Is IU a politically correct campus?

Sophomore Stephen Jerabek, president of the Committee for Freedom, which held an anti-affirmative action bake sale in Dunn Meadow last week, said he feels "politically incorrect" viewpoints are often looked down upon at IU.\n"Often the political correctness that we're so focused on here at IU discourages other viewpoints from being presented," he said.\nJerabek said he believes such viewpoints are mislabeled as "uneducated." He said some people think those with divergent views require some type of "further education."\nThe issue became apparent earlier in the semester when business professor Eric Rasmusen posted controversial remarks about homosexuality on his Web log on the IU server.\nThe Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgender community responded to the Web log by wanting to "educate" the campus about homosexuality, as reported in IDS articles in September.\nSophomore Sarah Yeazel said due to the extremes of Rasmusen's log, she believes there was justification in saying "we need to teach people."\n"Often time thoughts that don't go with the norm seem uneducated because it's all we've been taught at IU," Yeazel said. \nYeazel, who attended the Sept. 19 vigil protesting against the Web log, said the GLBT community felt the Web log was an attack on the community. She also said while asking IU to censor the comments would have been "too much an issue" of free speech, she said she would have liked for the professor to post an apology.\n"When I heard about it I was shocked because IU promotes the idea that everyone is so open-minded," she said. "I thought we worked to bring diversity to IU."\nThe Legal Studies Club will hold a discussion panel on the Rasmusen Web log at 8 p.m.Thursday at the law school.\nPresident of the Legal Studies Club Lee Ann Chan said they have invited four guest speakers including law professors Fred Cate and Daniel Conkle and a representative from Student Legal Services. Chan said the group has also extended an invitation to professor Rasmusen.\nCate said he disagrees that IU is unwelcoming to certain viewpoints.\nHe said he believes even though universities, including IU, are typically more liberal than their surrounding communities, he does not believe certain viewpoints are discouraged at IU.\nCate said Rasmusen's Web log isn't a very good example of different viewpoints being censored at IU because his Web log was not taken off the server.\n"If anything, it would be an example of the opposite," he said. "That even when a substantial portion of the community disagrees with the view, University policy says we must tolerate it."\nBut while IU's Academic Policy states that the University recognizes "the right of all students to engage in discussion, to exchange thought and opinion, and to speak, write, or publish freely on any subject," some say politically incorrect viewpoints are still unwelcome.\nSophomore Michael Schuler said he believes politically incorrect views are often censored.\n"As our society was built you should be open to everyone's idea, even if it's politically incorrect," Schuler said. "It's something that should not be censored because it's freedom of speech."\nSchuler cited a March 5 teach-in to oppose the then-possible war in Iraq. He said only variations of the same viewpoints were presented at the teach-in.\n"This is a problem because you're not presenting both sides to a story," he said. "You're shoving one side into people's faces."\nSchuler said he believes IU doesn't welcome "so-called" politically incorrect opinions because the University needs to keep a positive public image. \n"Diversity is beneficial to everyone, but forcing it onto everyone is not," he said.\nJerabek also said he believes there is hypocrisy at IU.\n"If people want to censor certain views, then that's going against the very premise of the idea of diversity that we stand for here at IU"