While Wisconsin has not seen an “Academic Bill of Restrictions” or the so-called “Intellectual Diversity” bill yet, Assembly leaders appear to be promoting the same goals through the budget process. The budget passed by the Assembly removes funding for programs that have appeared too controversial or have bothered the politics of the Colleges and Universities Committee Chairman, Rep. Nass.
Rep. Nass has long been a critic of the University of Wisconsin
System—disagreeing with speakers invited to
campus, professors and entire departments.
Now, rather than trying to restrict what students can learn directly, he’s
spearheading an effort to use the power of the purse to block ideas he objects
to. Specifically, the Assembly budget
strips funding for the UW Extension program called School for Workers because
it trains union organizers and strips funding for the Havens Center
at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
This sort of action may not be exactly what Horowitz and
opponents of the free exchange of ideas on college campuses had in mind, but it’s
not far off. As they say, there’s more
than one way to skin a cat. Rep. Nass is
sending the same message to the University that legislators behind ABOR and
similar bills send—avoid controversial ideas and a free exchange of ideas or
else.