AWESOME DUDE!
Posted on 09/29/2005 8:05:29 AM PDT by summer
MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. - Hoping to breach the walls of supposedly liberal colleges and universities with intellectual ammunition, the Center of the American Experiment recently launched a new Web site for conservative college students.
Center CEO Annette Meeks said the Web site (www.intellectualtakeout.com) is the first of its kind and is intended to ''support free exchange of ideas on campus.''
''The point is not to indoctrinate students,'' she said, but to ''expose students to points of view not readily available in the classroom.''
While most of the site is informational, it also has an edgier feature called the ''Daily Dish.'' The debut item targets St. Olaf College in Northfield, which has declared sustainability as a theme for this school year. The Web site says professor Jim Farrell's paper on sustainability, which is posted on St. Olaf's Web site, ''assumes we're burning too much fossil fuel, we're not eating healthy foods, we're not respecting workers' rights, we're wasteful, and we're spoiling the environment. Those are serious and controversial charges against our culture.''
Farrell, a history professor and director of American studies at St. Olaf, was puzzled by the criticism. Conservatives have a tradition of conservation, he said, pointing to Presidents Theodore Roosevelt and Richard Nixon, who created national parks and signed the first significant environmental legislation.
''I just don't see how this is a liberal agenda,'' Farrell said. ''Most people on campus are pretty excited about it.''
He was pleased that the site provides a link to his paper, so people can read it for themselves. ''I think it's fine if they want to choose St. Olaf. We benefit from their attention,'' he said. ''And the full intellectual take on ideas is a good thing.''
The center's Web site features research and writings from a conservative viewpoint, summaries of arguments from the right and left, links for like-minded students to find each other, jobs and internships listings and a calendar of events.
Meeks said the site was the brainchild of Katherine Kersten , former chairwoman of the center's board and now a columnist with the Star Tribune.
Nolan Soltvedt , a University of Minnesota senior, welcomed the site's debut. While he said he hasn't seen overt bias in most of his classes, he's been uncomfortable with some professorial asides and political discussions that were unrelated to class subjects. He said conservative students can feel intimidated.
''For me, this will be an excellent resource,'' he said. ''Sometimes it's tough to get both sides.''
Richard McCormick , a University of Minnesota professor who leads a school senate committee on educational policy, said he welcomed the new Web site so long as it isn't used to vilify individuals.
''I say let a hundred flowers bloom,'' he said. ''If it gives people access to articulate views from a conservative viewpoint, it certainly has its uses.''
WOW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
OK, I guess I was able to say it THREE times, though a million more WOWS are in order for this new site. Really. WOWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW...
FYI. :)
Nice.
bookmark bump
I get a blank screen.
I get a blank screen.
Thanks! I clicked on the "Iraq War" section, and one of the articles was written by "FreeRepublic.com". I followed it to the source at frontpagemag.com, which has the columnist: Free Republic! ;)
BUMP
Same here... you need to have Flashplayer installed to display the home page, and I don't visit sites that require Flashplayer.
The site has potential, but is so new that there's very little posted in several sections of the site.
I especially like the Ideas section. As this develops, there will be lots of papers to plagiarize.
''support free exchange of ideas on campus.''
I'm not sure our institutions of higher learning are ready for this radical idea. (sarc)
The site's author hasn't taken into account those of us who don't allow scripting in our browsers.
Here's a link to their sitemap, which will display without Active-X. http://www.intellectualtakeout.com/sitemap/
Great site.
F.Y.I.
BOOKMARKED!!
Forwarding the web site to my son and daughter in college as soon as I post this!
It's blank to me. Someone needs to go back to HTML school.
marking to read later
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