Letter to the editor

Colleges nationwide are not in a liberal
“˜conspiracy’

Have I missed something? Garin Hovannisian’s tale of the
Bruin Republicans’ “victory” this past year
(“Conservative activism should be welcomed,” March 10)
almost made it sound like they had actually accomplished
something.

But despite his insinuations, the only real campus support the
Bruin Republicans has garnered so far in its petty bid to end
MEChA’s funding has been from within its own ranks. Aside
from a select group of outside right-wing cheerleaders, nobody
seems to have joined their bandwagon.

Does Hovannisian really believe there has been some sort of
conspiracy playing out for years, in which Democrats have
consciously sought to control the majority opinion within academia?
The outrage he expressed in reporting that a sample of 110 Duke
University professors yielded 95 Democrats is nothing short of
laughable. “In light of these numbers and their real life
implications, students at Duke have mobilized and started a fight
for academic freedom.” I am not exactly sure what these
horrific-sounding real-life implications are. Perhaps he is
referring to the opportunity to hear a viewpoint which is largely
silenced by the mechanisms of popular culture.

Rather than pointing a finger at Democrats, he should be asking
why it is that so many professors are Democrats and not
Republicans. Is it really that hard to believe that a vast majority
of highly educated people would make a similar choice? Is it the
fault of Democrats that individuals distinguished for their ability
to conduct research and analyze their findings often choose not
follow Republican party lines?

For those Republicans who are themselves highly educated, the
only thing stopping them from checking into academia is their
overwhelming tendency to take high-paying corporate positions.

Mike Greenfield Fourth-year, environmental
studies