A recent study showed that conservative students perform equally well as liberals in courses involving political or social issues, which could be due to the open and accepting nature of the college environment, said Susan McDonic, assistant professor of anthropology at AU.
"Universities are founded upon the free exchange of ideas, and they have a series of checks and balances in place to ensure that no one be unfairly discriminated against," McDonic said.
The study, conducted by Markus Kemmelmeier, an assistant professor of sociology at the University of Nevada at Reno, found that a student's political orientation had no effect on his or her grades in courses generally associated with liberal schools of thought, such as anthropology and social sciences, according to The Chronicle of Higher Education.
However, the study also indicated that conservative students performed better in business and economics courses, possibly due to the disciplines being more money and finance-oriented.
Although professors and students alike reported a lack of political bias on the part of the faculty, some said they feel the general left-leaning tendencies of the AU student body tend to stifle the opinions of conservative students.
"As the vast majority of AU students are politically liberal, I think this creates an environment where a liberal point of view is automatically the only 'correct' point of view," said Michael Wagner, a sophomore in the School of Public Affairs. "That isn't healthy for academic debates and discussions."
Tom Williams, a professor in SPA, agreed that because conservative students may feel like the minority in some classes, they are reluctant to express their views.
"On the other hand," Williams said, "I have taught classes where conservative students were the most vocal and outspoken in the class and seemed to enjoy that role. In my own classes I make an effort to encourage divergent views."
However, a bias need not be expressed in order to be present, said Douglass Reale, a sophomore in SPA. Reale, who identifies himself as a conservative, said he encountered an AU professor's passive bias in a sociology class.
The question of political bias in the classroom comes on the heels of a recent campus speech by conservative activist David Horowitz. Horowitz is urging legislatures across the country to adopt an "Academic Bill of Rights" to protect conservative university students from discrimination by professors based on their political beliefs.
The proposed bill would seek to eliminate bias in the hiring and firing of professors and the selecting of reading materials and coursework, in addition to the grading of students' work.
Many students and professors of both parties said they feel the bill is an unnecessary measure that would stifle the free exchange of ideas that a university campus is meant to perpetuate.
"The problem lies with the political orientation of the student body, and not with any overt bias on the part of the faculty," Wagner said. "Although I support the notion of 'academic diversity,' I am wary of 'enforced diversity.'"
Reale said the bill would not reflect well on conservatives, who should strive to prove themselves academically.
"People will see it as conservatives whining," he said. "Conservatives may get shorthanded in the classroom, but that's just how it is. We need to rejoice because we're the ones in charge."
McDonic said students at the university level should be able to acknowledge a professor's views and separate them from fact. She is critical of Horowitz's ideas for singling out those with a liberal orientation.
"It assumes a threat which has not yet proven to exist," McDonic said. "Despite his recent protests to the contrary, Horowitz's project, his book and the Academic Bill of Rights, taken as a whole, is only one Twinkie shy of a McCarthy picnic"
