(Click on the logo to return to the main blog.)

Capturing Campus Life with Humor
05/28/2003

Erin O'Connor notes a new hero on the American campus who is using humor to expose his environment as the censorious bastion of liberal "political vacuity" (Erin's phrase) that it is: University of North Carolina at Wilmington professor Mike Adams. The following isn't the best part of his letter to the Board of Trustees in response to a complaint filed by the father of a female student who was offended by a bumper sticker on his door reading, "So you're a feminist... Isn't that cute." However, this "experiment" pretty well captures the essence of the campus atmosphere:

Remembering that the university has a provision specifically prohibiting faculty from using "University funds, services, supplies, vehicles, or other property to support or oppose the candidacy of any person for elective public office..." I decided to initiate my experiment.

First, I placed a "Clinton/Gore '96" sticker prominently on my office door to see if anyone would take offense. After two years without any complaints, I decided to replace the sticker with one that said "George W. Bush for President." Within a few weeks I heard reports from two faculty members and one staff member saying that someone was preparing to file a complaint about the Bush sticker.

Since the faculty handbook specifies "appropriate disciplinary action, including discharge from employment" as one possible consequence of violating the aforementioned rule, I decided it was time to let the faculty in on my little experiment. I did this by sending an e-mail to everyone in the building which began as follows: "You have all been involved in an experiment in tolerance which, unfortunately, some of you have failed..."

Posted by Justin Katz @ 09:48 PM EST