AAUP Spins Poll Results

The American Association of University Professors is trying to spin the results of a poll it conducted to make it look like a ringing repudiation of the Academic Bill of Rights crafted by author and activist David Horowitz. “They do have an instinctive feel and sense that the kind of legislation that Horowitz is advancing is just not acceptable,” AAUP General Secretary Roger Bowen told the Chronicle of Higher Education.

What the AAUP is trumpeting is the poll result that shows that about 80 percent of those questioned do not believe that “The government should control what gets taught in the classroom.” But this is a misrepresentation of ABOR, a statement of principles based on the AAUP’s own past declarations. Also, like the AAUP’s statements, ABOR contains no real but enforcement mechanism.

But the AAUP poll does show an overwhelming lack of confidence in higher education and in the instructors who deliver it. “Democrats tend to be on the side of angels, as far as AAUP principles are concerned,” the non-partisan Bowen told the Chronicle. Nonetheless, in the AAUP’s own survey, 53 percent of Democrats have “a lot of confidence” in colleges and universities and:

• 61 percent of those polled (total) believe that “public universities should be able to dismiss professors who join radical organizations such as the Communist Party” and

• 57 percent think that “there’s no room in the university for professors who defend the actions of Islamic militants.”

Meanwhile, the data showing a leftward drift on most college campuses continues to grow, mushrooming even. In fact, speaking of poll results, a survey by the Stanford Review of students at the Palo Alto school shows that the student body at the California institution tilts clearly to the left. The Review reviewed collegiate profiles on Facebook.

• 58 percent of students say they lean left politically.

• 52 percent of men at Stanford say they lean left.

• 72 percent of Stanford women make that same claim.

“The study showed an appreciable difference between the beliefs of men and women on campus,” Stanford Review editor Ryan Tracey noted. “Stanford men are 70 % more likely to be conservative than Stanford women, while Stanford women are 40 % more likely to be liberal than Stanford men.”

“The study also found conservatism to be more popular to individuals living in fraternities and sororities.” Maybe that’s why college administrators are so hell-bent on wiping them out.

Malcolm A. Kline is the executive director of Accuracy in Academia.