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Subject: Glenn Beck hit it right on when it comes to USU!

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nonleft
Posts:112

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07/15/2007 12:09 AM
This is why I quit up at USU years ago and why I will never support USU or any other form of public Ed again!!! BTW I will keep doing all I can to hurt USU. As long as USU is involved with making us all accept communist/socialist style, ultra left wing, anti American politics, I will fight against them! To get a good look at where USU stands, just look at the pi poor speaker they had in 2002 for graduation, the liberal, pro UN, the wrong Rev. Carolyn Irish. So called "academic freedom" is nothing more than an excuse word now days for saying will teach Marxism, Darwinism and anything else we want at the expense of the public. I agree that people should go to college to learn! The big question is, why aren't they teaching then??? Yes, you may get a lecture up at USU on global warming, how Sex rules, why America is evil, why religion is bad, why the UN and Europe are better than the USA, how to hug a tree and drive a Subaru Outback with USU/Darwin/60's peace/Protect Wild Utah/Invest in (socialism) public education bumper stickers and so on. What you won't get much of a lecture in now days is how to succeed in the business world, how to build wealth in business and how to actually apply your degree in the business world. Half of all college students graduate today with their degree and can't even get a job because they lack real world experience with regards to their degree. They have no practical experience. Oh, they know liberalism well but not their job! Many of them end up working for government or under a union where they can make tons of money and not have to do anything. Where is the true academia and practical preparation for job skills when it comes to college today???! Story below from the HJNews. "Professorial bias issue hits home in Glenn Beck’s tiff with USU syllabus** By Kim Burgess staff writer A recent Internet survey reveals nationwide concern about professors’ “slanted political views.” And with a Utah State University instructor’s politically charged syllabus the subject of a recent radio talk show, the issue is pertinent close to home. According to the Chronicle of Higher Education, a Zogby poll showed that 40 percent of respondents felt that political bias among university instructors is a serious problem. Opinions on the subject were closely connected to politics — 91 percent of “very conservative” survey respondents felt that bias was an issue, compared to 3 percent of self-identified liberals. The recent controversy at USU highlights the issue. On his May 25 radio show, conservative pundit Glenn Beck read a portion of a draft syllabus for a summer 2007 USU social psychology class. Beck referred to the document, written by adjunct professor Brian Tschanz, as an example of “the indoctrination that goes on in our schools.” A four-paragraph section of the syllabus is titled, “A Note to Fans of Right-Wing Pundits” and begins with the sentence, “I promise to make fun of right-wing television and radio pundits early and often (Bill O’Reilly, Rush Limbaugh, Glen Beck (sic), and Ann Coulter will be on the receiving end of this abuse most frequently.)” The document goes on to say that Tschanz will offer proof that these pundits defend themselves with lies then “cut to a commercial before anyone has a chance to challenge them.” Tschanz also states that he decided to address these issues after a member of the Bill O’Reilly Fan Club attacked him with “bald-face lies.” Beck was clearly flummoxed about the syllabus, though he initially mistakenly thought that Tschanz taught at the University of Utah. “It’s not just that I have a different point of view, I’m a liar and he (Tschanz) will bring proof positive that I’m a schmuck,” Beck continued. The radio host was joined on-air by “Bill”, the father of a student in Tschanz’s class. Bill, which was used as a pseudonym, was responsible for sending a copy of the syllabus to Beck. “My child handed this (syllabus) to me and said, ‘This will make you mad,” Bill reported. The student, whose identity was not revealed, clearly was right. Bill said that he was upset that his tax dollars and tuition dollars were financing an instructor with these views. “This class is about social psychology and disorders and apparently this professor thinks that right-wing pundits belong in that group,” Bill continued. “That’s his rationale for using 10 or 15 minutes of every class period to bash you folks. He likes to take some extreme statements about you out of context, then explain why that is a social disorder or psychological disorder.” Bill also claimed that his child had had other issues with USU, including a class where the instructor showed nudity-filled movies because the students weren’t “open-minded enough.” Beck wrapped up the 15-minute discussion by blaming USU’s administration for Tschanz’s statements. “They don’t reign these people in by monitoring classes or disciplining when they’re caught doing this,” he continued. “These professors are spoon feeding them hate and lies.” Tschanz did not return calls last week from The Herald Journal for comment about the Beck program. USU’s psychology department chair David Stein said he feels the statements in the syllabus were blown out of proportion. “He (Tschanz) was very upset that it (the syllabus) had circulated as far as it did and it was misunderstood,” Stein said. “All I can say is that knowing Dr. Tschanz’s teaching style, he doesn’t have in mind the purpose of indoctrinating students. I don’t think the majority of his students walk away thinking he was trying to indoctrinate them — he wants to challenge them.” According to Stein, the statements in the syllabus were typical of Tschanz’s sense of humor, which he described as “idiosyncratic.” The entire document is written in a joking tone, starting off with “Here’s your introduction: 16 weeks of material in 4 short weeks, baby. How’s that for an introduction?” Asked if he thought the syllabus was offensive, Stein said he had mixed feelings. “I am waffling a bit because I know what his intentions are, on the other hand, I am sensitive for how others would read this,” Stein explained. “I am sensitive to prospects of having students feel turned off and offended.” Stein did say that he tries to keep his political and religious beliefs ambiguous in his own classes. From a disciplinary standpoint, the syllabus could violate a section of the faculty code that addresses not attacking students’ deeply held core beliefs. Tschanz adjusted the syllabus on his own and did not receive any disciplinary action, Stein said. “We were satisfied with his response,” he continued. The incident touches on the complex issues of academic freedom versus students’ objections to subject matter. In other words, should professors avoid topics or public stances that could make their students uncomfortable? USU’s director of public relations and marketing, John DeVilbiss, said that the school walks a fine line. “We are concerned about academic freedom,” DeVilbiss continued. “Sure, they should be sensitive to the student’s backgrounds but at the same time, in the educational process, it’s important to challenge student’s thinking to get them to thinking critically, which is what education is all about. Of course, something that is obviously offensive or an attempt to indoctrinate students would not be acceptable.”

Zasch
Posts:134

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07/15/2007 5:53 PM
What you won't get much of a lecture in now days is how to succeed in the business world, how to build wealth in business and how to actually apply your degree in the business world. Not in a social psychology class, anyway. I'm not particularly sure why you are expecting business or economics in social psychology. Ought I complain that the foundations of formal logic are not taught in an art history class? Many of them end up working for government or under a union where they can make tons of money and not have to do anything Government positions, for most employees, are not exactly a lucrative career option. Unions have basically nothing to do with it, either, except as a rhetorical device for emotional triggers. Where is the true academia and practical preparation for job skills when it comes to college today???! I'm sure you realise these two things are somewhat opposed to each other. “A Note to Fans of Right-Wing Pundits” and begins with the sentence, “I promise to make fun of right-wing television and radio pundits early and often (Bill O’Reilly, Rush Limbaugh, Glen Beck (sic), and Ann Coulter will be on the receiving end of this abuse most frequently.)” Haha, thats great. There are often complaints in our society that the "liberal education establishment" is too politically correct.... “It’s not just that I have a different point of view, I’m a liar and he (Tschanz) will bring proof positive that I’m a schmuck,” Beck continued. That isn't particularly difficult to do. The quality of argumentation made by the aformentioned people (O'Reilly, Limbaugh, Beck, and Coulter) is quite low, and generally showing them to be utterly false requires very little effort. This class is about social psychology and disorders I can see how this would be quite relevant to a social psychology class, as a demonstration and analysis of how various conditions in the United States have led to the popularity of people who rely on such poor arguments. The entire document is written in a joking tone, starting off with “Here’s your introduction: 16 weeks of material in 4 short weeks, baby. How’s that for an introduction?” This works. If his intention is to get students to think (something that is rather important, especially again, given the weakness by which these people base their arguments on) and he is a generally humorous professor, it seems entirely within tone to phrase it as he did. “I am sensitive to prospects of having students feel turned off and offended.” I've always found it interesting how the conservative movement in the United States rails and rails against "political correctness" - "You don't have a right to not be offended lol!!!!", and yet on issues like this, political correcntess becomes central issue and they begin to whine about how they ought not be offended. To me, it demonstrates that "political correctness" is another empty rhetorical device used by one side to attempt to censor the other (since it basically has a recursive definition that goes on to infinity: If the politically correct becomes politically incorrect, then the very act of deeming it politically incorrect negates the point) From a disciplinary standpoint, the syllabus could violate a section of the faculty code that addresses not attacking students’ deeply held core beliefs. Were I you, Mr. Nonleft, I would be attacking this portion far more vigorously. What point is University if not to teach us about the world and to encourage us to not only absorb facts, but to actively contribute to the analysis of the world around us? How is this at all possible if students are kept in a "shell" where their deeply held core beliefs are not attacked? If a community strongly believes in Marxism, should Marxism suddenly be placed off limits because it is a deeply held core belief, or ought it be ridiculed and pulled apart? Tschanz adjusted the syllabus on his own and did not receive any disciplinary action, Stein said. So let us review: 1. A professor known for his sense of humour and his teaching style which involves critically thinking about preconcieved notions then combines the two in a half-serious syllabus that takes a decidedly informal tone. 2. Some student objects. 3. The professor amends the syllabus on his own. Where is the grounds for objection here, particularly? In other words, should professors avoid topics or public stances that could make their students uncomfortable? Not at all. Again, I was just talking about this, but university education is not to simply provide you with an echo chamber where all of your pre-university beliefs may be reinforced. The fact is that most people don't particularly critically examine many of their beliefs, and in a democracy such as ours such examination is critical to the vitality of our system of government, both as a means for arriving to correct decisions and as a means for preventing our system from stagnating such that it becomes controlled by an elite few, rather than by the people at large. For the average Logan resident whose views are never seriously challenged by the opposition, where one primarily listens to people whom one already agrees with rather than those that take up the opposition, such self-examination is perhaps even more relevant. If all you do is listen to Rush Limbaugh in the morning and Bill O'Reilly in the evening, what you are doing is not an intellectual pursuit, except perhaps one of self-pleasure. Rather, it is a rhetorical pursuit devoid of meaning entirely. In my life, critical examination has been fundamental to the formation of my viewpoints, and I actively seek out debate and discussion with those I know will be of an opposing viewpoint for precisely the reasoning I have outlined: It allows my position to keep "evolving" under pressure and prevents it from becoming stagnant and closed. Hence, when the question is raised of academic freedom versus a students "right" to not feel bad, I side with the former in most cases. Insulation from the opposition is never healthy for the formation of logical, rational viewpoints. Hence, for one who claims to be so concerned about the free flow of information and actually learning in college, it is somewhat puzzling to me why you would side against the professor in this case. If the views of the student hold merit, then they will do so regardless of the professor, and if they do not then they will fall accordingly, but the exposure itself is something that ought to happen.

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