Just Because You Are A Professor Doesn't Make You Smart

I always knew that my beloved college Alma mater was a relatively liberal university located in an extremely liberal town. It wasn't so uncommon for me to see two young women engaged in a lip lock on my way to class, or to see fliers posted in the Pit about the upcoming Young Democrats meeting (funny, I never really saw any Young Republican fliers). My senior year we had an anti-abortion organization display over sized pictures of aborted fetuses in the lower quad (you can image the rebel rousing that caused, and on both sides too, because there is a time and a place for everything and seeing these images on the way to Lenior to grab a turkey sandwich before 1pm English Lit was not one of them). The campus and school, it seems, are game for anything.

So when I ran across this story posted on Michelle Malkin's website, I was intrigued, but ultimately not that surprised:

More schools to avoid: UNC-Chapel Hill. They heart The Unrepentant Terrorist.

The line refers to an article published in the News and Observer about professors from UNC signing an online petition in support of William Ayers, of most recent fame for his relationship with Barack Obama and the fact that Ayers bombed several Federal buildings back in the '60's and '70's and has absolutely no remorse for doing so.

CHAPEL HILL - Bill Ayers, the radical militant-turned-university professor whose ties to Democratic Presidential candidate Barack Obama are under scrutiny, is getting some support from faculty members across the country.

Professors from UNC-Chapel Hill are among the more than 3,200 educators who have signed an online petition in support of Ayers. More than a dozen signatories are from local universities here in the Triangle.

Lawrence Grossberg, a UNC communications studies professor, said he signed the petition because he believes Ayers should not be demonized for his actions 40 years ago. He said he also respects the work Ayers does now as an education professor at the University of Illinois-Chicago. Ayers is a school reform advocate who has written or edited more than a dozen books.

"He did break the law, and he was punished and he moved on," Grossberg said. "He built an extraordinary life. He has become one of the leading scholars in the field of education. [People are] excoriating him for things he did 40 years ago and misrepresenting what he has done since, in order to make someone else suffer. That doesn't seem very American to me."

Most local signers were from UNC-Chapel Hill, though others were from Duke, N.C. State and UNC Greensboro.

Honestly, this comes as no shock to me. It's not like UNC doesn't already have the reputation for being a fairly liberal teaching institution. Sure, I absolutely love the university and loved my four years being there. It's just a little frightening to think back on some of my classes and wonder, "Gee, were my professors teaching me true academia, or academia with a slight personal/political agenda." In general, I would hazard to say that most professors and education professionals lean towards the liberal side. In fact, I had one Religion professor who was absolutely adored by students. He was a great instructor, cared about his students, and an agnostic. He had a common law marriage, did not believe in government and probably skirted around paying his taxes. For all intents and purposes, he'd rather have nothing to do with the state and Federal government at all. Interesting that he choose to teach at a public university for over 20 years, in which his salary was paid by...yup, you guessed it...tax payer money. Probably shouldn't criticize the 'ole government so much, right?

But, back to the issue at hand. It saddens me that many of the UNC professors feel the need to sign this ridiculous online petition supporting Ayers. Do they even know the guy? Doubtful. Are they just falling in line with the liberal mindset and showing support for Ayers because it is the Liberal PC thing to do? Highly probable. Futher, I find it extremely interesting that anyone would support Ayers because his actions killed 7 people. Who cares if it was 40+ years ago? People died. And yet Ayers lives a cozy little life with his wife up in Chicago "teaching" (read: ingraining) students to be radical themselves.

Back in 2006, a fanatic drove his SUV into the crowded Pit on UNC's campus during the middle of the day. He claims he mowed down students in the Pit in response to the US government's treatment of Muslims around the world. Domestic terrorist? Yup, I think he earned that title. And he did this horrible act (no one was killed but at least 3 were injured) for his own purpose because he believed in something, you could even say that he believed in a cause greater than himself...just as Ayers believed in a cause greater than himself (hey, I didn't say the greater cause was good or anything. But you don't see professors at UNC lining up to sign an online petition in support of Mohammed Taheri-azar. Why should they sign a petition in support of Ayers?

Seems like earning your Ph.D doesn't necessarily mean that you will also earn common sense and a mind of your own.