A good story and a good example

This is definitely from my experience as a student. And as a journalism student, I wish to examine the story reporting this as well. I got it from Drudge. Notice the dig near the end on conservative bloggers. It's like they built in a device to counter this story being deciminated against the conservative blogosphere.

Conservative students sue over academic freedom (AP) — At the University of North Carolina, three incoming freshmen sue over a reading assignment they say offends their Christian beliefs.In Colorado and Indiana, a national conservative group publicizes student allegations of left-wing bias by professors. Faculty get hate mail and are pictured in mock "wanted" posters; at least one college says a teacher received a death threat. And at Columbia University in New York, a documentary film alleging that teachers intimidate students who support Israel draws the attention of administrators. The three episodes differ in important ways, but all touch on an issue of growing prominence on college campuses.

Here we get a lead finally. It is very vague and really doesn't offer much information. It blows. It does set a weak argument for conservatives. The three arguments it gives are they don't want their religion offended (who would agree this shouldn't happen in a university?), liberal profs are getting a death threat (Who believes in death threats), and a neutral argument in the third. Very weak case, and it is set in your mind that way from the beginning.

Traditionally, clashes over academic freedom have pitted politicians or administrators against instructors who wanted to express their opinions and teach as they saw fit. But increasingly, it is students who are invoking academic freedom, claiming biased professors are violating their right to a classroom free from indoctrination.

Already the history of the story. When writing a news story, history and background is always important. Most of the time, you want to get a story first though. Somehow there has been no story. Also note there is no evidence for these claims. Not to say there needs to be evidence, but if I was writing it, I wouldn't make such a general stereotypical statement, I'd mention some sort of factual basis for making these claims. The academic freedom one is substantiated but not the first one.

In many ways, the trend echoes past campus conflicts -- but turns them around. Once, it was liberal campus activists who cited the importance of "diversity" in pressing their agendas for curriculum change. Now, conservatives have adopted much of the same language in calling for a greater openness to their viewpoints.
Similarly, academic freedom guidelines have traditionally been cited to protect left-leaning students from punishment for disagreeing with teachers about such issues as American neutrality before World War II and U.S. involvement in Vietnam. Now, those same guidelines are being invoked by conservative students who support the war in Iraq.

This is where we get the first argument (I am including the paragraph quoted above my historical comments). When doing a story, you usually try to get a synthesis of the story and the different angles. Here we get the leftist viewpoint of the story, before there is even a story! The first rule of writing a story is the upside down pyramid. You write the most important stuff first, and it should be put in order from then on. This reporter already violated this rule by not giving out a story, and delving in to the history right away. The reporter also obbiovusly thinks the left's viewpoint and background to their viewpoint is one of the most important things in the story. Again: Story about conservative's suing for academic freedom-starts out with a weak case. Next is the lefty defense.

To many professors, there's a new and deeply troubling aspect to this latest chapter in the debate over academic freedom: students trying to dictate what they don't want to be taught.
"Even the most contentious or disaffected of students in the '60s or early '70s never really pressed this kind of issue," said Robert O'Neil, former president of the University of Virginia and now director of the Thomas Jefferson Center for the Protection of Free Expression.
Those behind the trend call it an antidote to the overwhelming liberal dominance of university faculties. But many educators, while agreeing students should never feel bullied, worry that they just want to avoid exposure to ideas that challenge their core beliefs -- an essential part of education.Some also fear teachers will shy away from sensitive topics, or fend off criticism by "balancing" their syllabuses with opposing viewpoints, even if they represent inferior scholarship

...inferior scholarship like global warming? Read Crichton's new book!!!!!!!!!

"Faculty retrench. They are less willing to discuss contemporary problems and I think everyone loses out," said Joe Losco, a professor of political science at Ball State University in Indiana who has supported two colleagues targeted for alleged bias. "It puts a chill in the air."Conservatives say a chill is in order.

Again it is more leftist defense. No story yet, and the story is about conservatives suit. You would think it would describe the conservative's case, because that is the story. You can tell the reporter is left because he wants to make sure he indoctrinates the read in to the left's take on the story, because they want to make sure you are well versed in knowing the leftist professors side before you even hear the reason this story is in the news! Not to mention there is a double standard. When the liberal students pressed for change, it was for diversity. There was no argument given against this. But when the conservatives pressed for change, the reporter gives an argument stated by the professor that they want to control the curriculum. Why an argument against one and not the other?

A recent study by Santa Clara University researcher Daniel Klein estimated that among social science and humanities faculty members nationwide, Democrats outnumber Republicans by at least seven to one; in some fields it's as high as 30 to one. And in the last election, the two employers whose workers contributed the most to Sen. John Kerry's presidential campaign were the University of California system and Harvard University.
Many teachers insist personal politics don't affect teaching. But in a recent survey of students at 50 top schools by the American Council of Trustees and Alumni, a group that has argued there is too little intellectual diversity on campuses, 49 percent reported at least some professors frequently commented on politics in class even if it was outside the subject matter.Thirty-one percent said they felt there were some courses in which they needed to agree with a professor's political or social views to get a good grade.
Leading the movement is the group Students for Academic Freedom, with chapters on 135 campuses and close ties to David Horowitz, a one-time liberal campus activist turned conservative agitator. The group posts student complaints on its Web site about alleged episodes of grading bias and unbalanced, anti-American propaganda by professors -- often in classes, such as literature, in which it's off-topic.
Instructors "need to make students aware of the spectrum of
scholarly opinion," Horowitz said. "You can't get a good education if you're
only getting half the story."
Conservatives claim they are discouraged from expressing their views in class, and are even blackballed from graduate school slots and jobs.
"I feel like (faculty) are so disconnected from students that
they do these things and they can just get away with them," said Kris Wampler,
who recently publicly identified himself as one of the students who sued the
University of North Carolina. Now a junior, he objected when all incoming
students were assigned to read a book about the Quran before they got to
campus.
"A lot of students feel like they're being discriminated against," he
said.Finally, after you have been well versed in what the reporter thinks is
important, he outlines the conservative's case. There has been no story
yet, that comes next. So far, his and other efforts are having mixed
results. At UNC, the students lost their legal case, but the university no
longer uses the word "required" in describing the reading program for incoming
students (the plaintiffs' main objection).In Colorado, conservatives withdrew a legislative proposal for an "academic bill of rights" backed by Horowitz, but only after state universities agreed to adopt its principles.At Ball State, the school's provost sided with Professor George Wolfe after a student published complaints about Wolfe's peace studies course, but the episode has attracted local attention. Horowitz and backers of the academic bill of rights plan to introduce it in the Indiana legislature -- as well as in up to 20 other states.At Columbia, anguished debate followed the screening of a film by an advocacy group called The David Project that alleges some faculty violate students' rights by using the classroom as a platform for anti-Israeli political propaganda (one Israeli student claims a professor taunted him by asking, "How many Palestinians did you kill?"). Administrators responded this month by setting up a new committee to investigate students complaints.In the wider debate, both sides cite the guidelines on academic freedom first set out in 1915 by the American Association of University Professors.

Here is the story. How far down is this? This reporter really blew it on the story, this should have been the first thing, then the alternate angles on the story.

The objecting students emphasize the portion calling on teachers to "set forth justly ... the divergent opinions of other investigators." But many teachers note the guidelines also say instructors need not "hide (their) own opinions under a mountain of equivocal verbiage," and that their job is teaching students "to think for themselves."Horowitz believes the AAUP, which opposes his bill of rights, and liberals in general are now the establishment and have abandoned their commitment to real diversity and student rights.But critics say Horowitz is pushing a political agenda, not an academic one."It's often phrased in the language of academic freedom. That's what's so strange about it," said Ellen Schrecker, a Yeshiva University historian who has written about academic freedom during the McCarthy area. "What they're saying is, 'We want people to reflect our point of view."'Horowitz's critics also insist his campaign is getting more attention than it deserves, riling conservative bloggers but attracting little alarm from most students. They insist even most liberal professors give fair grades to conservative students who work hard and support their arguments.
[blogger's note* critics say Horowitz... really means this is what the reporter's message is. This is not subtantive, it is partisan bickery. And this is the anti-blogger insert.]

Often, the facts of particular cases are disputed. At Ball State, senior Brett Mock published a detailed account accusing Wolfe of anti-Americanism in a peace studies class and of refusing to tolerate the view that the U.S. invasion of Iraq might have been justified. In a telephone interview, Wolfe vigorously disputed Mock's allegations. He provided copies of a letter of support from other students in the class, and from the provost saying she had found nothing wrong with the course.

This is not really a good angle from either side. Basically the reporter just relates the information, he said "this" and this other guy said "that". I mean let's do a little more investigating, come on.

Horowitz, who has also criticized Ball State's program, had little sympathy when asked if Wolfe deserved to get hate e-mails from strangers."These people are such sissies," he said. "I get hate mail every single day. What can I do about it? It's called the Internet."

What is the conclusion? The conservative's case is sketchy! It also has the conservative's calling the liberals sissies. Really the ending just makes the case that this court case stuff just seems to be partisan bickering and not anything of substance. Which is not true. I have my own anecdotal evidence. I got a D (I deserved at least a C like another kid in my class who didn't cause problems but did even less work than I did) in my senior English class because my teacher was flaming liberal bitch and I was a conservative columnist in the school paper who bitched about Title IX that really pissed off my english teacher's best friend who is a dyke PE teacher. In economics in 10th grade, my teacher who preached about how horrible defense spending is and environmental bullshit, gave me a C+ when I had a 79% going in to the final and there is no way I get below a B on finals. He hated my support for drilling in alaska and other dissent. In my philosophy class in freshman year of college, my argument against Plato's republic and for the American system was deemed faulty because the American system allowed the election of the worst president ever George W. Bush. He seriously wrote this on my paper and underline worst president ever(I have a million of these). To be fair, he still gave me a 3.8 on the paper. I got 2 unfair grades, and one fair one. The claim that they respect your opinion but still give you good grades is not the point though. The point is that education is about diverse points of view and you never get that in education these days. Why is the conservative blogosphere, and talk radio and all of these other outlets so extremely popular? It is because these are the only places that give us other sides of the story. The MSM, education, and entertainment all give the public a steady diet of progressive garbage. Those who cannot do, teach. Liberals are obsessed with dominating professions of information, aren't they? They want to control it. MSM, educatorsm and entertainers are like 80% liberal and that 80% completely squashes the 20%. Conservatives are not neurotic about voicing their opinions nearly as much as liberals are. They have some egotistical need to stage "protests" all the time, and preach to a captive audience like students who really hold their educators in high esteem and give little though to challenging all of these declarations.