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It
appears Ms. Brooker’s issues with the college went beyond the failure of The
following is an excerpt from (http://www.eagleforum.org/psr/2007/apr07/psrapr07.html)
followed by links to a USA Today article and a news release from MSU. Emily
Brooker was a student at Missouri State University (MSU) working to win her
Bachelor of Social Work when MSU stifled and silenced her speech because it
fell outside the liberal orthodoxy of the MSU School of Social Work. She found
that the college engaged in indoctrination, not education. When Emily took a
brave stance in defending her views on particular issues, MSU retaliated
against her by trumping up grievance charges and forcing her to advocate
positions contrary to her religious beliefs. In legal jargon, she was deprived
of due process and equal protection. Emily had
to conform to MSU's orthodoxy in order to get her degree, which she received on
May 19, 2006. However, that wasn't the end of it. Emily sued MSU officials: the university
president, the directors of the Emily
enrolled in MSU in September 2002 to obtain a Bachelor of Social Work degree.
In the spring of 2005, she registered for SWK 209 on Social Welfare Policy
taught by Professor Frank G. Kauffman, a course that is required in order to
graduate with a Bachelor of Social Work. Professor Kauffman identified himself
in class as a "liberal" and social work as a "liberal"
profession, and he used the class to routinely engage in leftist diatribes
against President Bush and the Federal Government. Emily and other students
vocally questioned his statements. As a
result, Emily received a "C" grade in this course. When she
approached Kauffman about her grade, he claimed it was because she was tardy
and had exhibited unprofessional behavior in class. Emily appealed her
"C" grade based on her superb academic performance. Kauffman replied
with a harsh email denying her appeal. Emily then appealed to the Social Work
Department chairperson, who granted her appeal and raised her grade to a
"B." In the
fall of 2005, Emily enrolled in SWK 409 on Social Welfare Policy, another
course required for graduation, also taught by Kauffman. In this course,
students were supposed to work in small groups on an advocacy project of their
own choosing. Emily joined a group to do a project on homelessness. A few
weeks into the course, Kauffman brought to class a guest from PROMO, an
organization of advocates of homosexual behavior, and Kauffman suggested that
the groups change their focus and work on advocating homosexual foster homes
and adoptions. In the next class, Kauffman stated that the class had to attend
a town hall meeting on homosexual adoption, and then write a letter to Emily was
notified by phone that she had violated the Emily
sued with the help of Alliance Defense Fund and local lawyer Dee Wampler, and
she won when MSU signed an out-of-court agreement. Her academic record was
cleared, MSU will pay her tuition for two years of graduate school, her
attorneys were paid, and Professor Kauffman was put on non-classroom duties for
the rest of the semester. http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2006-11-02-gay-adoption_x.htm http://www.news.missouristate.edu/releases/27833.htm Dr. John W. Anderson Instructor, Life Sciences and Chemistry Chemical Hygiene Officer 715-422-5428 From:
HAPS-L-owner@xxxxxxxxxxx [mailto:HAPS-L-owner@xxxxxxxxxxx] On Behalf Of David Evans The
Missouri House of Representatives has passed the Emily Brooker Intellectual
Diversity Act (H.B. 213). It seems that last year at one of MO’s
institutions of higher learning Ms. Brooker had a divergence in religious views
with her social work professor especially in regards to an assignment. She was
unhappy that her views were not attended to and this is the fruit of that
event. The
bill has 13 provisions in it but the one that is most likely to impinge on
human anatomy and physiology instruction prohibits discrimination against
discrimination founded on personal views including: “…intellectual
diversity concerns in the institution’s guidelines on teaching and
program development and such concerns shall include but not be limited to the
protection of religious freedom including the viewpoint that the Bible is
inerrant….” The
Missouri Senate Education Committee recommended passage to the whole senate and
the bill is awaiting placement on that body’s calendar. The
Theory of Evolution is the first thing that everyone thinks about here but
there are other areas that give pause to a professor or teacher: 1.
Psychopharaceutical use and the 2.
The use of human blood and certain
religious groups; 3.
Geologists and physicists very
frequently provide information at odds with the literal Bible; 4.
Psychology professors should
realize that their very practice is at odds with the views of many Moslems; 5.
And the old issue was that the
Roman Catholic Church at one time found that there was an issue with the use of
human cadavers—will this be “resurrected?” David
Evans HAPS-PRO |