Crush Liberalism

UMass efforts to give college credit to Obama supporters squashed

Score a point for the good guys here.  From Fox 59:

University of Massachusetts officials on Monday quashed efforts by an Amherst campus chaplain to offer two college credits to any student willing to campaign in New Hampshire this fall for Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama.

Chaplain Kent Higgins told students in a Sept. 18 e-mail, “If you’re scared about the prospects for this election, you’re not alone. The most important way to make a difference in the outcome is to activate yourself. It would be just fine with (Republican candidate John) McCain if Obama supporters just think about helping, then sleep in and stay home between now and Election Day.”

Higgins added that an unnamed “sponsor” in the university’s history department would offer a two-credit independent study for students willing to canvass — identify supporters — or volunteer on behalf of the Democratic nominee.

University officials disavowed the effort after inquiries Monday by The Associated Press. They said it could run afoul of state ethics laws banning on-the-job political activity, as well as university policy.

“We do not engage in or sponsor partisan political activity,” (other than normal day-to-day propaganda inside of classrooms, that is. – Ed.) said Audrey Alstadt, chairwoman of the history department. “We certainly do not give academic credit for participation in partisan politics.”
…
A spokesman for the Massachusetts Republican Party (you mean, there is one? – Ed.) criticized the effort.

“We’re disappointed, but frankly not surprised, that the liberal academic elite have once again decided to promote one candidate over another,” said GOP spokesman Barney Keller. “Our tax dollars pay their salaries so they can teach our children how to make up their own minds, not to advance a partisan political agenda.”

Check out this laugher:

Higgins said he never intended for the program to be limited to supporters of Obama. Regardless of the opinions expressed in his e-mail, he said he would also have been open to those students who wanted to canvass for McCain.

“The idea was there just to see if we could help with folks who want to be active with any of the campaigns in New Hampshire,” he said during an interview with the AP. “We have to be bipartisan, multilateral.”

Yeah, I can see where the average Joe would read “It would be just fine with McCain if Obama supporters just think about helping, then sleep in and stay home between now and Election Day” and think “Wow, that sounds like an apolitical, bipartisan call to arms!”  Poor form for a chaplain to lie, no?

If I didn’t know any better, I would swear that it appears as if universities are staffed with a bunch of leftist elitists who use their positions of power to indoctrinate, rather than educate, students!

September 23, 2008 - Posted by crushliberalism | Massachusetts, McCain, Obama, public education