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Tyranny of opinion Dean of Faculty Peter Steinberger uses the phrase "tyranny of opinion" to describe an atmosphere that suppresses opinions. "Everybody who has a more or less responsible opinion needs to have an opportunity to express that opinion, without any kind of sanction, formal or otherwise," he says. "The tendency of one position to dominate public discourse on campus" is, Diver says, "troublesome. The problem is not the number of registered Democrats, but an unbalanced public discourse about issues." The prevailing intolerance in the country has infected the Reed campus, Diver believes. "Political discourse [in the U.S.] has become so passionate that people have stopped listening," he continues. "They have stopped opening their minds, stopped even considering the possibility that there is something to be said for the other side. You would hope desperately that campuses would resist that, but it is so powerful." "If you're going to be truly liberal you need to consider other points of view," says Anne Bothner-By '86. "Reedies often take the position that if you're not politically liberal, you must be a moron." |
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| Peter Steinberger | ||
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| Anne Bothner-By '86 | ||
Role of the faculty
One component of the problem, some believe, is that the Reed faculty does not provide enough support for conservative opinion.
"I've been in classes where a professor who thinks it's important to maintain a class dynamic will try to temper the people who are too assertive," Casana says. "But if you identify as a Republican, there isn't a lot to make your ideas feel welcome. You keep your mouth shut."
In a recent article in the Quest, Hidalgo agreed. "Conferences often ignore conservative opinions and assume liberal premises from the get go," he wrote. "I have seen professors dismiss conservative viewpoints without serious argument and make disparaging remarks about Republicans in such a way as to silence further debate." He believes one major stumbling block is the lack of conservative faculty.
Although Butame agrees it is difficult to speak up in classes, his impression of the faculty is that they are "more open to debate [than the students]. I was at the house of an assistant dean and we were talking about the political situation," he says. "I was able to express myself and argue. They accept the argument or counter it, but they listen."
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Shizuko Hashimoto '05 |
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Feeling silenced, says anthropology major Shizuko Hashimoto '05, is something you have to try to get beyond. "There are a lot of things I felt in my freshman year that I would never say," she confesses. "I finally thought, ‘I'm just going to take action and understand people will think my point of view is ridiculous.' Finding your voice is empowering."
But Bothner-By says faculty should shoulder more responsibility for the balancing act. "Reed students are very combative," she says. "Professors should encourage people who don't speak to speak and shut down people who are domineering. They should probably keep tighter control of things," she adds, noting, "Of course, students would just scream at the idea."
Some faculty, Steinberger says, feel they have an important role in presenting a particular political viewpoint. Others, among whom he includes himself, make a point of not letting students know their views.
"I try very hard to ensure that the important and fundamental issues of political philosophy—not partisan issues, but basic issues about whether liberalism itself is or is not a good thing—are open questions," Steinberger says. "I take conservatism, with a small ‘c', very seriously. I also take monarchy seriously. I take Marxism and anarchism very seriously. It seems to me that the only way we can have sensible conversations is if the students don't know what my views are so they really are open to explore these things in a free and unbiased way."
Hashimoto believes that way the curriculum is structured at Reed contributes to the problem. "Real world issues are only talked about theoretically," she says. "It's not about who should win the presidency, it's about what constitutes liberalism and conservatism."