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Are We Just Being Reactionary? |
In recent weeks, there have been a number of instances involving academic integrity at Louisiana College that have caused many students to raise their eyebrows in concern. I wrote about the removal of books from the college bookstore in my article Back into Bondage, and my initial sentiment has been echoed by a significant portion of the student body. There have been responses across the board, from the apathetic to the proactive; within hours of the latest Board of Trustees meeting, a website-- Save Our LC-- was launched.
In response to this, President Rory Lee issued an open letter to students and faculty on December 5th, which read:
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An Open Letter to Faculty, Staff, Students, Alumni and Friends: On Tuesday, December 2, the Louisiana College Board of Trustees passed a revision of the College Policy on Academic Freedom. This change has been misunderstood by many people. The Board created a list of guidelines which should be considered when selecting and reviewing course matierals. The polichy does not dictate the typles of materials which are acceptable or unacceptable, it merely offers guidelines to consider. The policy does require that all teaching materials be reviewed and approved by the department chair and the Vice President for Academic Affairs authority to determine the administrative process. Under the language of the policy, individual instructors bear the primary responsibility for the selection of teaching materials. The four guidelines for choosing course materials and textbooks are: All teaching materials and assignments must be relevant to the subject material appropriate in content and purpose, not inordinately expensive or difficult to obtain, and recognized by others in the discipline as appropriate for the subject matter. The policy was developed in response to questions about the content of textbooks and class materials in several Louisiana College courses. No books are "banned" under the new policy, as reported. The review and approval of course materials for the Spring semester will begin as soon as the procedures for implementing the policy have been finalized the Vice President of Academic Affairs. Reports regarding my recent actions requesting that two books be removed from the bookstore have been particularly incomplete. The books in question were not in use in any class during the current semester. In fact, the books were not even on the shelves of the bookstore. The nooks were stored in boxes inside the storeroom. The revised policy will be implemented with particular regard to issues of academic freedom and academic responsibility as found in the Baptist Faith and Message, the longstanding doctrinal statement of Louisiana College. The language of the 1963 Baptist Faith and Message, is instructive. It states: In Christian education there should be a proper balance between academic freedom and academic responsibility. Freedom in any orderly relationship of human life is always limited and never absolute. The freedom of a teacher in a Christian school, college, or seminary is limited by the pre-eminence of Jesus Christ, by the authoritative nature of the scriptures, and by the distinct purpose for which the school exists. Louisiana College has a distinctive purpose within higher education. It is our mission to prepare students for a changing world by offering an educational program grounded in the liberal arts tradition, informed by the Christian faith, and committed to academic excellence. The misunderstandings that have arisen in response to the actions of the Board of Trustees have been troubling for Louisiana College. It is our hope and prayer that this letter will help clarify the actions taken both by the Board of Trustees and by me. Continued support by our friends is essential for the future development of Louisiana College. Sincerely,
Rory Lee |
The policy could certainly lend itself to abuses, and that is what I am afraid of. There comes a point where removing oneself from the secular world becomes secluding oneself from the secular world. I don't know about the texts in question, but I've read some things in classes that I have taken that have made me squirm. Do I think that they need to be removed? No. I think that part of being a well-informed Christian is knowing what is believed out in the world.
That said, I would not be happy to have blasphemy taught to me. One of the things that I like about Louisiana College is that it is a Christian college. The change in policy was made as what some see as a necessary evil to counter liberalism that has crept into some of the departments (including those dirty theistic evolutionists in the science building); the Fundamentalists are doing what they have always done. I don't necessarily agree with the change in policy, but I can draw the distinction between open-mindedness and empty-headedness. There is a major difference between requiring students to know material and teaching it as fact, and the line between art and smut is becoming increasingly blurred.
I believe that both President Lee and the Board have overreacted, but I think that a lot of the protest is being misdirected as well. As much as the conservatives are trying to push a very narrow approach to education, the so-called liberals (I've heard one person refer to them as anarchists) are pulling for total freedom with no regard to Christian morality.
Is there a happy medium? I don't know. Am I happy with the way that things stand? No.