<!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional//EN"> <HTML><HEAD> <META http-equiv=Content-Type content="text/html; charset=iso-8859-1"> <META content="MSHTML 6.00.2900.2523" name=GENERATOR> <STYLE></STYLE> </HEAD> <BODY bgColor=#ffffff> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>   Capitol Bill Aims to Control 'Leftist' Profs<BR>    By James Vanlandingham<BR>    The University of Florida Alligator</FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>    Wednesday 23 March 2005</FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>The law could let students sue for untolerated beliefs.<BR>    Tallahassee - Republicans on the House Choice and Innovation Committee<BR>voted along party lines Tuesday to pass a bill that aims to stamp out<BR>"leftist totalitarianism" by "dictator professors" in the classrooms of<BR>Florida's universities.</FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>    The Academic Freedom Bill of Rights, sponsored by Rep. Dennis Baxley,<BR>R-Ocala, passed 8-to-2 despite strenuous objections from the only two<BR>Democrats on the committee.</FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>    The bill has two more committees to pass before it can be considered by<BR>the full House.</FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>    While promoting the bill Tuesday, Baxley said a university education<BR>should be more than "one biased view by the professor, who as a dictator<BR>controls the classroom," as part of "a misuse of their platform to<BR>indoctrinate the next generation with their own views."</FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>    The bill sets a statewide standard that students cannot be punished for<BR>professing beliefs with which their professors disagree. Professors would<BR>also be advised to teach alternative "serious academic theories" that may<BR>disagree with their personal views.</FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>    According to a legislative staff analysis of the bill, the law would<BR>give students who think their beliefs are not being respected legal standing<BR>to sue professors and universities.</FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>    Students who believe their professor is singling them out for "public<BR>ridicule" - for instance, when professors use the Socratic method to force<BR>students to explain their theories in class - would also be given the right<BR>to sue.</FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>    "Some professors say, 'Evolution is a fact. I don't want to hear about<BR>Intelligent Design (a creationist theory), and if you don't like it, there's<BR>the door,'" Baxley said, citing one example when he thought a student should<BR>sue.</FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>    Rep. Dan Gelber, D-Miami Beach, warned of lawsuits from students<BR>enrolled in Holocaust history courses who believe the Holocaust never<BR>happened.</FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>    Similar suits could be filed by students who don't believe astronauts<BR>landed on the moon, who believe teaching birth control is a sin or even by<BR>Shands medical students who refuse to perform blood transfusions and believe<BR>prayer is the only way to heal the body, Gelber added.</FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>    "This is a horrible step," he said. "Universities will have to hire<BR>lawyers so our curricula can be decided by judges in courtrooms. Professors<BR>might have to pay court costs - even if they win - from their own pockets.<BR>This is not an innocent piece of legislation."<BR></FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>.....Article Snipped</DIV></FONT></BODY></HTML>