Campus conservatives -- an oppressed minority?

The always colorful conservative commentator David Horowitz spoke at Tufts Thursday, partially in support of a proposed Academic Bill of Rights. The resolution, under consideration by the Tufts Community Union (TCU) Senate, would urge the University not to consider political orientation when making hiring decisions. This is a fair idea that should be implemented, even though there is little evidence of bias against conservative professors at Tufts.

Using shaky research methods, Horowitz pointed to what he characterized as a bias in higher education hiring policies. In many schools, there are more registered Democrats than registered Republicans. A study of Tufts revealed similar findings (one Republican to 12 Democrats), but there were 84 unaffiliated faculty members. However unscientifically, Horowitz underscores something most students realize -- professors tend to be liberal.

That does not indicate a vast left-wing conspiracy against conservative professors. The fact that faculty members tend to be liberal probably reflects the fact that academics in general tend to have liberal views. Horowitz believes a virtual blacklist exists against conservative professors. That claim is hard to believe, but the proposed "Academic Bill of Rights" would eliminate any doubt. In all but a few disciplines, political persuasion should not play any role in a hiring decision.

In any case the effect on education of the perceived biases is questionable. Horowitz himself admitted the abundance of liberal faculty members probably has little effect on students. Most professors refrain from getting political in the classroom, and he said they usually have little impact on students' personal views.

Horowitz trumpeted the right's battle cry that its views are stifled on college campuses nationwide, but these claims -- at least at Tufts -- seem wildly overblown. In a recent edition of the TCU Senate-funded conservative journal The Primary Source, Nicholas Boyd bemoaned the discrimination conservatives face. While the Source has a tradition of highlighting times when the Tufts community has been less than true to the principles of free and fair discussion, the bias is simply not at the level it claims. TCU Senate funds pay for events like the Horowitz speech, as well as the Source, and the University paid for former President George Bush's lecture.

What is called for is a greater level of tolerance on both sides and a stronger commitment to the values of free speech. Time and time again on this campus the left is willing to cross the line in the promotion of its message, while doing everything possible to censor speech it does not agree with. All too often the right makes mountains out of molehills, and seems to forget that the majority of this campus disagrees with it.

Basic fairness and respect should pervade University policy with regard to these issues, and in some cases Tufts has room for improvement. Approving this "Bill of Academic Rights" would be a symbolic but important step towards affirming Tufts' commitment to diversity of thought.