"Academic freedom in the classroom in discussing subjects while making the students aware of serious scholarly viewpoints other than that of the faculty member or instructor and encouraging intellectual honesty, civil debate and the critical analysis of ideas in the pursuit of knowledge and truth"
GOP students want bill of rights
The legislation, which is being considered by the Legislature's Education and Cultural Affairs Committee, reflects a belief among political and social conservatives around the country that their views are neglected in classroom and campus discussions. Similar legislation has been proposed in other states in recent years.
"I am here today with my fellow College Republicans because I feel you must be made aware of a scary trend occurring on all Maine campuses," said Mia Dow, a member of the College Republicans at the University of Maine, Orono. "I have been taunted, sworn at and humiliated beyond the realm of imagination, and I am sick of this treatment," she said.
Testimony continued late into the evening as legislators, professors and other young Republicans from campuses around the state spoke in favor of the bill. The committee is expected to discuss the bill in a workshop before voting on it.
Opponents said such a bill could stifle discussion on controversial topics.
Allen Berger, provost and vice president for Academic Affairs at the University of Maine at Farmington, said requiring faculty to abide by "definitions imposed by outsiders and possibly measured by political standards that diverge from academic criteria would be to severely constrain their academic freedom."
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