FiveThirtyEight claims professors, tenure under attack by GOP

Tenure reform is a hot topic among conservatives, especially state legislators in politically red states. For example, tenure reform hit the ground running in Florida, but in North Dakota, a tenure reform bill floundered in the state legislature.

But leave it to the mainstream media to criticize conservative attempts to reform tenure. FiveThirtyEight, which operates under ABC News, ran a headline that read, “Why Republicans Are Targeting Professors’ Job Security.”

The article claimed that the “GOP’s education culture wars have a new target: college professors.” Much of the article lamented the state of politics, without acknowledging that liberal professors contributed to the culture wars.

It said, “This new wave of bills targets a long-standing and common standard of job protection for college and university professors, meant to ensure freedom of thought among academics and insulate them from political attacks.”

According to the article, tenure is being rewritten in the following states:

• Florida (already passed a tenure reform law)
• Texas (considering a bill on tenure reform)
• Ohio (considering a bill on tenure reform)

But what goes unaddressed is that tenure often protects professors in a way that normal, working Americans never receive: job and free speech protection. Tenured professors tend to espouse and preach left-wing ideology and politics in lecture halls, which indoctrinate their young students. Keeping the status quo, whether in politics, business, or higher education institutions, may lead to stagnation and lack of progress, innovation, or advancement.

Tenure reform may be a way for conservatives to hold professors accountable for their work, actions, and words, if done properly.

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