Free Republic

LOS ANGELES, Jan. 23 - A 24-year-old conservative alumnus who announced earlier this month that he planned to pay students at the University of California, Los Angeles, to tape-record the lectures of left-leaning professors backed down after U.C.L.A. officials informed him on Monday that he would be violating school policy. The alumnus, Andrew Jones, said he abandoned the plan to save his student supporters from possible legal action by the university, even though he believed they would be engaged in a "newsgathering" effort protected by the First Amendment. Mr. Jones says he is confident that students will volunteer to tape...

An independent alumni association at the University of California-Los Angeles has offered rewards of up to $100 for students willing to out politically biased professors. Founded by Andrew Jones, a 2003 graduate of the public university, the Bruin Alumni Association has been formed to curb “an exploding crisis of political radicalism on campus” which is “endangering the very core of UCLA — the undergraduate experience,” according to the association’s website. Jones, on the group’s website, says he experienced “political harassment, violence, intimidation and biased teaching” during his time at UCLA, adding his experience is “entirely typical for any student who...

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - A conservative alumni group dedicated to "exposing the most radical professors" at the University of California at Los Angeles is offering to pay students $100 to record classroom lectures of suspect faculty. The Web site of the Bruin Alumni Association also includes a "Dirty Thirty" list of professors considered by the group to be the most extreme left-wing members of the UCLA faculty, as well as profiles on their political activities and writings. UCLA Chancellor Albert Carnesale on Thursday denounced the campaign as "reprehensible," and school officials warned that selling or distributing recordings of classroom lectures...

Censoring Liberal Professors Susan Estrich Friday, Jan. 20, 2006 It is one of the worst ideas to hit academia: paying students to tape their professors, in the hopes of discouraging their expression of views that one side considers to be "radical." Most alumni associations aim to improve their alma maters. But the Bruin Alumni Association – an unofficial group, not to be confused with the official UCLA Alumni Association – seems determined to do just the opposite. If it has its way, the classroom will no longer be a place where students and faculty can discuss ideas freely. Shame on...

Rankings for January 9, 2006-January 24, 2006 1. Peter McLaren (5/5 Power Fists) This Canadian native teaches the next generation of teachers and professors how to properly indoctrinate students – Paolo Freire-style. Thanks to his hard-charging efforts, McLaren debuts at the top of the charts. Long live the king! 2. Kent Wong (5/5 Power Fists) In any other group, Kent Wong, the dyed-red laborista radical, would be hold an undisputed title for heavyweight extremism. If Wong keeps up his public attack on everything to the right of Chairman Mao, he may still do it. Stay tuned! 3. Douglas Kellner (5/5...

Rightwing group offers students $100 to spy on professors · Republican graduate's site prompts witch-hunt fears· 31 academics listed as 'worthy of scrutiny' Dan Glaister in Los Angeles Thursday January 19, 2006 The Guardian (UK) It is the sort of invitation any poverty-stricken student would find hard to resist. "Do you have a professor who just can't stop talking about President Bush, about the war in Iraq, about the Republican party, or any other ideological issue that has nothing to do with the class subject matter? If you help ... expose the professor, we'll pay you for your work." For...

A fledgling alumni group headed by a former campus Republican leader is offering students payments of up to $100 per class to provide information on instructors who are "abusive, one-sided or off-topic" in advocating political ideologies. The year-old Bruin Alumni Assn. says its "Exposing UCLA's Radical Professors" initiative takes aim at faculty "actively proselytizing their extreme views in the classroom, whether or not the commentary is relevant to the class topic." Although the group says it is concerned about radical professors of any political stripe, it has named an initial "Dirty 30" of teachers it identifies with left-wing or liberal...

UCLA recruiters have long delighted in bringing star high school athletes to their campus during the winter months, when warm weather and sunshine prove particularly attractive to many from colder climes. But the sort of sunshine that operates as a disinfectant, public scrutiny, is proving much less welcome to campus leftists. The Bruin Alumni Association, a year old group of conservative bent, is drawing fire for its activities aimed at exposing leftist indoctrination in the classroom. It has started UCLAprofs.com to collect and publicize information about faculty leftism, particularly as it verges into classroom indoctrination. The Los Angeles Times reports:...