Is anyone frightened by the prospect of millions of little Barry Obamas running around the country “organizing” their “communities” around petty causes instead of holding real jobs that do something other than increase government control over every aspect of our lives? I am. And so is Kimberly Legendre, a junior at Florida Gulf Coast University (FGCU).
This semester, Kimberly is taking an absurd course called “Foundations of Civic Engagement.” Remarkably, it is a required course at FGCU. After reading the course syllabus and learning more about Kimberly’s experience from my friends at Campus Reform (see www.CampusReform.org) I know two things for certain: 1) I would never send my child to this joke of a university. 2) Florida taxpayers need to “organize” their “communities” in order to create “Civic Engagement-free campuses.”
This silly college course mandates that students participate in a “community engagement project” to “elevate” FGCU to become a smoke-free campus. This project includes at least ten hours of work on five “mini-projects” on campus and in the community. As a cigar smoker, I find this course to be exclusionary and discriminatory. In fact, I feel harassed. But, as a professor, I have even more serious concerns.
Regardless of what the students think about the tobacco laws they will be sent out on missions geared towards “effecting positive change in (their) communities.” What does this mean? They will be sent on missions aimed at “monitoring compliance with local, state and federal regulations on tobacco sales and advertising in retail outlets, especially convenience stores.”
The only two course texts are The New York Times and a book called Soul of a Citizen. The book is the basis of the course and the chief subject of the final exam. The author, Paul Loeb, is a leftist activist from the Vietnam era. The book contains references to the “subservience to greed” of the Reagan administration and the “Republican wrecking ball [that] steadily demolished sixty years of social programs.” The first chapter calls for universal health care.
And that sheds some light on why the course is a universal requirement at FGCU. All sections must read the pro-universal health care book at a time when the government is considering universal health care.
Kimberly talked with her instructor about her concerns of course bias and was referred to the “director of community engagement”, Dr. Roca. After her initial email was ignored for two weeks, Kimberly re-sent her email. She finally received a reply.
The crux of Dr. Roca’s response was this: “All books advocate a point of view. In college, our goal is to teach you to be critical thinkers and consumers and to recognize that texts are arguable. But we are also obligated to explore diverse ideas and if that is not happening in your class then that needs to be addressed.” Dr. Roca signs emails “Peace!” Just to be diverse, I plan to write Dr. Roca an email and sign it “War!”
Of course, the exploration of diverse ideas isn’t happening in Kimberley’s class. Her professor, Wayne Robinson, asks students to read a paper and write about “how it applies to today’s oppressed minorities.” Robinson doesn’t ask whether racial oppression still exists. In his classroom, it is assumed to exist.
Wayne Robinson boasts in his syllabus that students in his class “will have become familiar with the world’s most prestigious newspaper.” Remember: He’s talking about The New York Times, not The Daily Worker. But I admit it’s a close call. And Pravda comes in a close third place.
Wayne Robinson brags in his biography (at the end of the course syllabus) about being named the ACLU Oklahoma’s Plaintiff of the Year and his successful court case against an Oklahoma town that had a Christian cross in the official seal. “Mr. Robinson, tear down that Cross!” By the way, he’s also a full-time clergyman at the All Faiths Unitarian Congregation.
Imagine a “Christian” instructor suing to have crosses removed from the public square. Maybe, just for diverse fun, FGCU should hire a “feminist” instructor who wants to repeal the 19th Amendment.
There are worse cases of indoctrination on our college campuses. But it’s hard to beat this one for sheer irrelevance. Martin Luther King stormed into diners to grab seats at the counter. Wayne Robinson storms into convenience stores to grab cigarettes at the cash register. He assigns students to read King’s Letter from a Birmingham Jail. Some day, I’m looking forward to Robinson’s Letter from a 7-11 Parking Lot. I guess you could say that I have a dream.
Wayne Robinson and FGCU are fighting for a smoke-free campus presumably because tobacco smoke smells bad and it’s bad for your health. But, inexplicably, his syllabus says that on December 1st “Dr. Robinson will provide pizza and drinks to the entire class.”
So, I’ve decided to quit teaching about criminal law and procedure and transfer to FGCU. I’m going to teach a section of Foundations of Civic Engagement that seeks to create a pizza-free campus in Fort Myers, Florida.
Pizza smells bad and can be bad for your health. And I can be just as irrelevant as the next Professor of Civic Engagement.
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Mike S. Adams was born in Columbus, Mississippi on October 30, 1964. While a student at Clear Lake High School in Houston, TX, his team won the state 5A soccer championship. Mike Adams graduated from C.L.H.S. in 1983 with a 1.8 GPA. Mike Adams was ranked 734 among a class of 740, largely as a result of flunking English all four years of high school. After obtaining an Associate's degree in psychology from San Jacinto College, Mike Adams moved on to Mississippi State University where he joined the Sigma Chi Fraternity. While living in the fraternity house, his GPA rose to 3.4, allowing him to finish his B.A., and then to pursue a Master's in Psychology. In 1990, Mike Adams turned down a chance to pursue a PhD in psychology from the University of Georgia, opting instead to remain at Mississippi State to study Sociology/Criminology. This decision was made entirely on the basis of his reluctance to quit his night job as member of a musical duo. Playing music in bars and at fraternity parties and weddings financed his education. Mike Adams also played for free beer.
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Upon getting his doctorate in 1993, Adams, then an atheist and a Democrat, was hired by UNC-Wilmington to teach in the criminal justice program. A few years later, Adams abandoned his atheism and also became a Republican. He also nearly abandoned teaching when he took a one-year leave of absence to study law at UNC-Chapel Hill in 1998. After returning to teach at UNC-Wilmington, Adams won the Faculty Member of the Year award (issued by the Office of the Dean of Students) for the second time in 2000.
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After his involvement in a well publicized free speech controversy in the wake of the 911 terror attacks, Adams became a vocal critic of the diversity movement in academia. After making appearances on shows like Hannity and Colmes, the O'Reilly Factor, and Scarborough Country, Adams was asked to write a column for Townhall.com.
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Today Mike Adams enjoys the privilege of expressing himself both as a teacher and a writer. Mike Adams is also an avid hunter and reader of classic literature. Mike Adams published his first book, Welcome to the Ivory Tower of Babel, in 2004. His second book, Feminists Say the Darndest Things: A Politically Incorrect Professor Confronts "Womyn" On Campus, was published in 2008.
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