Maybe they should have thought about that before acting as they did (and do).

"Make no mistake," she added, Mitchell's bill will keep Colorado from attracting ~~first-class~~ leftist tyrant [re]educators.

The answer isn't a government regulation.... we're against that kind of thing here (or we're supposed to be).

The answer (as some student groups are already doing)is for students to foster an awareness of who these leftist, propagandizing professors are, and, if they can avoid it, to NOT register for those classes. And if they don't have enough choices, consider transferring to a school where they do.

The answer is for educated consumers to exercise their right to vote - with where and how they spend their dollars. That's a vote that often counts much more than the one you make once a year, but is often overlooked.

Rumour has it that the entire Sociology Department at Colorado State University has recently changed all their political registrations from Democrat to Republican to thwart the next Colorado Legislature check of political registrations. But of course they do not have a leftish agenda that they teach in the classrooms. Oh and Angie Paccione mentioned above is from Colorado State University.

Remember many of the worst offenders do not teach...they do however have control of fellowships and the graduate programs; are tenured; and are kept on because they publish.

These Marxists loving on the public dole 'professors' have institutionally imposed 'gag' orders on any student who doesn't agree with them...

You can pretty much tell which profs will be the worst right on opening day...as they are the one's who are most vociferous about having frank and open discussions in their classrooms and how much they honor open debate and a variety of opposing opinions...

Try and give them one sometime and if you even score a few points against them in front of their captive audiences you will pay for it on your report card...

Its about time someone paying their salaries stuffed a sock in their pie holes

There is a reason conservative students don't go on the record about the intimidation that takes place on campus. A student I know at a state university in the Northeast received threatening confrontations and phone calls from minority students because he publicly spoke and wrote against racially-based preferences on campus.

His faculty advisor was unable to get the university to take any action against the minority student. The advisor unexpectedly left the university the following year.

The minority student was subsequently show-cased in University publications as an example of the 'benefits' of diversity.

"Make no mistake," she added, Mitchell's bill will keep Colorado from attracting first-class educators.

Shut up and give me my over-priced degree, Betsy.

As far as I'm concerned, you're not dispensing any worthwhile knowledge. This is me, putting the coins in the education turnstyle so I can get a better-paying job.

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