Posted by
D W W Robertson on Wednesday, May 07, 2008 6:18:16 PM
Here is the email I wrote in response. Just some quick thoughts and questions, nothing profound.
Dear Mona,
Why don't we have more private institutions like Hillsdale?
I don't fully understand why the universities have been overtaken by secular liberals, but I agree that they have. Believe me. I attended UC Santa Barbara and I saw the intolerance and opposition to free speech that sadly often coincides with contemporary liberal thought.
I don't see however, why conservatives have not taken advantage of the business opportunity of running a private college that boasts, among other things, the decency of their graduates.
As Dennis Prager often comments, there is no correlation between decency an education. He says this in response to the view that education is the greatest issue facing our nation and stands the best chance to solve our problems. It doesn’t, but liberals may like the idea because they know that at least young students will undergo four years of liberal indoctrination if they go to college.
The way I see it, a conservative school stands a good chance to enhance the minds as well as the character of its students. I will be attending Pepperdine School of Law in the next school year and one of the questions I asked Dean Perrin is whether or not Pepperdine has a reputation for producing honest graduates. He put it this way, whenever he hears about a lawyer involved in unethical practices he is confident to reply, it wasn’t a Pepperdine grad now was it?
I understand the cost of running a college without government aid is difficult, but conservatives are resourceful. Why not?
I have another question, though. Why aren't more professors conservative? Are they not hired? Does that violate any employment laws, if they aren’t? Could we pass any legislation, maybe a "Fairness Doctrine," that an equal number of Republicans and Democrats are hired in the publicly funded schools. Or if not equal, they could be hired in proportion to the total population in America? That seems fair. Okay, I jest.
Just thoughts. Thanks for everything you do Mona. I loved seeing you this January in San Francisco at Temple Emmanuel. I too have enjoyed the Redwall books. God bless.
Sincerely,
Daniel Robertson