In the Oct. 16 issue, The Chanticleer wrote an article titled “Faculty senate raises free speech concerns as CCU sees historic enrollment.” This article covered October’s monthly Faculty Senate meeting to discuss concerns regarding freedom of speech and academic freedom.
Throughout the nation we have seen the jobs of professors and teachers being threatened after sharing harmless media posts or participating in out-of-school events that could be viewed as political. Our concern is not defending their right to publish on social media or act in public if their profile links them to their school or university. But rather, we are concerned that strangers, and even students, are reporting professors for their political viewpoints outside of the classroom.
We are all adults. We know, or should know, when a professor’s political opinion is injected into their teaching and if it is irrelevant to the subject material.
The political division in this country fiends off our own ignorance and refusal to interact with opposing viewpoints. If you believe that a political opinion that does not affect your education, or your child’s education, is worth destroying a career over, then maybe pause and reconsider.
Although professors have a responsibility to teach their students, they are still people with personal beliefs and opinions. Therefore, sharing these should not affect their job, if it does not affect their ability to teach.