Colorado Senator Wants Bias Expelled From State College Campuses
by Jim Brown
November 19, 2003
(AgapePress) - The president of the Colorado Senate is going to bat for college students in his state who are discriminated against for their conservative or Christian beliefs.State Senator John Andrews has sent a letter to the leaders of Colorado's 29 public colleges and universities, opening an inquiry into whether the state's public educational institutions have policies in place to protect academic freedom on their campuses.
The Republican lawmaker is asking the schools to inform the state legislature of what policies they have to protect against bias imposed on students because of their political or religious beliefs, and to explain how they deal with instances of discrimination against students for their beliefs. He also wants school presidents to describe what steps they are taking to promote intellectual diversity in the classroom and in departmental recruiting.
Andrews says it is not that anyone believes there is some conscious effort on the part of campus administrators to select for one narrow point of view. However, he adds, "I think it's simply human behavior that will operate unless you have safeguards against such behavior, and I'm asking the universities to tell me what safeguards they already have."
The senator is hoping the letter will help lawmakers determine whether legislative action is necessary. "If we find that there are gaps in the protection [schools are providing], then we may need a state law that asks all the universities to uphold the same standard on academic freedom," he says.
Andrews notes that the letter has generated support from both sides of the political spectrum. He says a leading Democratic senator who teaches political science part-time at an urban college in Denver agrees with him that the problem is real and needs to be addressed.
"In fact, that senator is the one who suggested to me that we should particularly look at giving students an opportunity to use anonymous faculty evaluations to the attention of administrators," Andrews says.
According to the senator, the schools have until December 1 to respond to his letter.
