Protecting Academic Freedoms

It has been a dark April at UB, with gloomy skies and rain taking over the skies on most days. But even more ominous clouds are gathering over our school and institutions across the nation, as a bill awaiting vote in the U.S. Senate threatens essential academic freedoms in America.

House Resolution 3077, titled the "International Studies in Higher Education Act," deals with federal funding for international studies programs and contains some very scary language that would bring the government into the realm of academia.

The bill, if passed, would both establish an advisory board to oversee international studies programs at universities such as UB that receive federal funding under Title VI of the Higher Education Act, and advise Congress as to how - if at all - these programs should be funded.

According to the language of the resolution, such funding decisions would take into consideration "the degree to which activities of centers, programs and fellowships at institutions of higher education advance national interests, generate and disseminate information, and foster debate on American foreign policy from diverse perspectives."

The phrase "national interests" is the most troublesome term in the bill. It seems, as one professor at Berkeley put it, that the government aims to create a sort of "litmus test" for programs in international studies to make sure they conform to governmental standards for advancing our national interest.

The bill does contain phrases that specifically say the advisory board cannot control any curriculum or teaching decisions, but that promise seems hollow considering the indirect control the board would clearly have - it will be making funding recommendations for the programs it oversees.

Promises of separation between government and academia included in House Resolution 3077 seem even less reassuring considering the major proponents of the bill.

One major supporter of it, who testified before the House of Representatives when that body passed the bill in October, is right-wing ideologue Stanley Kurtz. In his testimony, Kurtz argued the need for more professors in America who "support American foreign policy."

Another proponent of the bill is Daniel Pipes, a radical right-winger who complied information on professors across America who were allegedly anti-American (i.e. criticized American foreign policy in the classroom).

Of prolific Massachusetts Institute of Technology linguistics professor Noam Chomsky, Pipes once said, "I want Noam Chomsky to be taught at universities about as much as I want Hitler's writing or Stalin's writing. These are wild and extremist ideas that I believe have no place in a university."

It is this philosophy held by proponents of the resolution, that professors who question or critique American foreign policy are un-patriotic, that makes this bill so dangerous - coupled with a desire to have the government make funding decisions based on the scope and attitude of a university's curriculum.

Taken in consideration with other recent developments, such as Republican Sen. Rick Santorum's proposed bill to take funding away from higher learning institutions that criticize Israel, or a recent lawsuit against the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill for distributing a book on Islam to incoming freshman, House Resolution 3077 becomes even more threatening.

In the past, UB has received Title VI funding - the type of funding reviewable by the advisory board that would be created by H.R. 3077 - for our Asian Studies program.

Thomas Burkman, the director of the Asian Studies program at UB, said he does not know if the bill will be passed or what type of advisory board would be formed, but said if the board becomes a "political" entity he would be very concerned.

"If (the board) is to require that research and academic programs follow a political line, then I'm very uneasy," said Burkman. "Programs in areas such as Asian Studies are heavily dependent on outside funding."

This proposed bill should be a matter of concern to everyone at this school and others across the nation. We must watch the process closely and ensure that the government stays away from scholarship in American universities.

This bill passed the House of Representatives with little fanfare and it is our responsibility as members of the American academic community to ensure the bill does not pass the Senate without careful attention.

New York Sen. Hillary Clinton sits on the Senate committee that will review the bill. Call or write Clinton and tell her you value total academic freedom, and that you don't want the government in the classroom.