The Young Conservatives of Texas is an organization I normally would not write in defense of, but with regards to the Professor Watch List, I find that I must. I am an extremely liberal person with regards to my political beliefs, but at the same time I find myself in favor of the true idea and spirit of the Professor Watch List.
The controversy over the Watch List has been the idea that professors are being singled out for holding a certain political belief and that this list will limit their abilities to have academic freedom. The goal of this list isn't to limit academic freedom. Students are paying a great deal of money to this university to be informed about the world around them. Part of that is to be exposed to ideas that they may not always agree with.
Professors should teach the classes in such a manner that students are not able to guess what the professor truly believes. The reason for this is very basic: students are there to learn, evaluate information and form their own opinions.
Thus a problem was observed among students where professors, rather than upholding this standard in classes, were both berating students for holding a certain political opinion and introducing political beliefs in classes where there is no reason for them.
On Feb. 15, this paper published a column from Michael Borshuk in which he discussed how he has spoken favorably of Canada's health care system. Yet, he is an English professor. What does Canada's health care system have to do with English?
This is the heart of the problem and what the Professor Watch List hopes to resolve: professors discussing political beliefs in classes where they don't belong and attacking students for holding a political belief.
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