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Sending in the bill
Yesterday, the Georgia House Higher Education Committee heard arguments for and against a proposed intellectual diversity bill. Architected by ACTA and the American Legislative Exchange Council, HB 154 would require public universities to report annually on the steps they are taking to ensure the free exchange of ideas on campus; it follows hard on the heels of a scandal that gained national attention last year when Georgia Tech students Ruth Malhotra and Orit Sklar sued the university for violating students' expressive and associative rights.
Meanwhile, a similar bill was approved by voice vote yesterday by the Missouri House. While some objected to the bill as meddlesome, a majority saw it for what it is: a reasonable and flexible reporting requirement, and nothing more:
Rep. Ed Robb, R-Columbia, said he was inclined to vote for the bill. He noted that the bill would only require schools to provide information to the General Assembly and students, and would not require institutions to implement certain policies.
"The bill is nothing but mays, as opposed to a shalls," Robb said. "They may do this, they may do that. The only thing that they shall do is report what they actually did. The Board of Curators at the University of Missouri doesn’t have a problem about that."
There is a lot of noise being made about these bills, as academic insiders bewail what they consider to be an assault on their academic freedom. But, as Cobb notes, it really is very simple and very straightforward. And, as recent events in Missouri make clear, it also addresses a real problem.
Posted by acta online at April 12, 2007 10:20 AM
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