Universities should foster debate and critical thinking. SB 37 will stifle that
Several years ago, on the last day of my argumentation and debate class at the University of Wisconsin, where I taught before coming to the University of Texas, a student approached me.
'The semester is over,' said the student, who sat in the front row with a bumper sticker for then-Republican Gov. Scott Walker on his computer. 'Will you tell me what your personal politics are?'
'To be honest, I'm very far left of the Democratic party,' I told him.
'Damn,' he said, 'I could've sworn you were a Libertarian.'
My job as professor is to treat my students with respect. This student did the work: He defended his views with evidence, engaged with material from diverse viewpoints and learned the best scholarship my field had to offer, regardless of whether it lent itself to particular political conclusions.
Column: Under SB 37, Texas universities will focus on educating, not indoctrinating | Opinion
People from both sides of the political spectrum have accepted the premise that universities silence students. Research partly corroborates this view. A Knight Foundation-Ipsos study on campus free speech found that roughly two-thirds of students self-censor in classroom discussions, especially when the topics involve race, gender, LGBTQ issues or religion.
That same study found 60% of students said that campus climate contributes to the stifling of free speech, but the nature of that climate is not defined. The Right has taken this as evidence that conservative students suffer, but the Knight study found that Black students, who are more likely to have liberal or left-leaning politics, are the most likely to report difficulty using their free speech rights.
What are we to make of this information? There have always been students who don't feel safe sharing their views. The largest constituency of students who still feel that way are the ones that have historically felt that way. This certainly tracks with my experience as a university educator for the past 25 years.
What is missing in analyses about campus free speech and safety is a discussion of power. Many college students are white, and Black students are a small minority. When it comes to national power, it is still unusual to find people of color in positions of power, from the government to the lectern to the board room.
When the group you identify with does not have structural power, it is easy to understand why you wouldn't feel safe expressing yourself. This is not the situation that white students find themselves in on campuses, regardless of whether their opinions are in the minority. This is also why classes with Black professors who intervene in that power structure are vital.
What to know: House moves to advance SB 37 on faculty senate, core curriculum review.
Professors are not here to validate every opinion that may exist on a given issue. My role as professor is to create an affirming environment for students to learn how to defend their views with evidence, to critically interrogate the views they hold, and to learn the best scholarship in my field of study. My job is also to teach students how to think critically, to write well, to solve problems, and to understand those who are different from them.
The Texas Legislature is poised to pass Senate Bill 37, which would place ideological litmus tests on courses in the state core curriculum. This proposal is based, at least in part, on the belief that conservative views are being stifled at our universities by professors like me. I vehemently disagree with this premise.
I encourage our elected officials to use their critical thinking skills to discern what a university education is for. If it is to prevent students from engaging with diverse viewpoints in their required curriculum, then our democracy is truly at risk.
Karma R. Chávez is the chair of the Department of Mexican American and Latina/o Studies at the University of Texas.
This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: Universities should foster debate. SB 37 will stifle that | Opinion
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