You’ve probably heard Marin Niemollar’s poem “First They Came.” It starts like this:
First they came for the Communists
And I did not speak out
Because I was not a Communist
If you’re like me, you think, “I would have spoken out.” And then you wonder, “Would I really?”
Now, they are coming for the professors, and I am speaking out because I am a professor, and I ask that you speak out, too. The Professor Watchlist is dangerous and unnecessary. It challenges the principle of academic freedom, which protects the ideas of both faculty and students, and it circumvents the existing structures of governance and mediation within institutions of higher education.
According to their “About Us” page,
The mission of Professor Watchlist is to expose and document college professors who discriminate against conservative students, promote anti-American values, and advance leftist propaganda in the classroom.
The watchlist is sponsored by Turning Point USA, an organization that promotes free-market principles on campuses.
My colleagues and I take academic freedom seriously, both for us and for our students. The best classroom environment is one that includes a variety of voices and points of view.
We also take discrimination seriously. I work hard to let my students know that they are welcome in my classroom even when they disagree with me. In fact, I encourage disagreement and questioning.
A classroom that welcomes a diversity of viewpoints and encourages questioning is not always a comfortable one. In fact, it is often uncomfortable for some of the students and for the professor. That discomfort is the result of having your assumptions challenged, the result of being asked to support those assumptions with facts and logic, the result of coming face to face with someone whom you respect but who disagrees with you. That discomfort is the result of growth.
This is not to say that all professors are perfect on all days. As in any profession, there are bad actors. There are professors who bully their students. There are professors who do not stand up for the minority voices in the classroom. There are professors who let prejudice interfere with teaching. In those situations, though, every college and university has a process for complaints.
If you or a student you know find yourself in a classroom that belittles your point of view or punishes you for holding it, don’t go to The Professor Watchlist. Deal with the problem where it is.
- Document everything. What did the professor say? When did he say it? In what context (office hours, class discussion)? Keep notes in a place where you will be able to find them again. Save any e-mails you send in future steps as part of the documentation, too.
- Raise your specific concerns with the chair (or head) of the department in which the professor teaches. “She was mean to me” is not a specific concern. “She laughed at me for believing in God during class last Tuesday” is a specific concern.
- Make notes about what the department chair tells you will be done. Ask how and when the chair will follow up with you. Add this information to your documentation.
- Give the chair the time you have agreed on to act before you escalate to the next level.
- If the chair does not follow through, repeat steps 2 and 3 with the dean of the school the department is part of.
- If the dean does not follow through, repeat steps 2 and 3 with the provost (some institutions do not have this position).
- If the provost does not follow through, repeat steps 2 and 3 with the university president.
Alternatively, many colleges and universities also have an ombudsperson, whose job it is to mediate conflicts on campus. Though employed by the institution, an ombudsperson’s task is to act as an advocate and guide for any member of the community with a grievance.
Adding someone to The Professor Watchlist won’t solve problems. Taking complaints through the system at the college or university will.