Professors' political rights and responsibilities

William C. Bradford, an associate professor at the IU-Purdue University Indianapolis law school, has claimed that his attempts to secure tenure have been thwarted by anti-conservative bias within the university's administration. The debate between professors and administrators at IUPUI often boils down to one man's word against another. But the question that will remain after the din of the battle between Bradford and his colleagues is applicable to all American universities: Should professors be allowed to express personal political views in the classroom? \nYes, they should, as long as the classroom remains a safe zone for all students' political persuasions. \nGood professors who make it their priority to challenge their students and inspire original thought do not need to make obvious their own opinions on political issues. Instead, the professor's job is often that of the mediator or devil's advocate, pushing students to analyze their own conceptions about the world around them no matter if they lean to the right or left. \nBut in some instances, a professor might feel compelled to share his or her stance on a specific issue or even to define his or her political persuasion. A student might ask the professor directly for this information, or the information the professor provides might encourage intellectual growth. In these cases, professors are certainly justified in elucidating their own ideologies but are not obligated to do so.\nSubjectivity can serve a purpose. But when the professor's ideologies impede the free expression of ideas in the classroom or discourage any student from fostering alternative viewpoints, then the professor has crossed the line into very dangerous territory. The purpose of the classroom is to foster intellectual exploration and expression. If a political science professor teaches the benefits of exclusively conservative or exclusively liberal policies, then he or she is crippling \nstudents in their attempt to construct independent ideologies. \nThe line between open expression of an ideology and pressuring students to subscribe to that ideology is a fine one. Often professors unknowingly discourage students with alternate viewpoints from speaking up during class. \nProfessors who make the choice to reveal their own biases have the responsibility to encourage expression of alternate viewpoints as well. This gray area is hard to navigate, as many professors who keep personal bias out of the classroom have no doubt realized. \nProfessors should be tenured on their ability to teach rather than their political persuasion. The tenure process is variable and complicated, taking into account a professor's publications, research and fellow faculty recommendations. Bradford's case might be hard to prove. Whether or not Bradford's claims of IUPUI's anti-conservative bias hold up against the counterclaims of his colleagues, IUPUI and other American universities must be careful to distinguish between a professor's ability to teach and his or her ideologies -- a university's administration has the power to grant tenure on the basis of the former, while the latter is sacrosanct as long as professors preserve freedom of expression in the classroom.