Posted on 03/18/2006 8:47:52 PM PST by Mitchell Langbert
Phil Orenstein just sent me the following e-mail stating that the Academic Bill of Rights (ABR) has been introduced in the NY State Assembly (it had been introduced a couple of months ago in the NY State Senate). Please write your STATE ASSEMBLYMAN in support of the Academic Bill of Rights. Please also consider writing to Catherine Nolan, Chair of the Higher Ed Committee and Senate Majority Leader Bruno.
The faculty unions will bombard them with letters claiming the right to indoctrinate students and suppress alternative views. They don't like interference even though they are paid with your tax dollars.
Phil attached a model letter that you can send to your state assembly person. I put the text of the bill, Bruno's, Nolan's and Silver's addresses and the model letter in the comment section. Your writing a few letters will be a major contribution to freedom.
Best Wishes,
Mitchell Langbert, Ph.D.
Dear friends and colleagues,
The Academic Bill of Rights was introduced in the NY Assembly on February 28 as Bill #A10098 by Seminerio, Mayersohn, Zebrowski and co-sponsored by Green, Hikind and Levelle. The sponsors are all Democrats from in and around New York City showing that ABOR, a non-partisan bill is supported by both Democrats and Republicans alike. It contains the same text as Bill #S6336 in the Senate.
Thank you for all the letters of support for ABOR sent to Senator LaValle and the NY Senate Higher Education Committee. Now that the position of the Senate sponsors and committee is well staked out against the union's advances, it is time to send letters to the Legislative leaders in both houses until it gets out of committee to the full House and Senate for a vote in just a few weeks. We must now target Assembly Speaker Silver, Senate Majority Leader Bruno, Assemblywoman Nolan who is the new chair of the Education Committee (where A10098 was referred) and the naysayers who may be easily influenced by the massive faculty unions and academic professional associations.
As you may know, Assembly Speaker Silver is a steady ally of NYSUT and the teachers unions and wouldn't dare do anything to provoke them. That's why bills like ABOR have had a hard time getting out of committee in the past. That is the reason for this letter writing campaign. Please send emails, letters and faxes to Silver and the other state leaders below to show your concern about the over-politicized state of higher education today. A single letter represents 10,000 constituents and that means votes. Voices of concerned students, parents and alumni are potential votes that they listen to. You may use the sample letter below as a guide or briefly describe your own experiences and concerns. According to David Horowitz we must flood their offices with 100's of letters of support for the coming showdown with the unions. Political indoctrination and advocacy, left or right, does not belong in the classroom and ABOR is the first major step to fight this corruption of higher education. Liberal or conservative ideologues have no place in academia imposing their political, religious or anti-religious agendas on the minds of our youth.
Let's keep the ball rolling for academic freedom in NY. Please circulate this message to friends, colleagues and membership lists. Feel free to publicize this letter writing campaign in newsletters and web sites.
TITLE OF BILL: An act to amend the education law, in relation to creating an academic bill of rights
SUMMARY: Creates an academic bill of rights that ensures an academic environment for both students and faculty members that allows freedom of political viewpoint, expression and instruction; requires institutions of higher education to publish such bill of rights and to adopt a grievance procedure to address complaints of violations of such rights.
PURPOSE: To ensure that students enrolled in institutions of higher education receive exposure to a wide range of scholarly viewpoints, and to recognize the academic rights of faculty members.
Assemblywoman Catherine Nolan (Chair Education Committee) New York State Assembly Legislative Office Building 424 Albany, NY 12248 Phone: 518-455-4851 Fax: 518-455-3847 nolanc@assembly.state.ny.us
Assemblyman Sheldon Silver (Assembly Speaker) New York State Assembly Legislative Office Building 932 Albany, NY 12248 Phone: 518-455-3791 Fax: 518-455-5459 speaker@assembly.state.ny.us
Senator Joseph Bruno (Senate Majority Leader) New York State Senate 909 Legislative Office Building Albany, NY 12247 Phone: 518-455-3191 Fax: 518-455-2448 BRUNO@senate.state.ny.us __________________________________________________________________________
SAMPLE LETTER:
Assemblyman Sheldon Silver
New York State Assembly Legislative Office Building 932 Albany, NY 12248
Re: BILL #A10098 (ACADEMIC BILL OF RIGHTS)
Dear Assemblyman Silver :
As a (student/parent/alumni/teacher) from (a New York) College/University, I am concerned about political bias in the classroom, especially in the social sciences and humanities. Ideological bias compromises education. College and university professors should not abuse their authority by injecting irrelevant political agendas into the college classroom. Too often, university faculties have engaged in indoctrination rather than education, and have silenced and penalized students who have disagreed with them.
(You may add a brief synopsis of your own experience of abuse by professors)
I write in support of the Academic Bill of Rights, a powerful act of legislation that will lead the way in providing a positive academic environment that offers both students and faculty freedom of intellectual expression and the spirit of healthy debate. Higher education ought to be reformed to ensure that students enjoy free speech to the same degree as their professors do. The Academic Bill of Rights is a first step to accomplishing the necessary reform.
The Unions will fight this measure until the bitter end to preserve unaccountability and the status quo. Please be a voice for the people and insure that students at New York State Universities are receiving the best possible education, not the worst type of propaganda.
Sincerely,
ping
Here is all their email adresses.
http://www.rusthompson.com/Albanyemails.html
Taking the liberty of pinging my City of Evil list with this. If you live in NYS, please write your assemblyman and Senator and ask them to support this. Thanks.
Could I have ever guessed as a college student that one day I'd be on a City Of Evil ping list? LOL!
BLL, as always, thanks for the ping!
Thanks for the ping. Looks like a good bill.
IMO, state schools should be as neutral -- not "bland", but neutral -- as possible. I prefer an academic environment where students are free to explore a wide spectrum of ideas, and where open discussion and reasoned argument prevail. If a parent wants their child exposed to only a small range of carefully selected ideas (what we might call indoctrination), there are plenty of private schools for that: left, right, religious, and otherwise.
bttt
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