A bill introduced in the state Legislature would give students in Oregon’s universities the option of not taking required classes if they find course content morally offensive.
House Bill 2480 would require universities to provide alternative courses for students morally offended by a class and also alternatives to any course work that a student found offensive.
State Rep. Betsy Close (R-Albany) said she co-wrote the bill with Dr. Fred Decker, former undersecretary for education under President Reagan, to ensure that students don’t have to read or view material they find offensive in order to graduate. She said she became involved in the issue after being contacted by the family of a freshman at Southern Oregon University who felt that Marxist writings and a recount of a rape were too offensive to be included in a required freshman class.
If passed into law, Close’s bill and accompanying Bill 2476 would allow students to preserve their “student academic freedom” by not having to take classes they found offensive or not related to their major. She said this also would protect students from disagreeable political messages from their professors.
“They can push any propaganda they want through the class,” she said.
The bill is currently sitting in the House Committee on Student Achievement and School Accountability and has yet to be scheduled for a hearing. With several pressing legislative concerns still unresolved, such as the budget, Close admitted that it will be an uphill battle to get the bill heard and it could die in committee.
Dr. Ivan Gorne, the vice president for student affairs at SOU, said the school’s curriculum receives a rigorous screening process through the school’s faculty and is also reviewed by the university’s president. He said he is aware of students becoming offended by some courses, but would not make any specific comment on the student referred to by Close.
While Gorne understood some students may find courses objectionable, he said it would become too difficult of a process to create classes that correspond with every student’s sense of morality.
“It can just become unmanageable,” he said.
He said he was offended by some material in classes he attended during his education, but said being exposed to such material is only one part of the university experience.
“I guess that’s part of one’s education,” he said.
In regards to Close’s proposed legislation, Gorne said he doubted any university would allow the state Legislature to dictate what its curriculum should be.
University Vice President for Academic Affairs Lorraine Davis also said she doubted there would be any support in the Legislature for a bill that would change curriculum standards. She said the University does not want to give the Legislature that much control over courses and added that state leaders rarely attempt to gain such control.
“I would not expect that kind of bill with that specific kind of power to pass,” she said.
Davis said she understands that students have many different opinions and beliefs, and they can be offended by various course material, but said the University’s wide range of class and major options gives them plenty of opportunity to avoid offensive content. With such a broad range, Davis said a student would be hard pressed to find themselves stuck in a class that was too offensive.
As the session continues, Davis said the University’s legislative relations office will continue to monitor bills that affect higher education.
Rep. Phil Barnhart (D-Eugene), who serves on the Student Achievement and School Accountability committee, said the window for scheduling bill hearings is becoming increasingly tight and he does not believe Close’s bill will make it out of committee.
Barnhart was somewhat hesitant to comment on a bill that had not gone through the hearing process, but did say that based on its first draft he could not support it. He said, however, that further testimony from the bill’s backers could change his mind.
He said in the wide range of a liberal education there are many different opinions and a student needs to hear all of them for a thorough education.
“There are lots of topics that are morally repugnant,” he said, “but you have to be willing to talk about them.”
In addition to not supporting the bill on the grounds that it infringes on a complete education, Barnhart said it is an over-extension of the state’s authority.
“I think it would mean the Legislature reaching down and telling the universities what to do with their curriculum and we should not tell the universities what classes to teach,” he said.