Thanks to all who corrected me. I'm glad to be mistaken and to learn that one conservative was not plagiarizing another. We'll leave that to the liberals!
Great article. I have libertarian leanings and have taught a course on civil rights at a university in central New Jersey for the past three years as an adjunct professor (I am a full time lawyer outside the classroom for one of those evil capitalist corporations). This university is one of the worst campuses in terms of radical, off-the-wall leftist faculty members. But I don't feel constrained to "groupthink" like other full-time faculty -- and always tell my students that unlike other professors there, I have a "real job" and don't have to worry about getting tenure; so I can say whatever I want. But I have not received a single complaint in three years -- to the contrary, the course has been extremely well-received by students. I tell the students to THINK FOR THEMSELVES -- and they look at me as if no faculty member has ever said that to them before. I tell them to always question what they read in newspapers, whether liberal or conservative. The class focuses on all the hot issues of the day -- abortion, affirmative action, gay marriage, free speech -- and I can tell you the students out there, despite their mostly progressive leanings, are truly open to entertaining alternative points of view provided they don't think they will be "penalized" for expressing different views. And students seem genuinely relieved that they are not being condescended to in a dogmatic, liberal way. They seem to find it refreshing that they are not being mindlessly spoon-fed by someone with a clear ideological agenda; my only agenda is that I have NO agenda, just think for yourself. So the one thing this discussions is missing is that we don't give college students enough credit for being able to think for themselves if given the opportunity; they just don't have many opportunities because faculty members do everything possible to make clear that dissenting views will not be tolerated. Why risk a lower GPA? Better just shut down intellectually and say what you think the professor wants to hear. But when someone comes in and tells them to think for themselves, they feel empowered and open up. That's what the education process is supposed to be about.