Recent News

Last night, Georgia joined nearly 30 other states in rejecting bills that would hurt the free exchange of ideas in higher education. HB 154—Georgia’s version of the American Council of Trustees and Alumni (ACTA) “intellectual diversity” bill failed to even get a committee vote before the deadline for House action Thursday night.

 

The bill and its overall message were panned by students at both of the state's flagship schools. First, the College Republicans at the University of Georgia voted the bill down in a mock debate on HB 154 last fall.  More recently, this spring, the Student Government Association at Georgia Tech passed a resolution against HB 154, saying “that the passage of this bill will have a detrimental effect on the free exchange of ideas and opinions between students, faculty, and administrators.”  Students commended the SGA for doing so.  The student paper at Georgia Tech, the Technique, had a staff editorial against the bill, calling it “an insult to both the maturity of Georgia students as well as the professionalism and integrity of our professors”.

The students have spoken and it’s good to know that the Georgia legislature has gotten the message. 

Unfortunately, the real sponsors of the bill, the American Council of Trustees and Alumni (ACTA) still won’t give up.  ACTA recently released a report on the Georgia University System, with claims (among many other criticisms) that more “intellectual diversity” policies are needed in Georgia. 

One would think that if the students ACTA claims to want to protect were happy with their education, thought their campuses’ policies were sufficient and voicing their opposition to ACTA’s bill loud and clear, ACTA would also be able to get the message.  Maybe the problem is that they’re not really listening to the students after all and are more interested in their political agenda than the real problems students face in higher education. 

This isn’t really a surprise.  After all, as the Georgia Tech Student Government Association keenly noted in their resolution against HB 154, “this bill originated due to special interests lobbyists’ concerns versus petitioning from within the University System of Georgia” before ACTA even did their “study” on Georgia Higher Ed. 

Unlike ACTA, students in Georgia have understood what makes their universities so great and are focused on maintaining high standards for higher education.  The students seem to say it best with their analysis:  “The ability to discern which statements and theories are biased or representative of a certain ideology is a crucial part of the liberal education. By regulating what students are taught the state would deprive them of this skill, a skill that they will need in the real world when they are not protected by unnecessary legislation. The Georgia House of Representatives should trust the intelligence of the students that they represent, the institutions that they support, and the professors that they help employ.”

Let’s hope that that Georgia Assembly continues to protect the students’ right to a good education in years to come.