Time: Wed Jul 16 13:43:23 1997
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Date: Wed, 16 Jul 1997 13:08:42 -0700
To: (Recipient list suppressed)
From: Paul Andrew Mitchell [address in tool bar]
Subject: SLS: No Academic Freedom for the Politically Incorrect (fwd)

<snip>
>
> July 1997 Education Reporter
>
> No Academic Freedom for the Politically Incorrect
>
>
> FRAMINGHAM, MA - The refusal of Framingham State
> College to re-hire English Professor Eugene Narrett
> has called attention to the double standard that
> exists on many campuses regarding academic freedom
> and First Amendment rights.
>
> Dr. Narrett taught full time from fall 1993 to summer
> 1995, at which time he was asked to teach part time
> as a Visiting Lecturer. During his employment at
> Framingham State College, Dr. Narrett earned
> outstanding teaching evaluations from peers and
> English Department Chair Alan Feldman, who promised
> Narrett first consideration when a full-time position
> became available.
>
> Narrett learned of his termination when students
> complained of not being able to find his name in the
> fall 1997 course listings. Dr. Feldman had failed to
> notify Dr. Narrett of his change of mind and, in
> apparent violation of union rules, failed to inform
> him in a direct and timely fashion of termination of
> employment.
>
> For over two years, Dr. Narrett's colleagues have
> vehemently opposed his views as expressed in his
> newspaper columns that criticize abortion, divorce on
> demand, quotas, homosexual advocacy, welfare, and
> feminism. He has published more than 200 columns and
> articles on culture and politics which draw on his
> background in literature and history. Many of his
> columns have appeared in the New York Times, the
> Washington Times, the Wall Street Journal, the
> Chicago Tribune, the Miami Herald, and Human Events.
>
> Harassment began in March of 1995, said Narrett, when
> English Professor Mary Murphy ordered him to "stop
> writing columns criticizing feminism." Even after Dr.
> Narrett filed a formal grievance claiming
> interference with his "ability to work without
> intimidation," the college took no corrective action.
> Two years later, Murphy, a member of the state
> executive board of the Teachers' Union, opposed
> Narrett's contract renewal at a faculty meeting in
> May 1997 because she found Narrett's writings
> "offensive and not positive to women."
>
> In April 1995, slanderous leaflets about Narrett's
> personal life were posted around campus. Neither the
> administration nor faculty promptly condemned the
> action. Anonymous notes from colleagues directed him
> to write his columns "on toilet paper." The campus
> Officer of Human Rights and Affirmative Action, Jack
> Ling, knew of the problem, yet took no action.
>
> In response, Dr. Narrett requested a meeting to
> discuss his First Amendment rights and the need for
> reasoned debate. Before a large crowd of students,
> faculty, and administrators Narrett spoke on how
> leftwing ideology on issues of broad social concern
> has dominated the college campus. Numerous students
> spoke out, saying that Dr. Narrett is a considerate
> and dedicated teacher who does not politicize his
> classes and is concerned for all students.
>
> The following week, 20 faculty and administrators,
> having invited Dr. Narrett to what was described as a
> "discussion group," angrily condemned his views and
> demanded that he "explain" his columns. When Narrett
> tried to respond, he was told to "be quiet" so his
> critics could have the floor to themselves.
>
> In a memo dated April 23, 1997, Dr. Helen Heineman,
> provost and vice president of academic affairs,
> informed faculty and staff of a newly instituted
> "Quality Assurance Check of Publications." According
> to the memo, College President Dr. Raymond Kieft
> delegated to Heineman's office "the responsibility of
> performing a final 'check' of all publications that
> bear the name 'Framingham State College' or give the
> impression that the activity, program, or service
> being promoted or described is associated with
> Framingham State College." The memo stated that
> quality assurance was not a substitute for
> proofreading, but it implied a focus on content to
> determine its "quality."
>
> Bradford Wilson, executive director of the National
> Association of Scholars, an organization devoted to
> preserving academic freedom and the free exchange of
> ideas, wrote in a letter to Heineman that "college
> and university administrators have traditionally had
> no authority to perform a 'quality assurance check'
> of documents that faculty members produce. Academic
> freedom, by its nature, requires that faculty be able
> to write as they see fit without administrative
> oversight."
>
> Dr. Joseph J. Previte, professor of biology, wrote in
> a memo to college faculty that the loss of Narrett
> "will diminish diversity on a campus whose
> administration constantly espouses the necessity of
> expressions of multicultural diversity. His
> involuntary departure will be a clear sign of
> intolerance to differing views on a campus whose
> motto is 'Live to the truth.'"
>
> Framingham State College is a key campus for
> implementing education policy in Massachusetts. It
> played a role in President Clinton's decision to sign
> his Goals 2000 Act into law at Framingham High School
> in 1994.
>
>===========================================================================
>===
>We are seeking the names and addresses of all groups working for parents'
>rights over curriculum in public schools, parental choice in school
>curriculum, opt-out rights, the elimination of School-to-Work and
>Outcome-Based Education, rejection of Goals 2000 and national standards,
>the termination of federal funding and control over local schools, etc.
>Please provide name of group, name of contact person, mailing address,
>phone, fax, and E-Mail address.  Thank you.  
>
>You can address us at:
>Eagle Forum, 7800 Bonhomme Avenue, St. Louis, MO 63105, 
>fax:  314-721-3373, E-Mail: eagle@eagleforum.org
>
>---------------------------------------------------------------------------
>-
>-----------------------
>Inside the June Education Reporter . . . 
>
>	*  No Academic Freedom for the Politically Incorrect
>                *  Tennessee Slows Down School-to-Work 
>                *  Suicide Courses Make a Comeback
>                *  Education Briefs
>                *  'AMERICA READS' IS A BAD READ
>                *  Book of the Month -- 
>                      American Dictionary of the English Language
>                *  Michigan Model Of School-to-Work
>
>
>found at:  http://www.eagleforum.org/educate/1997/july97/er_jul97.html
>---------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
>Eagle Forum                   http://www.eagleforum.org
>PO Box 618                     eagle@eagleforum.org
>Alton, IL  62002               618-462-5415
>---------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
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>
>
>

========================================================================
Paul Andrew Mitchell                 : Counselor at Law, federal witness
B.A., Political Science, UCLA;  M.S., Public Administration, U.C. Irvine

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