By Matt Friedeman, PhD
March 31, 2005

(AgapePress) - While I attended one of the most liberal universities in the Midwest, my dissertation committee allowed me liberal -- in the best sense of the word -- latitude.

They let me write a dissertation with evangelical flavor, on Jesus. And then passed it with honors.

Truly liberal.

The problem, of course, is that every time I have shared that moment with other academicians they have looked at me with dropped jaws, knowing that could never happen at a university today. Too open-minded, too fair, too tolerant.

I was reminiscing about that experience when I read about conservative columnist Ann Coulter's visit to the University of Kansas. A few years previous, Ann had written something kind about another conservative lawyer and feminist (that latter word utilized in the very best sense), Phyllis Schlafly. Schlafly, at my alma mater, was absolutely shouted down in a manner that should have made the officials of the school shudder in shame.

After all, KU is liberal. Open-minded. Fair. Tolerant.

Well, they weren't that night. Schlafly had hardly begun before she was shut down for the evening by the gays, the lesbians, the "peace" activists, the Democrats -- the "tolerant."

So, 25 years later the protégé shows up in Ms. Coulter. She waxes warm to begin ("I've come to find I like liberals a lot more. They're kind of cute when they're cold, shivering, and afraid."). Hecklers in the crowd interrupted her speech. Coulter said two things reported by the local paper that got her through the rest of the evening.

1. "I think there are some people in the audience who meant to be at the sexual reorientation class down the hall." Touché.
2. "Could 10 of the largest College Republicans start walking up and down the aisles and start removing anyone shouting?" She did this when, of course, the university had no authorities in the area to take care of problems they knew would arise.

At Earlham College, a school renowned for its peace studies program, Associated Press tells us conservative William Kristol, publisher of The Weekly Standard and former chief of staff to Vice President Dan Quayle, was met 30 minutes into his speech with an ice cream pie. Action may well be taken in this case; the college president was sitting on the stage at the time and some of it landed on him, too.

Alas, liberalism -- true generous, abundant, broad-minded, kind and gentle liberalism -- is dead. In its place are those who talk tolerance, but practice quite the opposite.

No place is this more apparent than on the college campus, according to a recent study. Robert Lichter, Stanley Rothman and Neil Nevitte found evidence of "possible discrimination against conservatives" in information gleaned from 183 four-year schools.

Possible discrimination? Now that is a liberal descriptor ...

• 72 percent of those teaching at American universities and colleges are liberal; 15 percent are conservative.
• 50 percent of faculty members identify themselves as Democrats; 11 percent as Republicans.
• The more elite the schools, the worse it gets with an 87-13 liberal-conservative breakdown there.
• 84 percent of the professors and instructors are in favor of abortion rights; 67 percent believe homosexuality is acceptable; 88 percent want more environmental protection even if it raises prices or costs jobs; and 65 percent want the government to ensure full employment, something not even the Democratic Party is willing to stick its proverbial neck out to say.
• Faculty in all fields of study are dominated by avowedly liberal professors, but more so in English literature, philosophy, political science and religious studies, where 80 percent of the teachers call themselves liberal and no more than 5 percent label themselves conservative.

How can schools get away with this?

Three ploys:

• Play with the language; while being remarkably prejudiced and fanatical yourself, label everything else (particularly Republican, conservative or evangelical) as bigoted, small-minded, and, yes, intolerant.
• Hope against hope taxpayers and alumni of a bygone era don't notice.
• Shout down everyone with whom you disagree, when they come to town.

Tolerance, American-style.