Bill seeks ‘intellectual diversity’

By Celeste Calvitto, Journal Staff Writer | Thursday, January 26, 2006

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PIERRE - Saying that they want to ensure that a wide range of views is heard and tolerated on college campuses, a group of state lawmakers is proposing legislation that would ask South Dakota’s six state universities to report periodically on their efforts to promote “intellectual diversity.”

Rep. Phyllis Heineman, R-Sioux Falls, chairwoman of the House Education Committee and the chief sponsor of HB1222, said Wednesday that the goal is to prevent situations already seen in other states where students, speakers and faculty members have been harassed because of their views.

“This is not an indictment at all,” Heineman said. “For us, it is good governance.”

She said there have been no such incidents on South Dakota campuses that she is aware of and that she has heard only “anecdotal” reports.

“We are just trying to be proactive and not wait for any incidents, such as the Iraq war veteran who was harassed at Columbia University,” Heineman said.

Tad Perry, executive director of the South Dakota Board of Regents, said that he discussed the idea with Heineman but that he hasn’t yet read the bill. He said it could raise some concerns.

“If it is just about making a report, we could go along with that,” he said. “If it goes beyond that, I might have some questions.”

Heineman said the measure takes a cue from the American Council on Education, which recommended in a report last year that “colleges and universities should welcome intellectual pluralism and the free exchange of ideas. … Such a commitment will inevitably encourage debate over complex and difficult issues about which individuals will disagree. Such discussions should be held in an environment characterized by openness, tolerance and civility,” the report said.

The report also said that “academic decisions including grades should be based solely on considerations that are intellectually relevant to the subject matter under consideration. Neither students nor faculty should be disadvantaged or evaluated on the basis of their political opinions.”

HB1222 has 25 co-sponsors, all of whom are Republican except three. The Senate’s six co-sponsors are all Republican.

Rep. Mike Buckingham, R-Rapid City, said the measure is not aimed at any political viewpoint.

“It’s not about liberal or conservative, and it is not an attack on the education system,” Buckingham said. “It is just an affirmation of what education could consist of.”

He said when he was a college student 25 years ago, “professors facilitated the arguments and challenged our minds.”

“They threw everything at us, but at the end of the day, we didn’t know what they (the teachers) believed,” Buckingham said.

Rep. Gerald Lange, D-Madison, a retired professor, is one of the three Democrats who are listed as co-sponsors.

He said he signed on to encourage debate.

“It (the legislation) is probably unnecessary,” he said. “Isn’t freedom to speak in our Constitution?”

HB1222 would require each institution under control of the Board of Regents to report annually to the Legislature “on steps the institution is taking to ensure intellectual diversity and the free exchange of ideas.” It defines intellectual diversity as “the foundation of a learning environment that exposes students to a variety of political, ideological and other perspectives.”

HB1222 says the reports may include steps taken by each institution to:

n Conduct a study to assess the current state of intellectual diversity on its campus.

n Incorporate intellectual diversity into institutional statements, grievance procedures and activities on diversity.

n Encourage a balanced variety of campus-wide panels and speakers and annually publish the names of panelists and speakers.

n Establish clear campus policies that ensure that hecklers or threats of violence do not prevent speakers from speaking.

n Include intellectual diversity concerns in the institution’s guidelines on teaching.

n Include intellectual diversity issues in student course evaluations.

n Develop hiring, tenure and promotion policies that protect individuals against political viewpoint discrimination and track any reported grievances.

n Establish clear campus policies to ensure freedom of the press for students and report any incidents of student newspaper thefts or destruction.

n Establish clear campus policies to prohibit political bias in student-funded organizations.

n Eliminate speech codes that restrict the freedom of speech.

n Create an institutional ombudsman on intellectual diversity.

Contact Celeste.Calvitto at 394-8438 or Celeste.Calvitto@rapidcityjournal.com