Conservative author David Horowitz's recent book, "The Professors: The 101 Most Dangerous Academics in America," has caused a stir among students, faculty and free-speech organizations across the country.
According to the book's jacket cover, "Horowitz exposes 101 academics ... who also happen to be alleged ex-terrorists, racists, murderers, sexual deviants, anti-Semites and al-Qaeda supporters."
The blacklisted professors teach at universities and colleges nationwide, including a professor of law at Georgetown University.
Last week, a nationwide coalition of student, faculty and civil liberty organizations, called Free Exchange on Campus, condemned the book and the blacklist. The coalition includes organizations such as the American Association of University Professors and the American Civil Liberties Union.
Megan Fitzgerald, a spokesperson for the Center for Campus Free Speech, which is a part of the coalition, said the coalition is a set of organizations that want to make sure there is a "wide marketplace of ideas" on college campuses by putting fewer restrictions on what students can learn.
"What students learn in the classroom and having a free exchange in the classroom is as important as learning and having a free exchange outside of the classroom," she Fitzgerald.
There are a number of inaccuracies in the book, which will probably now be taken seriously, Fitzgerald
said.
"He seems to be arguing that somehow controversial ideas shouldn't be taught in college and that students should be protected from new and controversial ideas," Fitzgerald said.
Horowitz is also responsible for introducing the Academic Bill of Rights in 24 state legislatures. The Academic Bill of Rights would promote intellectual diversity among faculty and protect students whose political views differ from those of their professors.
Sara Dogan, the national campus director of Horowitz's organization Students for Academic Freedom, said one of the group's goals is the inclusion of the Academic Bill of Rights in public universities' official policies. Other goals include "promoting academic freedom, intellectual diversity and a spectrum of significantly scholarly ideas that are taught on campuses," Dogan
said.
Ashley Mushnick, president of the College Democrats, said she disapproved of Horowitz's blacklisting of professors and the Academic Bill of Rights legislation.
"I believe it's incredibly dangerous for universities to begin hiring professors based on ideology and not on academic qualifications such as award-winning research or scholarly expertise," Mushnick said. "In addition, the prospect of passing this sort of law in state legislatures is alarming in that it stifles free speech rights that professors are entitled to as Americans."
Will Haun, a freshman in the School of Public Affairs, said college classrooms tend to be liberal, which can be detrimental to curriculums, classroom discussion, grading policies and the treatment of students.
"This work ... should be praised for raising awareness of what can be a very serious problem, especially when so many college students are paying so much money for an intellectually diverse education," Haun said.
