The Tennessee Board of Regents last week approved a student bill of rights. The measure is intended to ensure students can speak their minds freely without fear of retaliation from teachers. Intellectual openness is crucial to higher education. Speaking freely, even challenging professors' teachings, is one way students test their learning and thinking skills. They should be able to do so without fear of retaliation that could affect their grades. The new student bill of rights helps guarantee academic and intellectual freedom.
The new policy will affect 180,000 students who attend Board of Regents schools in Tennessee. The Regents' measure mirrors one passed earlier this year by the University of Tennessee system that affects 42,000 students.
It is distressing to hear stories of college professors imposing their social, political or religious beliefs on students. It isn't fair and it isn't intellectually honest. Students must be allowed to flex their intellectual muscles by disagreeing with teachers and by standing up for their beliefs.
A recent case at Hampton University in Virginia saw seven students disciplined by the university for criticizing the Iraq war. Hampton is a school known for its conservative viewpoint. That should not be an impediment to free student speech.
The new student bill of rights does not absolve students from learning course content that they might disagree with. They still must pass tests and meet all course requirements, even when they disagree with the course or with the instructor's viewpoint.
On the other hand, students will be protected from having their grades affected because they challenged a professor or disagreed with course content.
Higher education is a time for students to stretch their intellectual wings. That demands freedom to think and to speak out about their beliefs. Student protests are a time-honored and important tradition in higher education. The new student bill of rights will help protect that venerable institution.
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Monday, December 5th 2005 at 9:52AM
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