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Have our nation's colleges become hotbeds of liberal teaching where vocal radicals hold cowering administrators at bay, or are they still places where students can easily accept or reject ideas in their quest for knowledge?

Recently, several national columnists have focused on this issue, and they responded overwhelmingly that universities are not a place where scholars go to seek the truth, but where leftist teachers and administrators force the "correct truth" upon the students.

The columns told ghastly tales of screaming activists forcing cowardly, white-knuckled administrators to meet their demands, and of ex-hippie faculty members using their podiums as soap boxes.

Three of the articles discussed recent events at Dartmouth College, where I am currently a junior. According to some conservative columnists, Dartmouth leads the pack in installing a truly "Politically Correct" curriculum. This term defines values sensitive to the causes of feminists, homosexuals, environmentalists, etc.

The vast majority of students are moderate conservatives, who see education as their primary goal. There exists, however, a small but vociferous faction of radicals that embraces every cause on the horizon. This group addresses its issues with sit-ins and rallies, complete with signs, banners, chalk graffiti, and, where useful, shanties and other props helpful in driving their point home. Discussion groups where those with differing opinions are shouted off stage are also stylish.

At the other end of the spectrum lies the infamous, ultra-conservative Dartmouth Review, currently the only organized resistance to the liberal movement. This newspaper has stumbled in the past few years, and suffered loss of student support.

A shoving match with a liberal professor several years ago marked the beginning of the Review's fall from favor. The majority of students support the newspaper's stances, but not its methods.

Dartmouth's faculty, although quite liberal, still boasts some of the greatest conservative minds in the country. One such is Jeffery Hart, a nationally syndicated columnist and contributor to the National Review, a leading conservative magazine. Most professors are either far right or far left; very few stand in the middle ground.

The problem with this contrasting conservative-liberal faculty split is that students are hard-pressed to find a teacher who fairly presents both sides of an issue. Scholars tend to choose courses based on the political alignment of the professors. It is not uncommon to hear a student voicing opinions coinciding with the professor's, and not those of that particular student. Students too often merely regurgitate the teacher's views, which requires virtually no thought, only articulation.

I cannot place the blame entirely on the faculty; the students are also at fault. Many, myself included, are not always willing to risk a grade to stand up for an idea. Sometimes, to the delight of the occasional open-minded professor, students dissent and a vigorous intellectual discussion follows. Dartmouth has proven that it is still devoted to open discussion, as one liberal professor was pressured into resigning after giving a low mark to a student with a differing opinion.

With Dartmouth's inauguration of current president James O. Freedman three years ago, administrative wishes for Political Correctness were officially publicized. Descriptive words like "sensitivity" and "diversity" soon became buzz-words to students, who felt that these concepts violated their right to free-thought.

The administration apparently thought appeasement would end the constant barrage from liberal students and faculty. Thus the college has divested from all companies conducting business in South Africa; sought to de-emphasize the Greek system; changed the school mascot to the "Big Green," as the former mascot, "Indians," was deemed racist; and initiated an affirmative action policy giving priority to hiring women and minorities, rather than the needs of academic departments.

These concessions to college leftists did not ease the pressure from the left, but actually turned up the heat. Seeing that their rantings were effective, the radicals rallied around still more obscure causes, such as the removal of all Coca-Cola vending machines from campus. (Coke conducts business in South Africa). Recently, however, the college has begun to ignore unreasonable demands from the left, and is again concentrating on quality education, not politics. In a recent radical attempt to publicize the plight of women, homosexuals, and foreign students, activists stormed into a meeting of the Board of Trustees. The President and Dean had the demonstrators removed and refused to listen to their pleas.

Dartmouth's concessions to the left may seem significant, but they have actually had little noticeable effect on the true pursuit of knowledge. Although controversial, divestment, fraternities, mascots and even affirmative action issues don't actually impede learning, provided they don't show up in the classroom in the form of sermons.

Dartmouth's academic curriculum has suffered no losses only senseless additions since the instigation of Political Correctness. Courses like Sports in Society, Afro-American Folk Music, and an entire Women's Studies Department now offer the radicals a place to hide from true academic pursuits and allow them to pursue their own political causes. Serious students can avoid these "soft" courses and enjoy a true liberal arts education. The college has demonstrated its commitment to academics, as evidenced by the present construction of two multi-million dollar facilities for medicine and chemistry.

One reason I think the media has focused on Dartmouth as exemplifying of Political Correctness is that the school was long considered the last great bastion of conservatism. Some recent radical events stand out like a black front tooth in the school's otherwise perfect smile. Dartmouth's movement toward diversity is not isolated to the college, nor is it merely an East Coast phenomenon. Schools across the country are changing their curricula to include more "sensitivity training", and are punishing students for alleged "insensitivity." However, I think this trend will pass with time. I don't think this trend should be cause for great alarm, though I do think it should be closely observed.

A student can still receive an excellent education. This is not, as James Kilpatrick said, "the decline of the West," but merely an academic fad which is only now beginning to surface. Let's remember: throughout history, institutions of higher learning have often been the birthplace of radical ideas, whether they be liberal or conservative. It's up to faculty and students to discern the difference between propaganda and factual knowledge. I'm confident this trend toward Political Correctness will pass. Perhaps I am overconfident; pardon my naivete if I don't believe all the world's problems can be solved in the classroom.