Top Ten Things Professors Do To Skew You

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What are your thoughts? Do you agree or disagree?

Top Ten Things Professors Do To Skew You

4/5/2004

IWF has created a new ad campaign on college campuses to raise awareness of left-wing bias among college professors.  The ad has run in campus newspapers at schools including Columbia, Harvard, Princeton, University of Arizona, University of Chicago, Tufts, UCLA, UC-Berkley, Bucknell, and Dartmouth.

All statistics are taken from a nationwide survey by American Viewpoint commissioned by the Independent Women’s Forum (IWF). Over a four-day period in December 2003, IWF conducted an Internet study of the attitudes and political ideologies of today’s college students. 727 Internet surveys were collected from a nationally representative sample of men and women between the ages of 18 and 24 providing insight into the 2004 Presidential Election, George W. Bush’s job performance, and ideological diversity in the classroom. 

I. THEY PUSH THEIR POLITICAL VIEWS -- 70% of students surveyed say their professors express their political views in class. 

“How often do your professors express their political views during class?”

8% Often

62%  Sometimes

25%  Never

3%  Don’t Know

1%  No Answer

II. LIBERAL OPINIONS DOMINATE -- More than one-third of students describe their professors as either somewhat or extremely liberal.

“On political issues, do you consider your professors to be Very Liberal, Somewhat Liberal, Moderate, Somewhat Conservative or Very Conservative?”

12% Very Liberal

25% Somewhat Liberal

26% Moderate

11% Somewhat Conservative

3% Very Conservative

22% Don’t Know

2% No Answer

37% TOTAL LIBERAL

14% TOTAL CONSERVATIVE

III. THEY DON’T PRESENT BOTH SIDES OF THE DEBATE -- 42% of students report political discussions in the classroom lean to a leftist point of view, with only 18% saying they hear the conservative side of an issue. There is nothing balanced about this kind of education.

“When politics are discussed during class, does the discussion tend to be about more conservative viewpoints or more liberal viewpoints?”

18%  Conservative

43% Liberal

37% Don’t Know

2% Refused

IV. CONSERVATIVE VIEWPOINTS ARE PRACTICALLY NON-EXISTENT -- Only 13% of students can describe their professors as conservative. When you enrolled in college, were you expecting to only get half the story?

“On political issues, do you consider your professors to be Very Liberal, Somewhat Liberal, Moderate, Somewhat Conservative or Very Conservative?”

12% Very Liberal

25% Somewhat Liberal

26% Moderate

11% Somewhat Conservative

3% Very Conservative

22% Don’t Know

2% No Answer

37% TOTAL LIBERAL

14% TOTAL CONSERVATIVE

V. THEY FORCE YOU TO CHECK YOUR INTELLECTUAL HONESTY AT THE DOOR -- 31% of students report having to do an assignment which forced them to take a philosophical position they were uncomfortable with. Professors are using their influence as “teacher” to teach you what to think, not how to think.

“Have you ever had an assignment which required you to take a philosophical position you were uncomfortable with?”

31% Yes

63% No

4% Don’t Know

2% No Answer

VI. THEY MAKE YOU UNCOMFORTABLE IF THEY DISAGREE -- Nearly one-third of students say they are uncomfortable expressing their opinions in class if they differ from their professor’s point of view.

“How comfortable are you expressing your political views during class where your views differ from the professor’s views?

23% Very Comfortable

34% Somewhat Comfortable

21% Somewhat Uncomfortable

11% Very Uncomfortable

8% Don’t Know

3% No Answer

VII. THEY USE THEIR POWER OVER YOUR GRADE TO INFLUENCE YOU -- 16% of students say they fear their grade could suffer for disagreeing with a professor’s political point of view.

“Have you ever been afraid your grade would suffer in a class for disagreeing with a professor’s political point of view?”

16% Yes

76% No

6% Don’t Know

2% No Answer

VIII. THEY HINDER OPEN AND HONEST DISCUSSION -- One-quarter of students say they are afraid to speak up in class if they don’t agree with a professor. Professors should welcome debate, not stifle it.

"Have you ever been afraid to speak up in class because you did not agree with a professor’s political point of view?”

23% Yes

63% No

4% Don’t Know

2% No Answer

IX. THEY ARE OUT OF TOUCH -- Only 24% of students report their professors have the same viewpoints on issues as they do.

“Do you feel your professors are more conservative than you are, more liberal than you are, or is their ideology about the same as yours?”

19% More Conservative

30% More Liberal

24% About the same

25% Don’t Know

2%  No Answer

X. THEY DON’T IDENTIFY WITH YOU -- 32% of students identify themselves as Democrat and 29% identify as Republican. But the overall ratio of Democrat to Republican registered faculty at 32 elite schools was more than 10 to 1.*

“Generally speaking, do you think of yourself as a Republican, Democrat, or Independent?”

29% Republican

32% Democrat

18% Independent

5% Other

12% Don’t Know

4% No Answer

*This fact was derived from David Horowitz and Eli Lehrer’s study conducted by the Center for the Study of Popular Culture. The study looked at voter registration of more than 4000 faculty members at 32 elite colleges and universities. The overall ration of registered Democrats to Republican was 10 to 1 (1397 Democrat, 134 Republican).  For more information on this study, please refer to www.studentsforacademicfreedom.org.

http://www.iwf.org/articles/article_detail.asp?ArticleID=559